Review: ‘Vacancy’ epitomizes genre by playing on human fears

Directed by: Nimród Antal

Starring: Luke Wilson, Kate Beckinsale, Frank Whaley

Rated: R

From the “Alien” movies to “Das Boot” to “Die Hard,” directors have long known, and often used, the backdrop of enclosed spaces to enhance the tension in a film, be it a horror movie or regular drama.

Claustrophobia is a common condition, and the sense of being trapped goes a long way in making the viewer feel more physically involved in a movie. “The Vanishing” offers the epitome of this plot device.

The latest movie using this tactic is a psychological thriller with a bit of blood and gore thrown in to satiate the modern horror-movie hound. But most of the squirm-inducing moments in Nimród Antal’s “Vacancy” are decidedly mental. It’s the fear of being trapped and imagining what might happen rather than seeing gallons of blood and gore that power the film.

Antal was born in Los Angeles but relocated to Hungary, the land of his heritage, in 1991. He made two films in the 1990s but had his breakthrough with “Kontroll” in 2003 and moved back to the United States. “Vacancy” is his first American film and, while it breaks little new ground in the psychological horror genre, Antal’s execution is faithful to the style. The abrupt ending is somewhat of a letdown but the journey (which begins with the principal characters taking a very wrong turn) to the anticlimactic payoff is one that is full of jars, jolts and jumps. Besides claustrophobia, the story plays on other human fears. There’s a ringing phone with no one on the other end, vermin a-plenty and things that go bump in the night.

This reviewer strives to never give away plot devices that are intended to surprise the viewer. If you haven’t seen the previews – which tell the entire story in a nutshell – you are among the few who don’t know what’s going to happen in “Vacancy” and may want to skip the rest of this review. It doesn’t reveal any more than the preview but, as stated, that is quite a bit.

David and Amy Fox (Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale) are a married couple on the skids. They are on their way to see her parents, who aren’t aware of the impending divorce. It’s an unpleasant scenario for a long car trip. And as usually happens in this kind of film, things go from bad to worse to worse than one could imagine.

After swerving to miss a critter in the road, the Foxes find themselves with a disabled vehicle. After a mile long hike in the middle of the night, they find a motel with a proprietor who makes Norman Bates (of “Psycho”) seem relatively normal. One look at this guy – played by Frank Whaley – will push the viewer to shout at the screen, “No! Don’t stay there! Move on!”

But having little choice, Amy and David check in. Within a brief few minutes there’s incessant banging on the front door as well as the “suite” door to the adjoining room. The telephone rings. The lights go on and off.

David goes to complain to the creep at the counter, only to be told that he and Amy are the only guests at the establishment. But maybe, the proprietor says, a drunk or some kids have busted into the room. He agrees to check it out.

Unable to get TV reception, Dave puts a tape he finds in the room into the VCR. What comes on looks to be a low budget snuff film. One that is all too real. After a number of scenarios with different victims play, David notices something quite strange: The videos look to have been shot on location. And that location appears to be the very room he and Amy are occupying.

The loud noises recur, and this time the couple knows whoever is doing the pounding certainly means business.

David makes a run to the pay phone (no cell service out here in the boondocks, of course) but when he dials 911, he gets Mr. Creepy at the front desk, who is obviously in on the scheme.

David makes it back to the room and when he and Amy see a truck pull up, they think salvation has arrived. The trucker begins heading toward their room, but he’s being tailed by the desk clerk and two other creeps. Instead of killing the trucker, the head creep hands him a box of videotapes, the latest snuff productions from this motel.

The bulk of the film is a cat-and-mouse act. David and Amy manage a real 911 call, but it proves to be of no help for them and even worse luck for the dispatched officer. David discovers a trapdoor in the bathroom leading to a series of tunnels. This sets up scenes where the claustrophobic factor gets even more intense.

I enjoyed the jolts and utter creep-out quotient in “Vacancy,” but the ending left the feeling that the filmmakers reached a point and said, “We’re out of budget. CUT! That’s a wrap!”

That aside, it’s a good representation of the genre.

Jim Wunderle owns Wunderle Sound Services and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician. He can be reached at info@wunderlesound.com.[[In-content Ad]]