- If you're not a member why not Start a FREE trial
- Already a member? Sign in here
- Get our newsletter
- Help
|
Vacancy
Coming on the heels of Paradise Lost and The Hitcher, (and before them, Hostel), this is yet another American film that cautions us not to leave the straight and narrow. In this case: the highway. David (Luke Wilson) thinks he's on a short cut. But it's late, he doesn't know the country, and he gets turned around after braking to avoid an animal in the road. Worse, the car starts making strange noises. Amy (Kate Beckinsale) is unimpressed. In fact, it soon becomes obvious she can barely tolerate her husband, and their marriage is on the rocks. A friendly mechanic takes a look under the hood, but they haven't gone far before the car conks out completely. It's a long trudge back to the only motel in the vicinity; a dreary place that looks like it hasn't been redecorated since the 1950s. Norman Bates would feel right at home. The receptionist, Mason (Frank Whaley) doesn't exactly inspire confidence either - when they come in, there are screams emanating from his office - but the garage is closed now, they really don't have any choice but to take the room and hope for some shut eye. 
Some hope! Although the adjacent room is empty, there's a persistent knocking on the connecting door. Trying to relax, David slips a videotape into the machine. Turns out to be a cheap horror movie of some kind. A couple in a hotel room, apparently terrified for their lives, attacked by masked assailants and butchered right there and then. Now that David looks more closely, the "set" seems oddly familiar. In fact it looks exactly like the room they're staying in. And isn't that a video camera hidden behind an air vent? It's an ingeniously nasty frame, and you know it's not going to be easy getting out of that motel room in one piece. (It helps that the snuff filmmakers aren't in any hurry to get the thing done. Presumably their audience appreciates a slow build up too.)Personally, I like to think I'd block the cameras so that even if they did kill me, at least they wouldn't get their footage. And that way, they couldn't watch my every move beforehand. But this doesn't occur to David and Amy. They're pretty resourceful in other ways though, and director Nimrod Antal (who made the exciting Hungarian film, Kontroll) keeps us guessing if they'll make it or not. 
Unlike the list of films at the top of this review, Vacancy also makes us care. Ironically, even though they behave badly to each other, Dave and Amy become more sympathetic through their flaws. Beckinsale, in particular, does an excellent job of implying the exhaustion, animosity and grief that have come between Amy and her husband. And the bond they share beneath it all. When push comes to shove, they'd each die to save the other. Intense but relatively restrained, Vacancy is self-aware (or hypocritical) enough to turn the tables on the gore-fiends who will be its primary audience. You could quibble about how some of it plays out as the mechanics take over, and I confess I found the climax underwhelming, but if Vacancy is no keeper it's a very solid rental. And watch out for Antal's name in future. He's definitely a talent. Tom Charity 
More information about Vacancy » Critics' Reviews
When their car breaks down just outside Nowheresville, USA, bickering couple Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale have no... read more on www.timeout.com Members' ReviewsReviews Voted Most HelpfulMost Recent Reviews |
Trevor Johnston, Time Out