The film Text copyright (c) Filmverdict 2006-present. Any film titles and artwork used are copyright of their respective owners.
Motels are horrible places with creepy owners which rarely have any guests staying and where you will likely be murdered. This is what the movies tell us. Vacancy takes inspiration from Psycho and its imitators by setting its events largely within the confines of a dated motel and its immediate area. The basic storyline couldn't exactly be called original: people get lost taking a "shortcut" through some creepy surroundings, their car breaks down, and the locals aren't particularly friendly. It therefore follows the formula of hundreds of other genre movies before it, but thankfully it manages to reproduce the plot of numerous forerunners in a gripping and even quite classy way.
The central pairing of Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale play a bickering, soon-to-divorce husband and wife. It's common in recent horror movies for the main characters to be teenagers or gap year travellers as this is the sort of age demographic that such films generally aim for, so the decision to go with a couple in their mid-thirties makes for a refreshing change. Wilson's casting is a particularly unconventional pick, known as he is more for lightweight comedies and for being Owen's brother. Here he makes his character likeable and sympathetic, meaning that we actually do care about what happens to him. The side effect of his endearingness is that Beckinsale's whiny, grumpy estranged wife is at first hard to like, but as the film progresses she manages to reign in her character's more annoying aspects with a solid performance. The script manages to make the characters more than simple two-dimensional cutouts by hinting at some history that has led to their current state of antipathy and avoiding any situations where they take idiotic or illogical courses of action.
Where the film scores most of its points is in its excellent escalation of tension in the first half when the characters first check into their gloomy, shadowy room (is there ever any other sort in motels?) and soon discover that it has been used as a setting for snuff films, before realising that they themselves are being watched by several cameras. There's a 30-minute stretch in the middle of the film that is genuinely one of the most suspenseful sequences I've seen in a long time, with Hungarian director Nimród Antal orchestrating some excellent sudden frights and sustaining a palpable sense of unease. When the action really builds towards the climax the tension does, rather inevitably, dissipate to a degree, but it remains very engrossing with no opportunities for the viewer's attention to waver. Indeed, the main problem with the film is its length; at a mere 80 minutes it's over in the blink of an eye. Still, I'd certainly prefer an exciting 80 minutes over a boring and overstretched 120.
The summary
Vacancy will vacate the memory (sorry, couldn't resist) pretty quickly but it's an efficient and suspenseful ride. It scores a nil for originality but for entertainment value it satisfies quite successfully.
