Vacancy
(Sony Region 1 NTSC DVD)
(2007)
review by Head Cheeze

In the last few years, horror and suspense have seemingly taken a vacation from one another, with the former devolving into something of a cruel and angry caricature of itself, while the latter has been all but absent from mainstream cinema, save for the occasional film invariably featuring Ashley Judd as either a cop, a victim, or both. In 2007, however, we’ve been blessed with a pair of thrillers that have successfully reunited the two genres, and, hopefully, reignited both the audience’s desire to see these sorts of films, as well as Hollywood’s desire to make them. I’m, of course, talking about D.J. Caruso’s excellent “Disturbia”, and Nimrod Antel’s fun and frantic “Vacancy”; two films that owe a debt to Alfred Hitchcock, but, somewhat ironically, Vacancy – the one that borrows the least (in terms of plot) from the master of suspense – comes closest to recreating his magic.

A husband and wife drive through the desert, en route to what is, quite possibly, the last family gathering they’ll ever attend as a couple. After the recent death of their son, Amy and David Fox (Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson) have let the guilt, blame, and despair come between them, and the two have agreed to call it quits. As if their relationship wasn’t strained enough, the bickering couple finds themselves stuck together for one more night, after David’s “shortcut” and some engine trouble lands them in a rundown motel. The creepy motel manager (Frank Whaley) sets them up in a room, and, from there, things go to hell real fast. After a brief argument with what they think is an unruly neighbor, David decides to make the best of things and watch some movies, courtesy of the stack of videotapes beside the television. At first, David can’t tell if he’s watching really bad horror movies or really bad porno, but, when he notices that the rooms on the tapes are the same as the room he is sitting in, he soon realizes that he and Amy are the intended stars of the twisted motel’s next snuff production.

From its opening credits sequence – a delightfully retro, strings heavy homage to Hitchcock’s Psycho – to the surreal look and feel of the desert hotel and its eccentric inhabitants, Nimrod Antal shows an affinity for the classic Hitchcock style, and juices it up with plentiful scares to keep today’s audiences in check. This short and sleek thrill machine’s only major misstep comes with its rather abrupt and clichéd climax, but the white knuckle ride that takes us there makes it all worthwhile.

The DVD from Sony features are a little on the skimpy side, with the short Checking In: Behind-the-Scenes of Vacancy featurette, deleted scenes, and the extended versions of the “snuff” films made at the motel, which are shot on video and are far scarier when seen in short glimpses in the film proper rather than in their entirety.
Vacancy is a really fun and refreshingly classy thriller that’s traditional enough to entertain hardcore suspense enthusiasts, yet twisted enough (thanks to the snuff element) to keep the horror fans howling. Highly recommended.