Vacancy was a film I actually only saw a few months back, even though the film had been out for some time prior to this. Vacancy starts the gorgeous Kate Beckinsale, and Luke Wilson, brother of Owen Wilson. The film opened in April 2007; however it wasn't a smash hit horror film only ranking in as high as number 4.
Plot:
David and Amy fox, a married couple are driving back from a counselling session, when during the middle of the night their car breaks down in some random, unknown area, near the LA region. After a few minutes of arguing the couple decide that rather than staying in their car the whole night, they check into a local motel for the night, the comfort of a bed and somewhere warm soon takes over their minds. They approach a local motel, which is run by the local manager Mason (Frank Whaley), and request a room for the night, the run down motel looks dismal, however with no other choice they lay down for the night. Its whilst in their room, David soon comes across some video tapes, of what looks like amateur horror movies, at first everything seems fine, however David then begins to realise the rooms used for this horror film look a lot like their room, in fact it is their room. All panic starts to happen, as David and Amy soon realise their life is in danger, but by whom, what are they after. Will David and Amy escape untouched, or will their room just become vacant for the next victims?
My thoughts:
I was a huge fan of this film, regardless of mixed reviews, it really appealed to me; the film was all so reminiscent of a Hitchcock type thriller, with large amounts of suspense, thrills, violence and clever use of surrounding to make a film so griping. The plot was brilliant, sure it may have been done before, but the story, along with the dialect, and character performances really made this film, a solid, structure peace of cinematography. The film wasn't all out blood, violence; it was about creating suspenseful scenes, which would terrify the audience. It had everything you could ask for in a horror film, a beautiful damsel in distress, a great plot, a solid characterisation, and tons of suspense. The film is not only about how and if the couple escape, but it also shows how their relationship with one another changed from star to end. The arguing, bicaring couple, find away to stop all this, to work together and start to appreciate how much they love one another.
The villain in the film was again very creepy, sadistic and cruel; Frank Whaley does well to pull of a believable psychopath, whose hobby of making films takes a huge turn for the worst
All in all a solid story, which really does deliver everything one, would want in a movie.
Written by Mark L. Smith Starring Luke Wilson Kate Beckinsale Frank Whaley
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Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: Bharat Nalluri, Rob Bailey, Andy Wilson - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter, Lisa Faulkner
Thriller - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Timothy West, Neil Morrissey, Tara Fitzgerald, Annette Crosbie, Pauline Quirke, Rob Brydon, Denise Van Outen, John Thomson, Kevin Whately, David Suchet
Advantages: Surprisingly good acting in different roles for Wilson & Beckinsale - suspense throughout Disadvantages: Slightly cliched horror film but doesn't really have an effect on the film
emmajt81 25.06.2007 (25.06.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Vacancy (DVD)
Advantages: Surprisingly good acting in different roles for Wilson & Beckinsale - suspense throughout Disadvantages: Slightly cliched horror film but doesn't really have an effect on the film
emmajt81 25.06.2007 (25.06.2007)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Vacancy (DVD)
Oct 24th, 2008
very helpful by (87%):
helpful by (13%):
