Opening Friday, April 20
Cast:
Kate Beckinsale as Amy Fox
Luke Wilson as David Fox
Frank Whaley as Mason
Ethan Embry as Mechanic
Scott G. Anderson as Killer
Mark Casella as Truck Driver
David Doty as Highway Patrol
Directed by Nimrod Antal
Review:
There’s a recurring skit on “Saturday Night Live” called “The Needlers: The Couple That Should Be Divorced” where Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers realize, with razor sharp believability, the ultimate bickering couple. Their outbreaks usually occur in public and the only reprieve in their incessant “needling” comes when they abruptly gallop off for a frustration f–k.
For some reason, those goddamn Needlers were the first thing I thought of when we’re first introduced to David and Amy Fox (Wilson and Beckinsale, respectively) en route from a family gathering along a wooded back road. Perhaps maybe it’s because their back-and-forth dismal rapport, no matter how straight it’s played, is a touch funny in its truthfulness. Added visual flourishes, courtesy of director Nimrod Antal, portray this scene through occasional side or rearview mirror reflections – a nod and a wink to the audience that “yes, folks, these people are just like you.” With this, Antal starts you off on an uneven keel. These dysfunctional people are our leads. Their tension is palpable, nearly scalding, and we know it’s not going to get any better for them. So where is there left to go? Forward, is the answer, rickety but with the drive of a locomotive. Once this one starts – with a wicked opening credits tribute to Saul Bass – it doesn’t let up for one helluva ride.
Understand my hesitation going into “Vacancy,” because all of the contributing factors in its equation add up to formulaic drivel. Yet they don’t. I’m not saying that “Vacancy” doesn’t stumble embarrassingly into a few familiar trappings, and I’m not saying it doesn’t have tremendous logic bogglers (why not open a door to alert a possible victim of danger than bang on a picture window?). But it embraces its nature and that is a sleazy, taught thriller deserving of commendation for its forceful, raw energy that keeps you on your toes. Yes, the premise is absurd. Yes, it’s got a Hitchcockian flare to it. But damn, put a little more dirt on its cheeks, muss up its hair some more and you’ve got an enjoyable prime cut of mid-’70s exploitation fare. All that was missing was someone like David Hess to lead the pack of hooligans who menace the Foxes in their musty, cockroach-infested motel room.
Instead, we’ve got Frank Whaley, the owl-eyed innkeeper at the Pinewood Motel. This is where our somewhat funny, somewhat sad couple is put up for the evening due to car trouble. Whaley’s entrance is devilishly divine as he welcomes the Foxes, arriving on the heels of a woman’s hair-raising screams which are bleeding into the lobby from his adjoining office. He promptly silences the noise with a remote implying said screams are coming from a television, furthermore, a horror film. The Foxes think so. But we know better. Antal, meanwhile, is obviously having a blast upping the ante and getting a lot of bang for his buck with such primal gags. Later, he utilizes something as simple as a rattling door and a wall-banging effect that’s persistently aggressive and, well, freaky. And this disturbance is merely a precursor to David and Amy’s problems that begin with the discovery of a pile of snuff films sitting in their bedroom. They soon learn that they’re the stars of the Pinewood’s next production.
What elements are used in “Vacancy” to “class it up” are the things that diminish its value as a true b-movie. Wilson and Beckinsale each throw themselves into the emotional and highly physical feats that are asked of them…but it’s Wilson and Beckinsale. Being stalked by faceless killers. A pair of unknowns may have eased us through this with an ounce more credibility. Still, they’re willing to go beyond their archetypal past roles (chiefly Wilson) and we reward them with our genuine concern and empathy – even if Mark Smith’s script requires them to voice their decision-making process every step of the way. Bang-up work from Andrzej Sekula (“Pulp Fiction”) and production designer Jon Gary Steele (“When a Stranger Calls”), too. The latter convinces you this was actually shot on location as opposed to a soundstage in Culver City and Sekula’s photography compliment Steele’s sickening choices in color tones – and by “sick” I mean the range of shades you’d find in your own vomit.
Antal hits you from all angles to make you feel uneasy. And it all congeals into this impressive nightmare where attackers infiltrate your privacy through tunnels and wear anonymous masks that combine Jason Flemyng’s visage in George Romero’s “Bruiser” with the grey oatmeal-like mess you might find Andrea Bianchi’s undead in “Burial Ground.” Because of David and Amy’s refusal to play their game, one only gets the extent of their killers’ unfettered bloodlust via the harried snuff clips which are cruel and animalistic…quite literally. Crawling through tunnels or dangling from one end of a hangman’s noose bound around an old man’s neck, Antal’s antagonists are crazed monkeys.
“Vacancy” doesn’t concern itself with anything other than to heighten your senses and run a pair of shears over your nerves. It’s determined to do so at the expense of trivialities that would otherwise bog down the pace in any other Hollywood production of this type. A good example of this is the “personal tragedy” the Foxes suffered (hence their marital rift), a backstory never dwelled on for longer than a few minutes. This baby is efficient – it’s aware that it has a concept to pull off and there’s not much time to do it. Luckily, unlike a lot of the Hollywood pap out there (ahem, “The Reaping”) the film works because Antal has a deft grasp of horror and suspense film language. Furthermore, he knows there are things best left unexplained, which may ultimately disappoint some audiences at the end of the day.
Call me crazy, but I really liked this flick.
