Vacancy

Review of Vacancy with Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson.

I wasn't quite sure what I was going to make of this, mostly due to the fact that Luke Wilson was playing one of the main characters. It's not as though he chooses parts in the most entertaining of films, let's be honest here. The only one that comes to mind - and I'm only saying this is entertaining, not good - is Home Fries. Even then I think Drew Barrymore saved the movie from the bottom of the heap.

There's not a great deal of originality here, and perhaps other movies have dealt with the story in a better way. But, despite that, it does scare your pants down to the ankles, although not quite off you. Or perhaps I'm turning into a big girl's blouse in my dotage about thrill / horror movies. But I doubt it. My own son's life ambition is to scare me. In seven years he hasn't achieved this. He really is trying too, bless his heart.

The movie begins with Kate and Luke in a car. She is waking up from a nap whilst he's trying to navigate after making the unwise decision to leave the interstate to drive through the unknown backcountry. But of course, you say. Standard horror film character mistake. You realise, fairly quickly, that all is not well in their marriage. Again, an original starter for a horror movie, the fighting couple. Yawn. Add to this another unoriginal theme, their only child died some time ago. Does anybody else hate it when they throw that into a movie ? Completely unnecessary. It's a cheap pull on the heart strings, the idea being that you're supposed to feel " Oh no, they've been through so much already". Instead, it takes something away from the story. Why can't they be fighting about something, anything, else ?

So. They start to experience car trouble after a near miss with a raccoon, ( little light relief there ) pull into a closed garage and have their first scare with a friendly mechanic popping up next to the window. When exactly did this " scare " idea start, anybody know ? Personally, I much prefer the creepy atmosphere set by old black and white horror movies as opposed to the "make 'em jump" tactics used today. Their mechanic friend redirects them back to the interstate after checking out their car - what a nice man - but within a mile it dies. They decide to walk back to the garage only to find it deserted, forcing them into the decision to check into the motel next door, which is run by a strangely humoured manager. The manager happens to be watching somebody screaming on the TV in the room behind the lobby. I mean, who wouldn't ? Just the kind of unfriendly atmosphere I look for in a motel. Of course, the assumption is that it's just your regular, run-of-the-mill horror flick. But we all know better, don't we ?

As they're settling into their room they're disturbed by an unseen person knocking first on their door, then the connecting door to their room. They call in the manager to sort out this annoying "guest" although he assures them that they are the only people staying there that night. If this were me ( if I'd been daft enough to get into this situation in the first place ) I'd hang around to see who the manager finds. But not Luke, he returns to the room, selects a video, and finds himself watching what he thinks is a scary slasher movie. Until he realises that said movie is set in the very room they are in. But does he inform his wife and get the hell out of there ? No. He starts to investigate, finding cameras recording them from various parts of the room. So the scene is set. Two stupid people, spending a painful amount of time, in a room where someone has died and where they have already been antagonised by an unseen stranger. As per the film they have just watched someone die in. WHY AREN'T YOU BOTH RUNNING ??

This first part took up almost half of the movie running time, or it seemed to. The remaining time was spent watching the two leads attempting to escape their fate. Initially, by contacting the police. Fail. Then by running about like headless chickens. Apart from the moments when Kate, oddly enough, found the time, and inclination, to take two additional naps to the one in the car. Admittedly, my first instinct at night, when scared, is to pull a duvet over my head. But the important distinction here is that I don't sleep under it at the same time as being frightened out of my wits.

In the special features commentary the directors and crew talked of taking a new direction with this movie. But I really didn't see anything to indicate that. It was exciting at times. We found ourselves on the verge of something happening, sitting on the edge of our seats practically. But then each time it fizzled out. I think these moments were supposed to bring about an atmosphere of unpredictability but instead we felt frustrated. You could see the exact moments where something more could have been done just by carrying these ideas further. THAT was the atmosphere we found ourselves in. Maddening to see a story ruined this way.

The actual idea, the entire premise behind this story, is that the antagonists are making a snuff movie. So dragging the story out added to the effect. To the characters. Apparently, this makes for a quality snuff film but not being someone who spends any time watching them I can't say what the prospective viewers would demand. But I truly can't see anyone paying to watch someone sit about for an entire hour or more waiting for a psycho to burst in and start stabbing happily away. There's build-up and then there's just " Get on with it !"

Luckily, we don't have to watch for an hour but still, there were breaks in the story that didn't make sense. You get the impression, from the previous movies these murderers had made, that they usually burst in shortly after the initial scare but not so with Kate and Luke. Perhaps they just liked looking at Kate, or perhaps their viewers wanted a little build-up. Well, in that case they definitely got it. And then some.

Frank Whaley did a great job of playing the quirkily odd and creepy manager. Definitely a convincing performance. Luke Wilson did better than expected, perhaps his style is maturing with age. Kate, I'm not sure. I usually like her but I'm not sure how I'd rate her in this. Perhaps that's down to the annoying character that she plays. I suppose in that sense she did a great job because you end up being very frustrated with her. " Why didn't you take a second and put the receiver back in the cradle you dozy cow !!"

Overall, not a bad movie. I'd give it 5 out of 10, it does give you a scare. Perhaps scarier still is the fact that in the Special Features you have the option to watch extended versions of the snuff films shown in the movie. I think not. Not my cup of tea but feel free.