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Vacancy

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Vacancy (2007)

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Reviews Counted:117

Fresh:64

Rotten:53

Average Rating:5.5/10

Consensus: Vacancy's restraint with gore is commendable, the thin characters and B-movie cliches less so.

Runtime: 2 hrs

Genre: Horror/Suspense

US Box Office: $18,986,844

Synopsis: This riveting thriller features Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale as a couple whose car breaks down, stranding them at a very dangerous hotel. Director Nimrod Antal carefully builds the suspense as... This riveting thriller features Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale as a couple whose car breaks down, stranding them at a very dangerous hotel. Director Nimrod Antal carefully builds the suspense as the film gradually leads to horror when the hotel turns out to be a snuff film operation, with cameras everywhere and lots of truly horrific videos of past murders (shot in the same room) lying atop the TV set. The couple needs to think fast before they become the next victims. Beckinsale and Wilson play down their star wattage and get truly involved in their change-of-pace roles, sucking the audience into their situation far deeper than one might think possible. Meticulous use of the tawdry, low-rent motel setting--lots of rotted wood, stained wallpaper, and ugly sofas--provides a realistic sense of space. Intelligently crafted and unfolding practically in real time, VACANCY is edge-of-the-seat all the way. Other strong points are the punchy score from Paul Haslinger, a PSYCHO-ish credit sequence, a creepy Frank Whaley as the hotel clerk, and lots of references to films like TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER. Thanks to all this care and attention, the scares linger longer than you might expect, so don't watch it alone. [More]

Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Luke Wilson, Frank Whaley, Ethan Embry

Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Luke Wilson, Frank Whaley, Ethan Embry

Director: Nimrod Antal

Director: Nimrod Antal
Screenwriter: Mark L. Smith
Producer: Hal Lieberman
Composer: Paul Haslinger
Studio: Screen Gems

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Reviews for Vacancy

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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What starts out as a slick but generic urban legend meets slasher film turns into a surprisingly enjoyable thriller

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
05/12/07
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
11/20/08
Brian Marder
Brian Marder
Hollywood.com

An unpleasant and hardly entertaining creepy horror road movie that comes up as vacant as an empty room.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment 1 Comment
09/30/08
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

[Director Nimrod] Antal does such a good job that you almost overlook the absurdities built into the screenplay.

Full Review Source: Cinefantastique | comment Comment
07/17/08
Steve Biodrowski
Steve Biodrowski
Cinefantastique

Vacancy is a no-nonsense, no ambition thriller, but sometimes that's more than enough to please.

Full Review Source: Washington Times | comment Comment
07/04/08
Christian Toto
Christian Toto
Washington Times

Very creepy.

Full Review Source: JoBlo's Movie Emporium | comment Comment
10/05/07
JoBlo
JoBlo
JoBlo's Movie Emporium

All things considered, not half bad. Indeed, it's much less than half bad.

Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | comment Comment
09/20/07
Tim Brayton
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy

Un pasatiempo eficaz que recupera parte del espíritu de la clase B al servicio de un relato tenso y por momentos perturbador, sin mayores pretensiones.

Full Review Source: Uruguay Total | comment Comment
09/08/07
Enrique Buchichio
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total

Vacancy isn't a commentary, just another graphically violent horror movie, traveling a well-worn path -- urbanites wandering into the countryside and being accosted by rural weirdos.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Daily News | comment Comment
08/04/07
Gary Thompson
Gary Thompson
Philadelphia Daily News

It's only in the last act that things begin to get a bit flaky but up till then VACANCY does what it sets out to do without any pretenses.

Full Review Source: Murphy's Movie Reviews | comment Comment
07/14/07
Ted Murphy
Ted Murphy
Murphy's Movie Reviews

Vacancy may not be the most wholly original thriller but it has some heart to it and is directed with gritty, old school style by Nimród Antal. Coupled with the good work done by the leads, Vacancy is worth checking into.

Full Review Source: IGN Movies | comment Comment
06/22/07
Stax
Stax
IGN Movies

Vacancy is an enjoyable, pleasingly old-fashioned thriller with strong performances and some expertly handled suspense sequences. Recommended.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
06/15/07
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

This more than slightly familiar scenario doesn't give the principals much scope for acting.

Full Review Source: This is London | comment Comment
06/15/07
Derek Malcolm
Derek Malcolm
This is London

Vacancy’s an audience divider – a predictable yet occasionally classy film. Depending on your mood it’s an efficient exercise in popcorn frights, or a cynical B-movie...

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
06/15/07
Jane Crowther
Jane Crowther
Total Film

director Nimrod Antal settles for a more generic horror-ride as the imperatives of stalk-and-escape take hold. For a while, though, this is first-rate second-hand material.

Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
06/15/07
Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Independent

Terrific turns by all make this a tense, if slightly predictable, treat for terror fans.

Full Review Source: Sun Online | comment Comment
06/15/07
Johnny Vaughan
Johnny Vaughan
Sun Online

With shades of Psycho and The Birds, Vacancy sure isn’t up there with The Master’s finest work but, given that we haven’t had a decent horror all year, it’s a pleasantly creepy surprise.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
06/15/07
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

Kit out the Bates Motel with surveillance cameras, replace Anthony Perkins with the ineffectual Frank Whaley, and you'd have the location for this irritatingly cheapjack snuff-horror thriller, starring Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale as a depressed couple

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | comment Comment
06/15/07
Tim Robey
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph

well, however much I wanted to love it, the same old sorts of things happen, and the rigorous plausibility and consistency on which everything depends are thrown away.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
06/15/07
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

I know, you couldn’t make it up. But someone did.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
06/15/07
Kevin Maher
Kevin Maher
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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