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In this
DTV prequel to the 2007 theatrical horror
thriller, three friends check in at a run-down motel
late one night, only to find out that they've just
become the involuntary stars of a snuff film. Will
anyone live to tell what's really going on at the
motel from hell?
Here we go again, another DTV sequel to a theatrical
horror flick. You know, it's really a shame that
they didn't do this back when teen slashers were
popular as I would've loved to see Valentine 2 and
The Pool 2. Anyway, Vacancy 2 is actually a sequel
that lives up to its predecessor. The first movie
really wasn't anything special and Vacancy 2 even
manages to improve upon the concept - borrowing
slightly from The Strangers. Sure enough, it's as
generic as they come, I mean, this story has been
told so many times that it's not that exciting
anymore but as mindless entertainment goes, Vacancy 2
does what it's intended to do.
The plot is pretty much the same as in the first
movie only with a less well-known cast (nevertheless,
their performances are almost just as strong). This
time we have three teens starring as the involuntary
stars in the snuff film and a lot more back-story so
that we find out how the whole thing really started.
You know, this was actually a pretty nice touch and
I really did buy into the back-story which made sense
in some weird way. I love how things just spiral
out of control in movies. The movie naturally doesn't
look as expensive as the first one though and I would
say that the production budget was probably just
slightly higher than the one for Joy Ride 2 but lower
than for Rest Stop.
Other than that, I actually think that this sequel
improves, even if just a little, in every department
on the first film. It's got more action, more
suspense, more adrenaline-pumping chase scenes and
pretty much everything you could ask for from a
DTV horror sequel. A lot of this probably has to
do with the fact that Mark L. Smith returned to
write the sequel as well (something which is very
rare with DTV sequels). It was really nice to see
that he wasn't going to let someone go and destroy
his movie. Director Eric Bross also seems to have
cared a lot about the movie, and he does a stellar
job behind the camera as well - clearly a vast
improvement from Vampire Bats.
Vacancy 2 isn't a movie that you will want in your
DVD collection, it's a rent-it-and-forget-it movie
but a pretty damn good one at that. It's entertaining
enough to keep you interested in the plot and for
a DTV sequel it's surprisingly decent. Worth checking
out for sure but probably not more than once.
Some minor gore.
What can I say? It was okay.
The perfect time-waster. Not great but compared to
other DTV horror sequels, it's certainly better
than one would expect. Actually improves upon the
predecessor and has a much faster pace and broader
appeal. Definitely worth checking out.
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