By Isaiah Smith/Entertainment editor
Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale get stranded at the worst place ever in Vacancy.
The pair plays David and Amy Fox, an unhappily married couple who find themselves without a car, without a cell-phone and without a hope in a desolate motel.
Wilson and Beckinsale usually stick to lighter roles, such as Wilson’s role in My Super Ex-Girlfriend and Beckinsale’s role in Click, yet the duo surprisingly pulls off this snuff-film horror flick.
The dialogue is witty and concise as it sets the tone of the movie and the characters within a few minutes of the beginning.
Mason, played by Frank Whaley, is the owner of the motel as well as the leader of the snuff-filmmakers. Whaley is great in the whole greasy, creepy snuff-film director role.
Vacancy had me on the edge of my seat because of the pacing. This movie made me want to yell things at the screen like “He’s right there!” or “Grab the gun already!” It keeps the viewer both intrigued and horrified throughout the entire show.
Odds are no one will ever wind up in a place like this, but the whole car-breaking-down scenario is such a familiar one most people will relate. And there is always a chance a motel could turn out to be a snuff-film set; no one ever knows.
The Foxes are both well-developed characters, and viewers will find themselves rooting for their survival, instead of experiencing the usual apathy cliché slasher-flick characters seem to inspire.
Ethan Embry, star of Freaky Links, plays the mechanic who sabotages the engine in the Foxes’ car. Embry projects that disarming, innocent, trust-me vibe that really means someone is getting stabbed in the back.
Vacancy scared me because it actually could, in theory, happen. I mean vampires, werewolves, gremlins, most of those are most likely fictitious, but snuff-films, those are a plausible threat.
It would really suck to be in this situation, to not only be running and fighting for your life, but having it filmed for someone else’s sick pleasure is simply horrifying.
This is not a gory flick. It does not rely on blood and guts to get its point across. Vacancy is simply a thriller with more suspense than anyone can shake a stick at.
Wilson and Beckinsale should get some kind of award for their acting in this movie; both pushed to the next level and proved they are serious actors.
Overall, Vacancy is scary, thrilling and suspenseful with some heaving thrown in. I give it four stars. This is one of the best horror movies this year; check it out.
