A remote motel, Hitchcock inspired opening credits, and the sight of Kate Beckinsale flipping open her cell phone and saying “Shit, no signal!”, quickly tells us what to expect from Nimrod Antal’s surprisingly entertaining horror chiller.
Beckinsale and Luke “not as famous as my brother” Wilson play Amy and David Fox, a soon to be divorced couple who find themselves stranded on a deserted highway when their car breaks down.
After a mile long hike they stumble across a rundown motel run by an eccentric proprietor (Whaley) and decide to settle in for the night. What they hadn’t bargained on, however, was the stash of snuff movies they find, not least because they appear to have been shot in the very room they are staying in. Yikes!
They say:
Total Film: "A predictable yet occasionally classy film. Depending on your mood it’s an efficient exercise in popcorn frights, or a cynical B movie...”
Empire: "This stripped down chiller has some decent jump frights, but a dearth of memorable moments.”
Channel 4 Films: “An effective assembly of familiar chills diminished by its unfortunate mainstream feints.”
We say:
Influenced by classics such as Psycho, Vacancy is an above par horror/ thriller, spoiled by a formulaic ending and a lack of genuine shocks.
By veering away from the usual “scantily clad teenagers in peril” format, writer Mark L Smith gives more weight to our heroes’ characterisation and makes us actually care what happens to them for once – well, to some extent anyway.
Wilson, in a rare non comic turn, makes a likeable lead - despite his predilection for wearing jumpers under his shirts - and the usually abysmal Beckinsale even manages to convince as the “slightly older than normal hot chick in peril”.
Focusing on carefully crafted tension rather than special effects and gore, Smith’s script flies by – the 80 minute running time helps – and includes some decent sparring between the bickering leads.
Unfortunately, the final third runs out of surprises, possibly due to the lack of supporting characters and the incompetence of the bad guys soon stretches credibility. However, if you’re in the mood for a competently handled slice of gimmick free horror then Vacancy should keep you err… occupied.
CAST
Luke Wilson
Kate Beckinsale
Frank Whaley
Ethan Embry
DIRECTOR
Nimrod Antal
80 mins
POSTED...
Wed 13 Jun 2007 at 1:56pm
