Vacancy (2007)

Review

I just have to get this out of the way: what the hell kind of name is Nimrod?! Seriously! The Director of Vacancy's name is actually Nimrod. NIMROD! NIM ROD! Did his parents essentially consider him a mistake and wanted desperately to punish him for interrupting their partying ways? Were they hillbillies from Backwater, Tennessee or something? Were they French, cuz that might explain it? Regardless, this nimrod's name has been driving me bonkers and I cannot for the life of me figure out why you would court the kind of backlash you could get if you're in Hollywood, your movie sucks and you have a name like that. Cracks me up.

I digress. Amy and David Fox (Kate Beckinsale & Luke Wilson) are a bickering married couple on their way back from Amy's parents' anniversary party. Of course they decide to take a shortcut through the middle of jackrabbit nowhere. What does that mean? Who knows, but it's pretty desolate. After dumbass David drives like a monkey trying to avoid a raccoon, the car acts up. Cue eerie music.

The miserable couple, teetering on the verge of divorce, happen across a run-down gas station / service shop / Bates Motel type establishment - just the sort of place that you know you would rather die in a ditch than stop at. The service attendant, affectionately known in the credits as 'Mechanic', tinkers with the car a bit and sends Lucy and Ricky Ricardo on their way. Almost inevitably, the car breaks down a mile later and our heroes are forced to hightail it back to the creepy hotel.

Wouldn't you just know that there is no one at the service station and no others for something like 5000 miles, so Amy and David are forced to bunk at the motel for the night? Frank Whaley plays the creepy night manager, who you can pretty much guess is twisted by the torture videos he's watching as Amy & David walk in. At first, it is your typical dirty, nasty motel room complete with roaches, stained sheets and bad cable. But as David pops in an interesting videotape, the film finally hits its purpose.

What David and Amy watch is a snuff film. A movie of several real couples being butchered and slaughtered in this very...same...room! Sweet! I must say I love this setup of the couple being told that they are going to die as opposed to 'Hey, did that lady just disappear and now we must find out what happened to her?'. No, this couple know and understand for almost the entirety of the film that if they do not find a way out, they are never to be seen again. The film then follows the Foxes plans for escape and, hopefully, survival.

So what is Vacancy? A horror flick? A thriller? An introspective journey through the ups and downs of a marriage? I think it is safe to call this a thriller, something of which there have been numerous versions as of late. The plot is pretty basic, but I must admit to it being quite clever in terms of idea, if not necessarily in terms of execution.

Luke Wilson gives the best performance I have seen him give as for once he is not simply the bland straight-man in some lame-ass comedy. Keep in mind that I am not claiming this is a fantastic performance, just that it is his best and stays completely within the realm of the character he is playing. David wants his marriage to work and he wants to protect his wife. Both lead roles are pretty stereotypical, though there is a nice change of pace eventually in the film.

Beckinsale does something I have never seen her do on film - she plays the whiny ass 'scared girl' role and does it quite well. Though it would have been nice if she had a little more of an edge, she filled her role that was obviously written as one-note nicely enough. As a couple, I truly bought that these two were married as they continually fought throughout almost the entire film. Whaley as the lead creep was just fine in his role, though with his high-pitched voice and nasally delivery, his turn into a badass might not be bought by everyone. Personally, it hit the notes it needed to, but nothing extraordinary.

NIM ROD does a decent job with the film and does give it the oomph needed to keep your blood pumping in several spots. I absolutely commend NIMROD on keeping this thriller at a lean 85 minutes. Flicks like this do not need to be drawn out with 30 minutes of needless exposition and the couple falling back in love. These guys are trying to survive not date, so get on with the show! Which is exactly what he does.

Vacancy is actually a pretty solid thriller despite some pretty predictable plot devices. The only problems I have with the flick would be the script. The film does a good job of shifting directions and avoiding those dreaded 'NO, DON'T DO THAT, STUPID!' moments. That is until near the end where you can see the final showdown a mile away if you've even been paying a hair length's attention.

Still, the film as a whole is solid, as are the performances by all. The plot is actually quite clever and the film manages an edge-of-your-seat pace despite a few predictable change-ups late in the film. It's been trimmed so there is very little fat and this is all thriller, a nice change from these usual flicks. No, the film is not as engrossing as Disturbia, but it did keep me interested throughout and I even flinched a time or two. This is one motel I wouldn't mind visiting again.