Review of Vacancy (1999) by Gareth J — 18 Jan 2010

Best described as Psycho meets Identity, Vacancy is a mediocre suspense thriller which makes for a couple of hair raising moments but is mostly good ideas that aren't fully realised.

The set up is reasonable, though perhaps a little generic. Young married couple on the vurge of full-blown divorce (Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale) suffer car trouble and stop at a secluded motel which is poorly cared for and run by a Ned Flanders impersonator (Frank Whaley). They check in to the 'Honeymoon Suite' only to discover that it is the stage for the motel proprietor's back door snuff movie business. Whilst the snuff premise does come as a slight surprise, it felt as though a large proportion of the movie was a cut and paste affair containing of moments which worked better in other films.

As for the perfomances, it would seem that 'comedy actor' Luke Wilson fairs actually quite well in a serious situation, though his emotional range does nothing to excuse his facial expressions which on occasion reach Tobey MaGuire levels of ridiculousness. Not such a cheery description can be made of Beckinsale, who seems to largely phone in her performance and whose valiant attempt to show real emotion is lost amongst her cosmetically altered facial features. Arguably, the supporting cast is far better at what they do here than the leads. Although he looks truly laughable with a Stalin moustache, Whaley gives an admirably turn as a sociopath who's colloquial one minute and cruel the next. As does Ethan Embry for what small amount of screen time he has, as always at his unsettling best.

All in all, Vacancy was a watchable experience which suffered from never fully realising its potential. Thrillers work best when they are not portrayed as such and when high tension is spaced liberally throughout the drama. When the goal is to rack the tension up to eleven and keep it there, things quickly start to become repetative and this is definately what has happened here.