Vacancy (DVD Review)

Vacancy is about a couple that books a room at a desolate Motel, only to find out that they are not going to get any peace and quite for a while. In fact the owner of the Motel and his buddies want to kill them on tape and sell the snuff film.

This is a great idea for suspense and the writer does get you to the edge of your seat sometimes, but there are so many holes in the story that you just can't allow yourself to go with the direction of the story. Soon enough you realise that this movie is just a quick thrill so that the studios can get paid already. There are only rundown explanations of script shortcomings and very little logic towards character behaviour.

The typical Hollywood 'happy sappy ending' is the cherry on the cake. Show a little guts and have the character die at the ending will ya. Food that just taste the same al the time is unprocessed vomit at some time. I mean, really, if you're going to let a character be incapacitated and believably dead for hours, maybe you just would have gotten away with it this time.

All the usual tactics for scaring the audience is present, but here it is applied with skill. The performance from the actors is great, and this helps the scare factor a lot. The idea of the snuff films is used with great effect to reach the same result and some of the credit must also be given to the editing. Casting and set design is also masterly done. The same can be said about the stunts performed and orchestrated.

If you want a quick scare and get on with your life, then this film is for you; just remember to switch off your brain when the movie starts.

Setup

The dialog in the movie is translated into Czech, Hungarian, Polish and Turkish.

Special Features