David O'ConnellVacancy
August 26th 2008 04:22
Though it steals lazily from countless sources, I’m still surprised this nasty but very intense little suspense/horror film missed a cinema release in Australia. Admittedly the casting of Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale seems a disaster in waiting, but they pull off their roles with enough conviction to make this Breakdown-meets-Psycho-meets- Mute Witness thriller a fun and surprisingly bloodless ride; a running time of less than 80 minutes means that the pacing is tight too which works to its advantage.
Wilson and Beckinsale play David and Amy Fox who’ve recently lost a child and are on their way back from an anniversary party. Their marriage is clearly not holding up well under the strain and, lured by frustration and fatigue, they find themselves off the beaten track, on a remote road in the middle of the night.
It’s the most obvious and well-worn set-up in horror movie history, and of course their car breaks down, meaning they’ll have to spend the night at the dodgiest looking motel in all of backwoods U.S.A! The manager is the creepily suggestive Mason (Frank Whaley), who greets his only guests with the offer of the ‘Honeymoon’ suite.
For a bit of light entertainment before turning in David decides to pop in a few of the video tapes lying around for perusal and discovers disturbing and violent images. They seem to be horrific snuff films, in a room which bears a striking resemblance to the one they’re in. With a multitude of camera angles evident David begins a search and discovers they are indeed being watched and about to become stars in their very own movie!
Bursts of loud wrapping on their doors soon after become the trigger for a terror campaign and the fight for survival begins as the couple’s nerves are systematically worn down by this assault which will last through the night.
I’ve been delaying the need to mention the director’s name because it seems like a gag, but Nimrod (yes, Nimrod!) Antal, making his first English-language film, does an excellent job of building and maintaining the dread and suspense as the couple find ways of outwitting their attackers in a desperate bid for survival.
Brilliant cinematographer Andrzej Sekula, who got his start in American films on Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, provides the film with a gritty, subdued pall which, in conjunction with the seedy production design and the entire night time setting of the film, makes the entire scenario so believable.
Paul Haslinger, a former member of Tangerine Dream, has written possibly his first acceptable solo score, with a striking opening and closing titles theme which effectively taps into the mood of the film, and even his simplistic electronic dissonance helps rather than hinders the film in some scary moments in between.
Luke Wilson further defies all preconceptions of him to last the distance as a competent dramatic actor, deep in the trenches, in desperate survival mode.
Beckinsale, who surely gets the majority of her roles based on her sultry good looks rather than talent, is also a pleasant surprise, showing some decent range for once. But she’s still got a long way to go to erase any residual memories of the godawful Underworld films.
The sadly underused Frank Whaley, who I’ve liked since the brilliant Swimming with Sharks in the mid-90’s but have too rarely sighted since, is a revelation as the creepy, and later, unhinged manager.
Vacancy was a real surprise packet for me, a highly derivative, but nonetheless compelling, edge-of-the-seat thriller, right through to its admittedly weak, cop-out ending.
Wilson and Beckinsale play David and Amy Fox who’ve recently lost a child and are on their way back from an anniversary party. Their marriage is clearly not holding up well under the strain and, lured by frustration and fatigue, they find themselves off the beaten track, on a remote road in the middle of the night.
It’s the most obvious and well-worn set-up in horror movie history, and of course their car breaks down, meaning they’ll have to spend the night at the dodgiest looking motel in all of backwoods U.S.A! The manager is the creepily suggestive Mason (Frank Whaley), who greets his only guests with the offer of the ‘Honeymoon’ suite.
For a bit of light entertainment before turning in David decides to pop in a few of the video tapes lying around for perusal and discovers disturbing and violent images. They seem to be horrific snuff films, in a room which bears a striking resemblance to the one they’re in. With a multitude of camera angles evident David begins a search and discovers they are indeed being watched and about to become stars in their very own movie!
Bursts of loud wrapping on their doors soon after become the trigger for a terror campaign and the fight for survival begins as the couple’s nerves are systematically worn down by this assault which will last through the night.
I’ve been delaying the need to mention the director’s name because it seems like a gag, but Nimrod (yes, Nimrod!) Antal, making his first English-language film, does an excellent job of building and maintaining the dread and suspense as the couple find ways of outwitting their attackers in a desperate bid for survival.
David and Amy bunkered down for the evening
Brilliant cinematographer Andrzej Sekula, who got his start in American films on Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, provides the film with a gritty, subdued pall which, in conjunction with the seedy production design and the entire night time setting of the film, makes the entire scenario so believable.
Paul Haslinger, a former member of Tangerine Dream, has written possibly his first acceptable solo score, with a striking opening and closing titles theme which effectively taps into the mood of the film, and even his simplistic electronic dissonance helps rather than hinders the film in some scary moments in between.
Frank Whaley as the manager
Luke Wilson further defies all preconceptions of him to last the distance as a competent dramatic actor, deep in the trenches, in desperate survival mode.
Beckinsale, who surely gets the majority of her roles based on her sultry good looks rather than talent, is also a pleasant surprise, showing some decent range for once. But she’s still got a long way to go to erase any residual memories of the godawful Underworld films.
The sadly underused Frank Whaley, who I’ve liked since the brilliant Swimming with Sharks in the mid-90’s but have too rarely sighted since, is a revelation as the creepy, and later, unhinged manager.
Vacancy was a real surprise packet for me, a highly derivative, but nonetheless compelling, edge-of-the-seat thriller, right through to its admittedly weak, cop-out ending.
You don't want to be breaking down near this place in the middle of the night!
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Comment by Cibbuano
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Movies and Life
Tracy
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Nice review, and yeah, Whaley was excellent.
I have a crush on Beckinsale, so that helped.
Comment by Cibbuano
20/20 Filmsight
Science News
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by Kitty Kaboom
Naughty Stereo
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
She needs to take a few more risks - I remember the disappointingly blatant body double for that scene in Haunted as well!
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
In my opinion it really wasn't until Laurel Canyon (2002) that she fully blossomed into the sultry desiree she is today.