There are times when Hollywood appears to have forgotten how to frighten its audiences. Lately, many major motion pictures only find the ability to create fear in how grotesquely the victims can be mutilated and butchered. Films such as "Saw" and "Hostel" found their only shock and suspense coming from elaborate and horrific torture scenes.
But every once in a while, Hollywood reaffirms its ability to make a film that is genuinely frightening without resorting to endless violence and gore that does not so much scare as disgust audiences. Without being overdone, and with surprisingly little in the way of blood and gore, "Vacancy" is a film in which audiences hoping to have their hearts racing and nerves tingling will surely not be disappointed.
The film features Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale as David and Amy Fox, a married couple on their way home from a dinner at Amy's parents' house. Things begin to go wrong in the late hours of the night when David takes the car off the main road due to heavy traffic and. perhaps predictably, the car begins to experience engine problems.
The couple checks into a cheap motel and they find themselves trapped by sadistic killers who trap travelers in the small hotel room and brutally murder them. The events that follow are frightening, suspenseful and while predictable, very believable.
Despite its slow start and anticlimactic ending, "Vacancy" nevertheless makes audiences weary of shady motels and dark roads. Director Nimrod Antal spins a tale that relies more on surprise than suspense and still manages to make the audience jump a number of times.
Given that Luke Wilson comes from a background of mostly comedies, one might think he would be a lousy choice for a film that hopes to elicit screams instead of laughs. All doubts are set aside, however, as his drawn out and shaky visual cues combine with a believable tone of voice to bring out a completely different side of Wilson. "Vacancy" puts to bed any doubts about Wilson's acting ability. David Fox becomes a real person to the audiences, hardly reminiscent of more comedic characters like Pete from the "Charlie's Angels" films or Mitch from "Old School."
Playing alongside Wilson is Kate Beckinsale. She is perhaps best known for her role as Selene in the "Underworld" films. The two-time vampire is now playing an angry, pill-popping wife who somehow manages to fall asleep twice in scenes where other characters would probably stay awake while being hunted by psychopaths. Even so, Beckinsale manages to purvey true fear without being overly sexualized.
Offering a realistic and not over-gored taste of claustrophobic fear, "Vacancy" offers believable acting by Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale. Predictable and at times overdone, the film is nevertheless frightening. Suspense fans will enjoy the psychology of murderers tormenting their victims in a motel room, slowly closing in for the kill as they devastate their victims with psychological warfare. Surprise fans will, however, be far more pleased with a number of shocks. It's a little predictable and there are no twists or turns, but "Vacancy" is overall a legitimately frightening film.
