Decent horror movie. Uninspired, but well-crafted and tense. B.

It was alright. I loved the banter between Luke and Kate in the beginning. I was really convinced they hated one another. But considering the rumors of their on-set fights, maybe they really did. Anywayz, when the horror actually began, it kinda got lame. It was never bad but when the movie was finished, following that crappy happy ending, I felt they didn't quite push it like they could've. The plot was there for a gruesome tale but it never quite achieved anything above tense.

I'd give it a C+.

Vacancy - A modest masterpiece

Vacancy is a perfect example of what happens when a truly gifted filmmaker finds himself operating in the confines of a genre. More often than not, the filmmaker will allow the narrative to fit into the clichés of the genre, while focusing his attention on the form. This can make for a beautiful, artistically satisfying film, but still create a hollow and shallow experience. Occasionally, the filmmaker will attempt to inject some interesting ideas and concepts into the tired formula (along side the aforementioned focus on form), and this will often result in a small scale masterpiece playing out inside the inherent limitations of the genre. Vacancy is that movie, and it is easily the best horror film released in the past year or so.

The gifted filmmaker in question here is Hungarian born (and unfortunately named) Nimrod Antal, who single-handedly elevates Vacancy from its archetype narrative and B-movie roots into something far more interesting - a critique on the "torture porn" craze sweeping the genre at the moment, and the best homage to Hitchcock's work (specifically Psycho) to come along in a long while.

It's clear Antal is playing on a different level right from the opening credits, which are a direct reference to Psycho in themselves, what with the vertical bars violently moving around to string instruments. Directly following the credits is a brilliantly staged and executed sequence that takes place in a car, centering on a discussion between Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale's characters. The two actors are framed in the car always by themselves (Beckinsale and Wilson are never in the same shot together here), and at the very edge of the frame (so it seems they are miles apart), providing a direct visual representation of the divide that has manifested between the two of them. He further escalates the tension in the scene by orchestrating disorienting shots that involve the rearview mirrors and the blurry road in front of the car. It's a masterful scene that calls attention to itself and to the viewer, demanding you watch the camera throughout the rest of the movie, and it pays off later as the camera becomes an integral part of the film's content.

The Psycho homage continues throughout the film, sometimes in subtle (the motel manager in this film, who essentially is Norman Bates, uses a bank of closed-circuit monitors to spy on his victims as opposed to a peephole, and has a collection of ceramic and stuffed birds in his office) and not so subtle (the entire concept of the movie) ways, but unlike so many Hitchcock imitations, it always works, and never feels sleazy or forced.

Antal also uses a filmmaking tool Hitchcock loved to great effect here - subtlety. A prime example of this is found in the movies centerpiece, the snuff tapes. Antal employs awkward camera angels so the truly nasty stuff is always just out of sight. We catch brief glimpses here and there, and it's enough to make your skin crawl. Antal grasps the basic understanding that it's often what we don't see that truly scares us, and he manipulates that to great effect.

The movie runs an ultra-brisk 80 minutes. It's not only trimmed of all its fat, it's positively seared off. This enables Antal to keep the tension high throughout the entire film, and while you might think the short runtime would force things like substance and depth out the window, you'd be wrong. As I mentioned earlier, Antal uses his camera to convey ideas and concepts as opposed to his characters (or dialogue). When Luke Wilson stumbles upon the snuff tapes for the first time, he looks right into the camera (and therefore right at the presumably packed auditorium) with a horrified expression on his face, thus indicting the viewer as a peer to the killers in the film - someone who gets off on the grisly events taking place. Antal wants to know what we find so fascinating about this kind of stuff. Why would someone want to watch a person get tortured and killed? He avoids falling into serious hypocrisy by shying away from onscreen violence and building his characters as real people we care about as opposed to the usual chainsaw fodder we find in movies like this.

Vacancy falls into and fully operates in its genre trappings (probably too often for some to enjoy), but it's all surrounded in a legitimate sense of artistry, depth, and subtlety. I don't know about you, but I don't think there are very many things out there better than a movie that can provide all of the comforts of a genre piece in an extremely well executed manner while also providing something to really dig your fingers into.

I loved it! It was terrifying, disturbing and intense as hell. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. Luke Wilson and especially Kate Beckinsale were very good. I'd rather see more horror films like this than the latest installment of a Hostel-like horror film. This movie understands tension and thrills. Highly, highly recommended!

A-

*Spoilers ahead*

I have to say that I was a fan of it as well, although I found it to be more of a thriller than a horror film. I enjoyed the relationship between Wilson and Beckinsale and bought into it when it turned a 180. I was also a fan of the setup and how the motel was well layered out. Somewhat ludicrous, but it worked nonetheless. I also enjoyed the performance of Frank Whaley. He was the perfect character actor to pull this off.

That saying, one thing bugged me about the ending. If I'm correct, Beckinsale dispatched two of the guys chasing after her, using her car, that just happened to be sitting in the back out of the way. Now I'm willing to take that leap of faith, because of the apple in the hotel room. Now if we are to assume that that is their car (It looks exactly like the one they were driving), we have to assume that the bad guys actually fixed the car! I understand stealing the car and keeping it for themselves, but shouldn't you fix the car, after you are assured that the couple you are going after is actually dead, especially considering that they think Beckinsale got away out the window? Bad guys make mistakes all the time in these type of films, but sweet christ that takes the cake.

However, that one major flaw aside, I still really enjoyed the film. And I also love that the ending was open-ended. It's not exactly a happy ending, but it's not a sad one either. I guess it all depends on what you think happens next.

A-

First thing that popped into my head when the opening credits started was Psycho. I liked it a lot. Short (actually, perfect length for this, I thought), but tense and exciting.

B+

As everyone knows I hate about 99% of horror films so I didnt have high expectations. I ended up liking the film. It didnt focus on gore or blood but on tension and actual scares. It was a decent little horror film

B-.

Pretty good horror flick. I must admit that i got scared a couple of times It was far better than i expected and Kate Beckinsale was abig plus although she was a total bitch at the first.

The only thing that i didnt like was the ending and Luke Wilson. The guy acted pretty weird.

B

I really liked this one too. The movie flowed very well and was intense at times. Beckinsale and Wilson were pretty likeable too. B+

This movie has made the "Razzie" nominee awards list this year for worst film. I don't really know why?

While this movie has its faults -- most of which occur in the film's 2nd half -- I didn't find this movie that bad. It started out well; however, began to seriously falter as it went on. Like a candle with a slowly diminishing flame... Still, not the worst thing I have seen this year. Although, I did think the ending was terrible (Luke Wilson has obvious supernatural abilities it seems). It was a complete cop-out, and out-and-out wishy washy.

B-

Sums up my own view pretty well.

C+


At first I actually thought it'd be better than expected. It remineded me a bit of the French horror flick Them, as it is also very minimalistic, with barely any characters besides the leads, set in a very limited, small setting and building up tension slowly, but effectively. It all worked very well, up until the final 15 minutes or so which were the dumbest cop-out I've seen in a movie like this in a long time and it really really dragged the film down to me.

Kate Beckinsale just happens to kill two killers at once with her car?! The hotel manager just happens to throw her on the gun, so she can conveniently shoot him? Luke Wilson happens to survive a whole night bleeding from his knife wound? That's a bit too much unrealism packed in only 10-15 minutes, even for a horror film like this.

So what we're left is a masterfully executed middle part of the flick and very innovative and well-done credits!

I'm with makeshift on this one, although I might've found the ending to be unrealistic too if I was less high at the time.

I didn't really find it that subtle, but it was pretty effective - at least until that end. Way too many lapses of logic for it to be ignored. I was genuinely scared at times, but that's about it. Far too much of a slasher film to be an effective Hitchcock homage.

B

I thought this was great. Loved the beginning when they were fighting. Hilarious.

I liked this a lot. It's not great but a surprisingly strong acting and suspense that very few horror films ever have anymore. It has its flaws sure, but ill take this over the umpteenth exorcism, ghost or torture porn crap. B+

This is a very good film. It made me feel a little disgusted at how real it seemed. Very effective, and caught me by surprise. Its sequel, though, is absolute trite.

B+