Vacancy

Year: 2007
Director: Nimrod Antal
Cast: Luke Wilson, Kate Beckinsale, Frank Whaley, Ethan Embry

For the life of me, I can't recall any slasher type horror flicks I watched this year. Either I'm getting more absent-minded or there weren't any worth mentioning. I'm not exactly a big fan of these films, but if done right, they can be quite entertaining. To be honest, I'm not one of those people who watched the whole Scream trilogy or the I Know What You Did Last Summer films. But it's nice to be scared with these thrillers once in a while, isn't it?

Vacancy begins with an innovative opening credits sequence accompanied by the perfect music score, and then centres on David and Amy Fox, a couple driving home at night through the backroads instead of taking the interstate highway (yeah, you just know that's gonna be a bad idea). From the way David and Amy communicate with each other, it's obvious they're having problems, apparently caused by the death of their son.

Then their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, forcing them to take shelter at a nearby motel. Once in their room, they hear loud knocking on their room walls. The shady looking manager doesn't exactly do anything about it despite David's complaints. And then David plays some of the videotapes in their room, which feature people getting killed in brutal fashion, and realises that they were filmed in the same room he and Amy are in!

This is when the film takes its expected turn into full-on suspense mode, as the motel manager and his goons try to dispense with the couple. David and Amy on the other hand, have to put their differences aside and work together to stay alive.

The first thing I should tell you about Vacancy before you decide to see it (if you haven't yet), is to leave your logic at the door. It's probably the best way to enjoy it. I mean, I for one, would not spend an hour at this motel, let alone a night, after meeting a manager like that. He obviously looks like a scheming weasel, so you'd know something fishy is going on. The killers' overconfidence is also rather ludicrous, since they're stupid enough to leave evidence of their work in the motel room for David and Amy to discover, aside from taking their own sweet time to get the job done.

Performance wise, Wilson and Beckinsale give just the right amount of weight to their characters as the bickering couple who rediscover their need for each other when put in a life-or-death situation. It's nice to see Wilson in a serious movie after watching him in numerous comedies before. Director Nimrod Antal uses all the usual tricks to scare the audience, which works to some extent. But if you've seen other thrillers like Joyride and Breakdown, this one won't really impress you. The abrupt ending to its short 90 minute run doesn't help either. However, look at it as a straightforward thriller, and you just might enjoy it. At least it doesn't pretend to be anything it isn't.

A good way to spend one and a half hours, just remember to lower your expectations. (3.5/5)