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Amy and David
get stuck at a sleazy motel after their
car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. At first it
just seems like their worst nightmare since their room
is filthy, filled with bugs and there's not even any
reception on the TV... but this nightmare is just
about to get even worse. They soon discover that they're
the next stars in a snuff film, and they have to figure
out a way to get out of the motel alive.
Vacancy probably aimed at a PG-13 rating but failed
because this Screen Gems release is not only very dry,
but it also feels rather aimed at the teen crowd.
Perhaps this is the reason to why it disappointed in
the box office, much like the remake of The Hitcher?
Still, some PG-13 generated horror flicks are pretty
decent, and surprisingly enough, Vacancy is one of
them. It's got a great atmosphere, a decent (if not
a bit clichéd) storyline, and two excellent stars.
The movie revolves around Amy and David who are just
in the middle of a messy divorce. They're on their
way to a party Amy's mom is having, and Amy hasn't
told her parents that their getting divorced yet.
Things go from bad to worse when David decides to take
a shortcut and ends up getting some car problems in
the middle of nowhere. Now they're stuck at a sleazy
motel for the night with an even sleazier manager.
Well, we've all seen the trailer so I don't think that
I need to tell you what happens next.
As most of you know, Vacancy is a snuff-oriented film
and while I do think the concept is cool, Vacancy
does have its weaknesses. There's the obvious fact
that, since the movie seems to have been originally
made for the teen crowd, the snuff scenes are very
tame - which to me drew away from the experience. Then
there's the fact that you can predict the entire
storyline after five minutes since it's so incredibly
clichéd (the underground tunnel thing was just too
obvious for me). Finally, we don't really get a whole
lot of background information on why these people are
making snuff films. If they're only selling it to one
person, they'd hardly make a profit right?
Still, there are some genuinely suspenseful scenes in
here and I have to say that I overall quite enjoyed
this horror thriller. It sure beats the crap out of
most of Screen Gems recent teen thrillers, that's for
sure. Just don't go in with too high expectations,
it's more of a thriller than it is a horror movie,
which is a shame really because it had so much
potential as a pure horror flick. Ultimately, I still
think this is worth catching at a cinema though.
Not enough, some minor blood.
Very tight and slick, definitely helped to set a creepy
atmosphere for the movie.
Vacancy is an edge-of-the-seat thriller for sure but it
does not come without flaws. It's way too clichéd and
predictable for my taste, but I still did enjoy it
rather much - more than I thought that I would. If
you're a fan of Hitchcock-like thrillers, Vacancy might
be the movie for you.
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