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Product Description
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 10/28/2008 Run time: 85 minutes Rating: R

Amazon.com

A confined setting is a useful tool for thriller-makers, and Vacancy is definitely boxed in: a rundown motel way, way off the Interstate, the kind of place where unsuspecting movie characters go to get stabbed to death in the shower. If Vacancy doesn't quite live up to its Hitchcockian forbears, at least it provides 80 minutes of well-designed mayhem. You know somebody's paying attention just from the opening credits, a clever vortex with pounding music by Paul Haslinger. Then we meet unhappy couple Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale, driving along in the dark and forced to stay at the Pinewood Motel after a car breakdown. There's a night man (Frank Whaley, decadent) in the tradition of Dennis Weaver's Touch of Evil gargoyle, but the real mess of trouble is waiting in room number 4. Director Nimrod Antal, who scored a stylish international hit with the Hungarian thriller Kontroll, squeezes maximum juice out of the Route 66 atmosphere of the motel, although the movie doesn't get under your skin the way Kontroll did. Wilson and Beckinsale are a little too marquee-namish for this kind of heavy-breathing work, and the script doesn't give them much to play with. But hey, it's not that kind of movie. Where it really belongs is on the top half of a drive-in double bill, or maybe as a nightmare-scenario TV movie from the Seventies. Either way, it works. --Robert Horton

Stills from Vacancy (click for larger image)

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By the Director

Customer Reviews: Read 143 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

I didn't see some of the creepiest parts coming...scared me! June 23, 2007
42 out of 48 found this review helpful

If you've seen every horror movie out there, maybe this one won't do anything for you. It definitely kept me watching for these reasons:

1. The couple, Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale, are having marital troubles. This is a nice twist on the formulaic "couple is in love, has sex, gets killed" theme. You won't find that here.

2. They end up in a really run-down motel run by a truly whacky guy.

3. Things get very frightening and it isn't the usual slasher flick. There are some nice twists and turns here...well, maybe not nice..but definitely riveting.

4. I was surprised several times and screamed my head off. You don't really want me to reveal much more, do you? If you're looking for a horror film, I assume you want to know if you're likely to get scared silly. Based on my reaction, I'd say yes. I also wanted to know how this was going to affect this couple's marriage. I mean, stick two estranged people in a motel with a psycho and see how that changes their perspective...

I do have to add that this isn't the BEST horror movie I've ever seen but it does the job.

5 out of 5 stars

Great film June 15, 2007
18 out of 32 found this review helpful

Truly origional horror classic. I went into this not expecting much but it turned out to be totally great horror movie. I wont get into much i'll just stress "SEE THIS!"

3 out of 5 stars

Spend the night, wake up dead April 23, 2007
10 out of 13 found this review helpful

3.5 stars. David (Luke Wilson) and Amy (Kate Beckinsale), who recently lost their son, find themselves forced to spend the night in a seedy motel after their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. They soon realize that there are hidden cameras in the room and judging by the tape in the VCR, which shows couples being assaulted and killed in the very same room they're in, they're in for a long, brutal night.

This is the kind of movie you watch thinking, "this could actually happen in real life" and it just makes it even more frightening. A very interesting premise indeed for a horror film, well-shot, and well played by the lead actors, but sadly culminates to an anticlimactic ending. Director Nimrod Antal shows promise, helming a claustrophobic horror film in many imaginative ways. The first half hour is intriguing and very unnerving. To imagine one in a situation like that of the two protagonists is simply terrifying. Unfortunately, the script fell into a lot of cliches and the characters started doing all those things nobody would do in real life. First off, when you realize you're in a situation like this, GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE!! David and Amy kept beating around the bush and wanting to find out who was hammering down their door; in real life, I doubt anybody would've stayed in that room much longer after the first episode of relentless pounding. They would still have had time to hit the ground running.

All that aside, the film did succeed in making you care for its central characters and make you hate the antagonists. It even managed to make me jump once or twice and took me by surprise with one of its twists. Most of the film revolves around our couple escaping through underground tunnels and hiding out in dark corners. The film moved at a quick pace and surprisingly does a great job of keeping the story engaging within its limited options (very few characters, setting of a motel, a few hours of night to resolve everything). There are a few plot holes (which I can't discuss here without ruining certain parts) and the ending to me felt botched; as if they didn't know how to tie everything together.

I can't recommend this film to everyone, but if you're a horror fan or have a fear of motels, then, by all means, you should definitely check in for the night; Vacancy has a few scares in store for you!

3 out of 5 stars

Slasher therapy July 2, 2007
9 out of 15 found this review helpful

This is like a reality show where they use shock therapy as a substitute for marriage counseling. David and Amy Fox are just about washed up as a couple when their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. Their only option is to stay at a creepy hellhole motel, run by a remnant of the `70s, and hope that they can get help in the morning.

They find some video tapes in their room, but instead of the dirty videos they're expecting, they get what seems to be a home made horror flick. Naturally, they spend the rest of the night honing their survival skills, and trying to get the better of a bunch of one dimensional dummies.

As a slasher movie this has some bloody bits, but is completely lacking in the gore department. As a thriller, there are a few good jumps, but other movies have done it a lot better. As a romance it's so lacking in chemistry that even the couples' sweat and tears don't seem to have sodium chloride in common.

In summary, this is a B-grade movie, starring two A-grade actors, and if you watched this because of Kate Beckinsale, then I'm afraid you've been Punk'd.

In my opinion, with a little help from "Lady Madonna" and The Beatles:

Really atrocious, shoestring offering
Wonder how they managed to make this thing
Who found the money to pay both Luke and Kate
Didn't they see this movie was second rate

Stranded far from home without a suitcase
Creepy hotel's sleazy, barring none
Norman Bates appears behind the counter
They should have run

Nasty hotel room, roaches by the light
How will these two manage to stay the night

Ah ah ah ah...
They should have run

David and Amy sitting on the bed
Looking at snuff movies filling them with dread

Oh this awful night seems never ending
They tried their best to see the morning sun
Crawling through the tunnels, doom impending
See how they run

Low budget movie, just a bad repeat
Wonder how they'll manage to make ends meet

Rated: 2.5 stars

Amanda Richards, July 2, 2007

4 out of 5 stars

A motel where you check in but never check out 3 1/2 stars August 15, 2007
9 out of 15 found this review helpful

Although it becomes a bit predictable by the end of the second act, "Vacancy" breathes new life into the suspense thriller genre by taking an unusual premise, a married couple at the end of their relationship and mixing it up with dazzling techique to create a great little thriller. Director Nimrod Antal and the writer take an unsual tact by actually creating characters we care about that are having major martial problems. Although it becomes predictable by the second act, I was sucked in to the film enough so that I was willing to stick around and finish the ride.

SPOILERS*

David (Luke Wilson) and Amy Fox (Kate Beckinsale)are stranded in the middle of nowhere while on a trip. They end up staying at a ratty looking motel. The creepy manager (well played by Frank Whaley in a role that echoes both "Psycho" and "Touch of Evil")and dilapated appearence of the motel hint that it isn't going to be a quiet night for the couple. What David & Amy don't realize is that the survival of their marriage is the least of their concerns.

END OF SPOILERS*

A taunt, well directed thriller, "Vacancy" isn't deep--it's a nail biting thriller that doesn't take the easy like a lot of slasher flicks that rely a bit too heavily on blood and gore. "Vacancy" works due to the appealing work of Luke Wilson, Kate Beckinsale and the creepy performance of Frank Whaley. Unlike a lot of thrillers, the backstory for the characters is actually interesting.

Using his skills in film technique Antal manages to create suspense electing NOT to take lazy approach that we see in all these torture porn films (yes Eli Roth I am talking about your films "Hostel" and "Hostel II") simply putting more gore on screen. The film reminds me of "Identity" and "Breakdown" (and, of course, the granddaddy of all these films "Psycho") in that the director digs deep into the characters to help create suspense during the first half of the film. Sure the film has a couple of cheap thrills but on the whole the makers of "Vacancy" opt for using their characters and the situations to generate suspense as opposed to just throwing blood and guts at the audience. Those expecting a film like "Hostel" or "The Hills Have Eyes II" will be disappointed but those expecting solid performances and skillful direction will enjoy this film.

"Vacancy" reflects the skill that John Carpenter or even Hitchcock might have displayed at the top of their game. What makes the film unique is that the director and writer doesn't make this into your typical slasher film developing the main characters so that we can identify with them and root for them once they are on the run from the killers.

The transfer is top notch with solid blacks, a sharp looking picture and bold colors. The extras on the disc are a bit disappointing. We get a deleted scene, a couple of the "unedited" films that Amy & David see when they put the videos on their room and a short featurette on the making of the film. I'm a bit disappointed that there isn't a commentary track from the writer or director but, really, the film kind of speaks for itself with its marvelous set pieces. We do get a lot of previews for forthcoming flicks. I didn't watch the pan & scan version included on the same disc so have no comments on how it looks, sounds, etc.

You might want to check into this motel. You won't get any sleep but you will get a suspenseful filled thrill ride. The film takes some unexpected twists and turns in its plot that will keep you on the edge of your seat. 3 1/2 stars.

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