Vacancy
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Movie Reviews of Vacancy
Movie Review: Not the Best, but check out the Extra Features
Summary: 4 Stars
Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale fail to dazzle as the Foxes, a troubled couple who find their way to a backwoods California Motel. They find quickly that this motel is the setting for a horror movie! [gasp!]
The movie moves along pretty well for only having five principal characters and takes place predominantly in one close area, the cinematography is decent, the background score in decent horror movie stuff and Frank Whaley, playing Mason the Motel Manager, manages to make a good horror movie anti-hero.
This movie lacks real insight into the circumstance of humanity or the characters, but throws a nice net of uncertainty on the whole situation which adds to the alleged horror value, but gives the movie a lack of credibility. Ultimately, what more did we know about Jason Voorhies' mother after Friday the 13th? Not that much. Maybe we expect more out of horror movies than we used to, maybe we're conditioned to be disappointed by them if the lack a lot of gore or a lot of insight.
Either way, the movie holds water as well as the back screen door.
That being said, the price of the movie is worth the special features, notably Mason's Extended Snuff films. Only about 10 minutes in length, its a great, free-based snuff film gorging. Worth the price of the DVD by itself. It might be the best series of snuff shorts I've seen, in fact. Check it out.
Movie Review: Entertaining, plenty scary --- could have been even better
Summary: 4 Stars
Think of Psycho as Kindergarten . . . then think of Vacancy as being 10th Grade.
Couple checks into isolated motel. The management has a side business going, making "snuff films". You get the idea. Very high on the creepy-meter scale.
Some great ideas, such as the video left in their Room #4 so the victim couple can see their "future". Realistic interplay between the couple regarding the disintegrating relationship. I loved the little creep playing Norman Bates' counterpart as the motel clerk. Perfect. Despite the seriously violent/perverted theme at play here, there was actually a minimum of really disturbing gratuitous extreme sicko acts or flesh shots(considering that, unfortunately, most of us consider stock Hollywood shooting, strangulation and mayhem to be not very disturbing).
I thought the director often had great tension and impending doom building, and unnecessarily let it slip away in favor of some basic violent conclusion. The Hollywood violence doesn't bother me, but some Hitchcockian suspense makes for a superior movie. This one had many great ideas which became missed opportunities.
Still, a very entertaining and suspenseful flick that will probably have even jaded suspense/horror junkies squirming in their chair a bit. Turn down the lights and enjoy!
Movie Review: Nice addition to 21st century suspense/horror...
Summary: 4 Stars
Vacancy is the best stalk/slash at a motel film since 1960's Psycho. But you will not find anyone staying here that is hiding out after stealing money from her employer, and you will not find a motel manager who keeps his mother's corpse in the fruit cellar while he dresses up like her. Vacancy offers a nice change after the countless remakes and torture films like Saw filling the theatres these days. I would not categorize it as strictly horror but more as a suspense film in the realm of Hitchcock. There is not much blood and gore and that's okay with me. If that is what you are seeking, look elsewhere. If you would like to be entertained and on the edge of your seat for 80 minutes, you will like this. Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson do a good job. It's nice seeing characters who seem real with problems and a history together rather than the usual annoying, disposable ones ever so present in other horror films. The soundtrack for Vacancy in the opening and closing credits is also really neat and catchy. Vacancy will not go down as a classic but is a worthy addition to any DVD library. I would also recommend the recent suspense/horror film P2 by Alexandre Aja which uses a confined setting like Vacancy or if you want to go further back, I always like to refer people to the thriller Road Games starring Stacy Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis.Movie Review: Better than "Disturbia" for sure
Summary: 4 Stars
I can't believe someone actually picked a ripoff of "Rear Window" with the should've stayed on Nickelodean hack Shia LaBeouf as being better than this. Shows what they know. Okay, one person asked, why didn't they just come in the door. First, the door was locked on the inside, Second, these people are sadists and enjoy terrorizing people (what else do they have to do out in the middle of nowhere?), Third, their clientelle get off on this terrorization these crazies are actually making a product to sell, and fourth, the movie would be over. I'm a big Horror buff, and this has to be the best I've seen this year. One of the bottom line elements of Horror is the isolation of the protagonist(s), which this does if not uniquely, certainly entertainingly. It moves fast, and Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale (nice to see her not "pouty posing" ala Angelina Jolie like she did in "Underworld") convey a real sense of fear and dread and the director does an excellent job of sustaining the tension. If you're going to sit back and play drama critic, you can find fault with any movie (don't get me started on those two jokes, "Ray" and "Million Dollar Baby"). Horror stands outside of the Oscar's and Golden Globes awards and should be reviewed that way, as entertaining and frightful fun.Movie Review: SNUFF
Summary: 4 Stars
Two people (portrayed by Luke Wilson & Kate Beckinsale) have car problems on a remote stretch of road somewhere in the SW United States. They are having serious marital problems after having lost their son in some sort of accident. Now, they find themselves broken down in the worst possible place.
The reluctantly decide to spend the night in a "roach motel" as they are miles + miles away from the outer fringes of civilization. As it turns out, staying ANYWHERE other than the hotel would have been preferable to this place!
Frank Whaley is great as the spooky / creepy hotel manager. From the start, you can tell there is something not quite right about him. I've always been a big fan of Kate Beckinsale, even though in this movie her character is exhausted and chippy before having to struggle just to survive.
If you like Hithcock type thrillers, you'll likely enjoy this one. That being said, it's a lot more gory than an H film. While I predicted a few of the "twists" it was still a wild ride for late @ night. It's also a not-so-subtle reminder that there are some really sick people out there.