Vacancy
by Nimr?d Antal
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Ethan Embry, Frank Whaley, Kate Beckinsale, Luke Wilson, Scott G. AndersonDirector: Nimr?d Antal
Brand: Sony
Cinematographer: Andrzej Sekula
Editor: Armen Minasian
Producer: Brian Paschal
Producer: Glenn S. Gainor
Producer: Hal Lieberman
Producer: Stacy Cramer
Writer: Mark L. Smith
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); French (Dubbed), Unknown
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 85 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-08-14
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Sony Pictures
Movie Reviews of Vacancy
Movie Review: The Fantastic Mr. Fox & Wife Get a Room for the Night
Summary: 4 Stars
"Vacancy" is not your average thriller/slasher film. To the untrained eye, it provides nearly an hour and a half of Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale just trying to stay alive in a sleaze-bag motel while being constantly harassed by the unknown locals. The film seems to follow a structure, it seems to be predictable, but then - it transforms into something diabolically more. "Vacancy" is one of those undercut films that blends the power of a modern Hitchcock with just the right twists to keep new audiences on the edge of their seat. "Vacancy", upon watching it a second time, is more than just slash and grab; it is a cineophile dream come true.
In the modern world of "Saw", "Hostel" and nearly anything Eli Roth places his name upon, it would be easy to see how this film would be overlooked. It doesn't have a monster, people are not dripping blood in every scene, and (the biggie) there is no major twist at the end. Director Nimrod Antal's sophomore outing is more about the style, the cinematography, and the characters than just your a-typical release of this genre. We are privy to see our characters prior to these horrific incidents, to understand why they are pushed, and despite their ability to just run away from each other, they stay - giving us a great hour and a half. To begin, the opening credits set the tone. Not since "Panic Room" was I stricken by the originality of these credits, and how they propelled me into a immediate state of nervousness. After this, we are welcomed into a car, a already tense filled car that keeps us on the edge of our seats even further. Perhaps Luke and Kate will provide a moment of ease in this ride, but no - quite a different approach than we have seen prior from these two actors - they are in their own zone, and Antal controls it. He makes us believe. He scares us, while never taking us out of that moment of disbelief. This could happen. Antal knows that, Luke and Kate give us realism, and we are set for a wild ride.
The plot was strong - the acting kept up with the chilling score and Frank Whaley proves that skinny nerds can be frightening. Whaley commands the time he has on screen, giving us small nuances of this character that others may have forgotten. Known mainly for lower-budget roles, "Vacancy" demonstrates what happens when small actors get good parts (with great directors.). Finally, one cannot discuss "Vacancy" without drooling over the cinematography. Briefly mentioned above, Antal has paid homage to Hitchcock in a grandiose way by giving us these early shots of our characters not in the foreground, but symbolically traveling along the open highway. For the first hour, prior to the desperate need to escape, there were filmed moments that just stood out - i.e. the car ride, the discovery of the tapes, the walk to the motel, and even near the end - with the shot of Kate looking through the cracks resonated early Hitch. This is what small attention to detail can do for your film.
"Vacancy" is worth a second viewing, and even a third - it impresses me that I like Luke and Kate in their roles, and Whaley hits his mark directly. Antal's choice of music, cinematography, and leads prove his ability behind the camera, giving us a new twist to a genre that at times feels dated and recycled. I would recommend this film for a good fright - don't believe it is just another product of the Hollywood machine - it stands tall and proud.
Grade: **** ? out of *****
Summary of Vacancy
When David (Luke Wilson) and Amy Fox's (Kate Beckinsale) car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, they are forced to spend the night at the only motel around, with only the TV to entertain them... until they discover that the low-budget slasher videos they find in their room were all filmed in the very room they're sitting in. With hidden cameras now aimed at them... trapping them in rooms, crawlspaces, underground tunnels... and filming their every move, David and Amy must struggle to get out alive before they end up the next victims on tape.
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A confined setting is a useful tool for thriller-makers, and Vacancy is definitely boxed in: a rundown motel way, way off the Interstate, the kind of place where unsuspecting movie characters go to get stabbed to death in the shower. If Vacancy doesn't quite live up to its Hitchcockian forbears, at least it provides 80 minutes of well-designed mayhem. You know somebody's paying attention just from the opening credits, a clever vortex with pounding music by Paul Haslinger. Then we meet unhappy couple Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale, driving along in the dark and forced to stay at the Pinewood Motel after a car breakdown. There's a night man (Frank Whaley, decadent) in the tradition of Dennis Weaver's Touch of Evil gargoyle, but the real mess of trouble is waiting in room number 4. Director Nimrod Antal, who scored a stylish international hit with the Hungarian thriller Kontroll, squeezes maximum juice out of the Route 66 atmosphere of the motel, although the movie doesn't get under your skin the way Kontroll did. Wilson and Beckinsale are a little too marquee-namish for this kind of heavy-breathing work, and the script doesn't give them much to play with. But hey, it's not that kind of movie. Where it really belongs is on the top half of a drive-in double bill, or maybe as a nightmare-scenario TV movie from the Seventies. Either way, it works. --Robert Horton
Stills from Vacancy (click for larger image)
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