Product Description

A suspenseful classic thriller in the tradition of Alfred Hitchcock starring Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale that will keep you on the edge of your seat and your heart pounding! When David (Luke Wilson) and Amy Fox's (Kate Beckinsale) car breaks down in the middle of nowhere they are forced to spend the night at the only motel around with only the TV to entertain them... until they discover that the low-budget slasher videos they find in their room were all filmed in the very room they're sitting in. With hidden cameras now aimed at them... trapping them in rooms crawlspaces underground tunnels... and filming their every move David and Amy must struggle to get out alive before whomever is watching them can finish their latest masterpiece.System Requirements:Running Time: 85 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: R UPC: 043396182882 Manufacturer No: 18288

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2204 in DVD
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2007-08-14
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 85 minutes

Amazon.com

A confined setting is a useful tool for thriller-makers, and Vacancy is definitely boxed in: a rundown motel way, way off the Interstate, the kind of place where unsuspecting movie characters go to get stabbed to death in the shower. If Vacancy doesn't quite live up to its Hitchcockian forbears, at least it provides 80 minutes of well-designed mayhem. You know somebody's paying attention just from the opening credits, a clever vortex with pounding music by Paul Haslinger. Then we meet unhappy couple Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale, driving along in the dark and forced to stay at the Pinewood Motel after a car breakdown. There's a night man (Frank Whaley, decadent) in the tradition of Dennis Weaver's Touch of Evil gargoyle, but the real mess of trouble is waiting in room number 4. Director Nimrod Antal, who scored a stylish international hit with the Hungarian thriller Kontroll, squeezes maximum juice out of the Route 66 atmosphere of the motel, although the movie doesn't get under your skin the way Kontroll did. Wilson and Beckinsale are a little too marquee-namish for this kind of heavy-breathing work, and the script doesn't give them much to play with. But hey, it's not that kind of movie. Where it really belongs is on the top half of a drive-in double bill, or maybe as a nightmare-scenario TV movie from the Seventies. Either way, it works. --Robert Horton

Stills from Vacancy (click for larger image)

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Customer Reviews

Not As Good As Expected
I don't feel like talk about this movie so I agree with what Steven Hedge "Movie Fan" said:

For those that say "this kept me on the edge of my seat" I have to say that I agree. I was on the edge of my seat to leave within 10 minutes of this film beginning. I've seen more intelligent writing on the back of a milk carton. Check into this motel and leave your brains elsewhere.

I want to like these kinds of movies, as they are a unique genre and a throwback to a bygone era. Aside from the gore and porn elements, which I never find all that appealing, the basics of this film pay homage to that class of films about run-down motels and stalker killers. We've seen all this before and done remarkably better. This film is a disappointment from the get go.

The actors are good "A" list people, but, unfortunately, it is their very presence that helps throw this film off as we expect a better film than what we get because of their association with the film. This kind of reminds me of the 70's era when top stars would make "guest" appearances in "B" films for a few extra bucks and keep their names in the limelight, but rarely would they actually "star" in the film.

My next issue is the totally illiterate script that has enough holes to drive a semi through. Hey, I can willingly suspend my disbelief as much as the next guy in order to enjoy a thriller, but I just can't totally shut off my intelligence. From beginning to end one is always thinking, "Why don't they just do this?" or "How come they didn't think of that?" The film's inconsistencies and poor resolution to the story make this film just too silly to be taken in any kind of serious manner. And, yeah, I know it's only a movie.

There are some cleverly directed sequences and photographic angles that genuinely create suspense and even a few chills, but other than that, this is a strictly "paint by the numbers" thriller that offers little if anything at all to the genre. This film is a huge disappointment and attempts to make money over the popularity of its stars, who should be embarrassed to be in this flop, and the recent rash of slasher, gore and porn thrillers masquerading as horror films in our theaters today. For a more memorable night of thrills and chills I highly recommend 1408 and Dead Silence.

He is absolutely right about this movie. Do not get this movie.

Sick, Sophomoric and Stupid
Title says it all. It's really sad that Kate Beckinsale would degrade herself by appearing in this voyeuristic tripe. And if the film is not enough, the DVD includes extended snuff scenes for your viewing pleasure. Entirely predictable, no twists that couldn't be seen a mile away, a complete rip off of far, far better films.

The highway wasn't the only thing they left to find themselves at this motel: any acting, plot or character development, directing or photography must still be on that highway.

Kate says it best in the film, "This has to be some kind of joke, right?"

Suspenseful, Yet Campy Combination Detract from the Horror
Set in a rundown motel in the middle of nowhere, a couple finds themselves trapped at night while being stalked by deranged killers. The cinematic effects and music add to the suspense of this thriller.

However, one unrealistic character takes away from this movie being a 5 star movie.

Overall, it's a dark movie that will keep you jumping in your seats. Makes you think twice about staying in a desolate 1 star Motel. You get what you pay for.