VACANCY

"That's this room"

After taking a short cut off the freeway, Amy (Beckinsale) and David (Wilson) are lost, tied and trying their best to get along after deciding to separate. When the car's engine starts playing up, the couple pull into the only service station they have seen for miles. After the attendant helps them out, they head out on their way back to the freeway but the car breaks down and they have to head back into the Motel next to the station. Hiring the honeymoon suite, Amy and David try and settle in for the night but when David plays a videotape he found, he realises that the horrific scene on the tape actually took place in the room they are staying in.

If Hollywood horror has ever taught you anything it is that you should never take a short cut and always stick to the highway, unfortunately Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson don't follow that rule.

Never, ever take a short cut through the back roads of any American state is the message Hollywood horror movies have been trying to tell for decades. Here you will meet the depraved, mentally deranged, psychopaths who will terrorise you in a multitude of way just because you are from out of town. Torture, breeding, slavery and even for food are many of the reasons behind taking innocence people from the big cities. For 'Vacancy' the city couple are chosen to be the victims in their very own snuff movie.

Returning home from telling their families they are about to part ways, Amy and David Fox make a huge error in judgement as they take a short cut off the grid locked freeway and onto the back roads. When their car's engine starts to splutter they manage to make it to a remote garage next to a motel. After the attendant takes a look at it, the car breaks down about two miles on from the station and the couple are forced to return back to the motel. Checked in by a slightly creepy manager, the pair is shown to their room, which certainly isn't five star. As they try and settle in for the night, David discovers a collection of videotapes that show horrific, brutal murders but what becomes even more terrifying is that he realises that films actually take place in their motel room. This premise isn't the most original to ever grace the horror genre but can 'Vacancy' stand out. The answer is unfortunately no.

The movie makes a bold choice in moving away from the usual Hollywood horror plot device of using teenagers as the victims and instead gone with a normal, thirty-plus couple. Director Nimród Antal has also made bold choices with the casting, bringing in the beautiful and talented Kate Beckinsale and comedic actor Luke Wilson. While Beckinsale is no stranger to the horror genre, after appearing in big budget, action extravaganzas 'Van Helsing' and the 'Underworld' movies, Luke Wilson's first foray into the genre comes as a bit of a shock and a strange casting decision. After seeing him in comedies like 'My Super Ex-Girlfriend', 'Old School' and 'The Royal Tenenbaums', watching Luke Wilson fight for his life in a horror film doesn't really work. Frank Whaley is suitably creepy as motel manager Mason however, making their situation all the more frightening.

'Vacancy' is a movie that tries to bring something new to a tried and tested formula. Unfortunately even a snuff movie plotline cannot change the fact this is the same movie that we have seen so many times before and even with a higher profile cast, this is still a very average horror movie.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is good.

BONUS FEATURES

Alternate Opening Sequence (1.14 mins)
Watch the original opening to the movie but unfortunately there is no introduction or commentary track to explain why this isn't used in the movie.

Checking In: The Cast and Crew of Vacancy (20.47 mins)
Director Nimrod Antal, writer Mark L. Smith, executive producers Brian Paschal and Glen Gainor, producer Hal Leiberman, director of photography Andrzej Sekula, production designer Jon Gary Steele and stars Luke Wilson, Kate Beckinsale, Frank Whaley and Ethan Embry take you behind the scenes of 'Vacancy'. The group talk about the story, the look and feel of the film, the character, the sets and what it is like working with the director.

Mason's video picks: Extended Snuff Films (8.28 mins)
Watch the full versions of the snuff videos that were recorded in the room the Fox's are staying in.

Racoon Encounter (1.24 mins)
Watch a deleted scene from the movie but unfortunately there is no introduction or commentary track to explain why this isn't used in the movie.

Trailers
Previews of 'Spider-Man 3', 'Walking Tall: Lone Justice' and 'Pumpkinhead 4: Blood Feud'

OVERALL

The DVD treatment for 'Vacancy' is extremely average. The lack of a commentary track will disappoint fans but the featurette is ok but there is nothing here that will excite people who liked the movie.

DVD

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

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2007