Vacancy

Vacancy is a great movie with a good story plot to it. 2 people David and Amy fox (Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson) David takes a short cut as he says and ends up getting lost so they meet this guy to try and fix there car. Then once there back driving again there car breaks down. They then go back to the Pinewood Motel and from then on its crazy. First of all theres bangs coming from the door and they go out and no one is there. David finds videos of people getting killed in the motel then when he's watching the video he soon finds out its the hotel where he is. The he finds there spying on him and Amy from camera's all over the room. From then there hotel manager and his men are trying to kill them. The ending though was weak and really was unrealistic once you have seen the movie you will get what i mean but I wont say what happens as I don't want to spoil it for you.The movie i would admit would be scary if you were watching it in a motel because it may give you the feeling your been watched in a room which may happen in some places and thats what makes the movie scary. The acting is good Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale have worked good together. Playing the hotel manager is Frank Whaley he plays the part good but keeps it scary. Ethan Embry and Scott G. Anderson play the murderers which they do keep it up well.The movie from me is worth watching even if the ending was bad.

This was one of those "should have read the write-up" mistakes on a recent DVD hire. And with Wilson, Beckinsale and others lending credibility to what looked like an interesting Hitchcockian homage, how wrong could we go?

Well, very.

Wilson gets about a line and a half of dialogue of any substance, while poor old Beckinsale must have been whispering to herself ('just think of the money'), as her entire casting was based on her ability to look slightly frightened or slightly moody, in equal measures. These are the two main characters, who - through a number of tired and incongruous circumstances - find themselves at the mercy of a dark night in a grubby motel in the middle of nowhere.

And of course, the hopelessly predictable plot never fails you and the events that unfold are as unsurprising as they are ludicrous. The attempt to make this somehow plausible is all but forgotten; the opening 10 minutes of dialogue by way of explanation of situation is contrived, silly and facile.

The night-porter-cum-manager-cum-slightly-not-all-there-likely-bad-guy played by Whaley is probably the one acting role anyone would have relished in this movie. He's given some lattitude to be quite sinister indeed, and is ultimately quite believeable.

However what we don't do is spend any time dealing with the 'why' of it all. He's running a group of snuffers, but there's no attempt to rationalise it, no attempt to play that up, and apart from the 2-dimensional manner in which this fact is presented to the audience (via video depiction), the hotel manager is simply introduced as the standard-issue 'bad guy' and that's all you're given. What got left on the cutting room floor I don't know but I think it might have been important. I fail to understand that a potential rich and difficult source into which to tap - the notorious snuff movie concept - was all but overlooked; ok it is referenced, but that's all. What a wasted opportunity.

Meanwhile, back to Whaley's desperate attempts to make this a good movie... his 2 cohorts are meaningless and characterless, so he's barking orders with no response forthcoming, no 2-way dialogue, no development. No wonder he looks so frustrated in every scene.

This is film stereotyping 101 - the cop is fat and stupid, the hotelier is sinister and deceitful, the 'hero' is a blundering oaf, the heroine is sassy yet scared, the supporting cast are monosyllabic thugs, the hotel is dirty (a cockroach steals one scene!), the night is dark, the car breaks down, there's no phone signal. Please.

I'm afraid its a far cry from Psycho or other noiresque portrayals, from which it shamelessly steals half its ideas (while failing to offer anything fresh). The imagery is run of the mill, the pace is tiring, the dialogue fatuous, and the attempts to make it plausible cursory at best.

Other reviewers have got this down as a great movie, someone on Amazon even referred to this as a 'riveting thriller'. I didn't find it riveting or thrilling. I found it slightly dull, mainly silly, and I think those involved will want to forget it.

It might not suprise you to learn that I recommend not to bother with this.

Would recommend this film to anyone, especially those who hide behind their hands knowing there is going to be something to make you jump out of your seat!!

Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale offer a move away from their normal film genre in this horror 'vacancy'.

Its based upon a married couple David Fox (Wilson) and Amy Fox (Beckinsale) who are just going through a divorce but are traveling back from visiting Amy's family from a family party, not wanting to share the news of divorce on a joyous occasion they decided to grin, bear it and tell them at a later date.

However on the drive home they find themselves taking a 'shortcut' and getting lost, also experiencing car trouble, they stumble across a garage someone is luckily awake as its very late and takes a look at their car saying all is will however after driving a further mile they breakdown and decided to go back to the garage it would seem that the mechanic has gone home for the night and with a motel next door they go and ask if they know when the mechanic will be back, they are greeted by the very creepy hotel manager who informs them he wont be back until the morning but they are more than welcome to stay the night as he has a 'vacancy!' (see what i did there?)

However once in the room they find themselves isolated and being watched, will they ever make it out alive?

Most importantly though is this film any good and honestly...yes it is! It was genuinely quite scary and eerie from the moment you meet the hotel manager you are put on edge and if definitely has its 'jump out of your seat moments'.

Its definitely no Exorcist but it offer a change from the run of the mill teenager slasher movies therefore I would recommend giving it a watch! Enjoy!

Vacancy stars Luke Wilson & Kate Beckinsale as a couple that find themselves stranded in the middle of nowhere when their car packs up. With no other option, they head to the nearest shabby motel. The couple soon realise all is not well and the manager has plans for the couple to be his victims and star in their very own snuff film...

The film is somewhat of a horror cliche, with the plot being a recipe for trouble. It does, however, still manage to create the feeling that anything could happen at any time. You get a real sense of fear from the two victims and the appointment of a married couple as the main protagonists makes a refreshing change from all the teen flicks that oversaturate the horror market these days.

All in all, not quite Hitchcock but delivers plenty of shocks to keep you going. If you like thrillers I would strongly recommend it.