Vacancy (DVD)

In recent months we've seen the advent of films subbed as 'torture porn', films that pass themselves off as horror films but then see the need to push the envelope of what they can get away with when it comes to on screen death. Thankfully such films as Hostel 2 have died a death at the box office, in my view purely because above all else they weren't very good. So here we have Vacancy, a film that pretty much went under the rader upon release about a couple who find themselves the potential victims of a snuff film. However what seems like dark material rife for making the audience sick turns out to be a slick little thriller. Kate Beckinsale and ...  Read the complete review

Vacancy begins in a very dated but good fashion, like the beginning of the original psycho back in 1960 the opening score is a thumping but 60's style track. Add to this the credits as they run across the screen at a series of vertical and horizontal lines; having run through the entire title sequence the camera pans out and you see all the titles again in a sort of reverse motion, as has been done before it appears that all the lines are going to create a map, but this is not the case they converge to form a car number plate. You see this is the nice thing about a major proportion of Vacancy, it sets to surprise you. Having run through the titles you're ...  Read the complete review

My Story (To start off with): ************************************** Well for starters I was told "hairspray" the movie was out on the 20th June. So I phoned up my cousin and planned to go to the cinemas on Tuesday 26th June, Then I found out Hairspray was out on the 20th July!!! ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I said we'll see Vacancy, That is a 15 and I was only 14 then so I sorta lied but I'm nearly 15!!! Anyway we still went with 2 other people... At the start: ************************** As usual all films start with advertisements, we were just in time, all the light went off as soon as we were climbing the steps!!! We sat at ...  Read the complete review

On their way to a family break, Amy and David Fox alternate between bickering and criticising one another. Late into the night, David deviates from the state highway, and they soon find themselves on a lonely road, largely unaware of where they are going. Narrowly avoiding a collision with a small animal, they sustain some damage to the car's engine and, unsurprisingly, they subsequently break down. Having recently passed a motel, they are forced to walk back and try and find a mechanic, with no success. The motel manager suggests that they may be able to raise a nearby mechanic but not until the morning, at which point they reluctantly take the decision to ...  Read the complete review

note: also appears in part on Flixster and The Student Room It is surprising whenever a horror or thriller film skimps on the gore in favour of tension and suspense because it's just so damn rare! Vacancy is one such film, in as much as it dares to build slowly and tempt the viewer but never really deliver on that brutality. While it does have more than a few good points, such as its impressively murky production design, it doesn't go far enough with the sadism and ends up feeling like something that's made for TV despite a good cast, particularly Luke Wilson, who once again plays against type here. The film revolves around David (Luke Wilson) and ...  Read the complete review