Ever Since Norman Bates’ family issues were worked out onscreen in Psycho back in the 1960s the humble motel room has become a staple of the horror/thriller genre. The notion of being stranded in the middle of nowhere and having to stay in a strange and lets face it, usually rather grotty room surrounded by strangers is a familiar one and it’s a formula that Vacancy takes full advantage of.
Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson play a bickering couple whose relationship has fallen apart since the death of their son. Driving home one night their car breaks down, forcing them to stay in aforementioned creepy hotel. The film then quickly ticks off the appropriate genre boxes of dodgy gas station attendant, creepy receptionist guy and unsettling room which makes you feel that the couple would be better suited sleeping in their car. Or in the middle of the forest surrounded by poisonous snakes for that matter.
Still making the best of a bad situation they decide to see the night out, through this we find out more about the couples past which is quite effectively done, both actors play it well and Wilson in particularly impresses, managing to shake most of his typical comedy stylings for the role. Things turn bad though when they, for no particular reason, decide to check out the rooms supply of video tapes, all of which show couple being tortured and killed in the very room they are watching the videos from.
From the here the tensions ranks up the film enters its most effective section. There are some genuinely tense and scary moments as the room comes under attack and they have to find ways of escaping. However it soon becomes apparent that the filmmakers’ bag of tricks is quickly exhumed, simple nagging logic questions start to raise in the mind, and the believability slips. Unfortunately this is a state that continues to the end as the situation gets more fantastical, the lynchpin moment when you sense it all fall apart comes about an hour in where, separated and alone Kate Beckinsale’s character decided to lie down and have a nap in the ventilation duct while her husband is missing and there are people out to kill her. Seriously.
It’s a shame though that what could have been a taught little thriller so frequently gives in to these dramatic devices that pull you out of the moment, and with underdeveloped bad guys with no clear motivation it is merely the attachment to the main couple that pulls you through. Still even this is not enough to save the film at the end of the day, and whilst is not a terrible film by any means, it is one that fails to live up to its effective, if derivative, opening half hour.
A mish mash of horror cliché’s that never quite gel, the tension filled opening impresses but even with the short runtime this feels stretched out beyond credibility leaving it a bit of a mess. A shame.
Ever Since Norman Bates’ family issues were worked out onscreen in Psycho back in the 1960s the humble motel room has become a staple of the horror/thriller genre. The notion of being stranded in the middle of nowhere and having to stay in a strange and lets face it, usually rather grotty room surrounded by strangers is a familiar one and it’s a formula that Vacancy takes full advantage of.
Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson play a bickering couple whose relationship has fallen apart since the death of their son. Driving home one night their car breaks down, forcing them to stay in aforementioned creepy hotel. The film then quickly ticks off the appropriate genre boxes of dodgy gas station attendant, creepy receptionist guy and unsettling room which makes you feel that the couple would be better suited sleeping in their car. Or in the middle of the forest surrounded by poisonous snakes for that matter.
Still making the best of a bad situation they decide to see the night out, through this we find out more about the couples past which is quite effectively done, both actors play it well and Wilson in particularly impresses, managing to shake most of his typical comedy stylings for the role. Things turn bad though when they, for no particular reason, decide to check out the rooms supply of video tapes, all of which show couple being tortured and killed in the very room they are watching the videos from.
From the here the tensions ranks up the film enters its most effective section. There are some genuinely tense and scary moments as the room comes under attack and they have to find ways of escaping. However it soon becomes apparent that the filmmakers’ bag of tricks is quickly exhumed, simple nagging logic questions start to raise in the mind, and the believability slips. Unfortunately this is a state that continues to the end as the situation gets more fantastical, the lynchpin moment when you sense it all fall apart comes about an hour in where, separated and alone Kate Beckinsale’s character decided to lie down and have a nap in the ventilation duct while her husband is missing and there are people out to kill her. Seriously.
It’s a shame though that what could have been a taught little thriller so frequently gives in to these dramatic devices that pull you out of the moment, and with underdeveloped bad guys with no clear motivation it is merely the attachment to the main couple that pulls you through. Still even this is not enough to save the film at the end of the day, and whilst is not a terrible film by any means, it is one that fails to live up to its effective, if derivative, opening half hour.
A mish mash of horror cliché’s that never quite gel, the tension filled opening impresses but even with the short runtime this feels stretched out beyond credibility leaving it a bit of a mess. A shame.
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