Film Reviews

Vacancy

• Rating:
• Director: Nimrod Antal
• Starring: Frank Whaley
• Details: US / 80mins (16).

While driving home late one night, warring couple Amy (Beckinsale) and David (Wilson) Fox get lost on the back roads of Southern California. They find an isolated motel and, since they are the only residents, twitchy manager Mason (Whaley) is kind enough to put them in the honeymoon suite. Not only is the room a disgrace, the previous occupant has left a few videos of snuff movies on top of the video player. David quickly realises that the murders they're watching took place in the very room they're in now, but before they can escape Mason and his buddies descend on the couple. It's a regular, ho-hum thriller that's pretty light on gore and really needed to shave its last three minutes off, but Vacancy's minimalist approach edges its nose ahead of the recent output. Hungarian director Antal makes up for the lack of scares and obvious dialogue ("I think Mason's in on it" – no sh*t, Sherlock) with mood and atmosphere and his low lighting and invading close-ups create a claustrophobic ambience. There is also a sense of reality (the snuff movies are shot in bright light) and confusion (we don't know exactly how many bad guys are roaming around the hotel). Vacancy is in love with the '80s B-movie horror and Hitchcock's Psycho, and although that's fun for a while, it never steps up a gear and offers some originality.

Review by Gavin Burke