Vacancy

Usually horror movies featuring people getting lost on some side street star teenagers, well 20 year old actors playing teenagers. This makes sense because teenagers are stupid enough to think of driving off the freeway as a short cut. However, in this movie we get a married couple in their 30's falling victim to this classic horror movie premise. I thought it would annoy me that a couple this old would be a part of this premise, yet the script does a pretty good job of giving a plausible reason for why this couple strayed from the interstate. Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale star as the ill-fated couple in this very intimate, often thrilling movie. Having just left the anniversary party for Beckinsale's parents, this couple is on the way home. In the opening scene we find out 2 things- The interstate had a nasty accident on it and this is not a happy couple. In fact, this a couple on the verge of divorce but since no one knows they went to the party together, to keep up the illusion. This internal conflict manages to play very well in the beginning of this movie and it manages to give us characters worth caring about, in a horror movie!


Swerving to avoid a raccoon, Wilson damages his car and they are forced to stay in a hold int he wall motel. The motel is perfect. I mean it looks so awful, I thought I could smell it. this is also the only real set for the movie, and with only 6 character, this sometimes feels like a stage play. As soon as they enter their room, the scares begin. Loud telephone rings, and crazy banging on doors, begin our scare fest. Soon, they are replaced by the screams of unsuspecting victims, as Wilson puts a tape in the V.C.R, thinking it is a movie. Quickly he realizes what is going on and we are off to the races. I have just summed the first 15 minutes of this very quickly paced film and the next hour and 10 minutes are spent running, crawling, yelling, sweating and avoiding death. In coming in at under 90 minutes, this movie avoids wearing out its welcome and often leaves the audience just waiting for the next thing to happen.


The hits keep on coming too. The killers wear creepy masks, but are ultimately human unlike so many of the slasher flick villains. They aren't afraid to run and the camera always seems to catch them at just the right time. That right time is always 3 seconds later than you expect. It may not seem like much, but when the music crescendo's you expect killers in the window and when it doesn't happen until a second quick crescendo, it can come across as a much more scary flick. It helps that Beckinsale and Wilson manage to be good actors in a horror movie, not an easy thing to do. Wilson underplays his fear, while putting on a courageous front and Beckinsale is in full meltdown mode and watching those two modes clash really turns this into a very exciting rush of a movie. No, it is not at all an original idea but in borrowing from many scary movies, they manage to string together a greatest hits of scary movies and there is nothing wrong with that.