The story chronicles the events of the first victims of the snuff filmmakers of Meadow View Inn (from Vacancy (2007)). The victims include a horny young newled couple, a hooker and her John, and three friends just looking for a place to rest.
Vacancy 2: The First Cut, opening with some of the most poorly written introductory description, does not start well. When it moves to the first scene (a drunk newlywed couple looking for a place to stop and have sex), it gets even worse. The writing begins terribly and the acting by the unlikable newlyweds was even worse. Also, the shakycam was doing nothing but add to the annoyance. The only good thing about starting a film like this? It has nowhere to go but up. And it does get better. The root story of Reece (Brian Klugman) and Gordon (David Moscow) is actually fairly interesting and goes for more than just the "Oh, they're crazy and that's why they do it" storyline. One bad thing, however, about showing the roots of villains is the risk of making them likable, sometimes more likable than the victims. For me, that was the case here (and has been many times before). I really didn't care about or like any of the tenants of the Meadow View; but, as I knew the backstory of Reece and Gordon, I was interested in them. Even the 'likable' tenants weren't people I'd root for: the main couple was overly nice and boring, and the token black guy was just over-the-top annoying (although, he would end up becoming the only reasonably likable and intelligent one of the victims). As the story progresses, it's quite apparent that the film is not attempting anything new. It's essentially a younger re-do of the first film, with a couple added elements from other horrors. For instance, the killers wear a sack over his head like The Man in the Mask from The Strangers. Visually, the film works well. It's not the cheap 'shot-on-film' look low-budget film-making has been moving towards. The setting is creepy and the mood is always nicely set with the spooky atmosphere. Unfortunately, the script is lacking with its unoriginal and overdone storyline, not to mention one of the worst and anticlimactic endings ever. Overall, if you're a big fan of the original, you'll probably enjoy it, but for the majority, it'll just be mediocre sequel to a mediocre original.
Obligatory Horror Elements:
Final verdict: 5/10. Take it or leave it.
-AP3-
Vacancy 2: The First Cut, opening with some of the most poorly written introductory description, does not start well. When it moves to the first scene (a drunk newlywed couple looking for a place to stop and have sex), it gets even worse. The writing begins terribly and the acting by the unlikable newlyweds was even worse. Also, the shakycam was doing nothing but add to the annoyance. The only good thing about starting a film like this? It has nowhere to go but up. And it does get better. The root story of Reece (Brian Klugman) and Gordon (David Moscow) is actually fairly interesting and goes for more than just the "Oh, they're crazy and that's why they do it" storyline. One bad thing, however, about showing the roots of villains is the risk of making them likable, sometimes more likable than the victims. For me, that was the case here (and has been many times before). I really didn't care about or like any of the tenants of the Meadow View; but, as I knew the backstory of Reece and Gordon, I was interested in them. Even the 'likable' tenants weren't people I'd root for: the main couple was overly nice and boring, and the token black guy was just over-the-top annoying (although, he would end up becoming the only reasonably likable and intelligent one of the victims). As the story progresses, it's quite apparent that the film is not attempting anything new. It's essentially a younger re-do of the first film, with a couple added elements from other horrors. For instance, the killers wear a sack over his head like The Man in the Mask from The Strangers. Visually, the film works well. It's not the cheap 'shot-on-film' look low-budget film-making has been moving towards. The setting is creepy and the mood is always nicely set with the spooky atmosphere. Unfortunately, the script is lacking with its unoriginal and overdone storyline, not to mention one of the worst and anticlimactic endings ever. Overall, if you're a big fan of the original, you'll probably enjoy it, but for the majority, it'll just be mediocre sequel to a mediocre original.
Obligatory Horror Elements:
- Subgenre: Thriller
- Violence/Gore: As expected, there's a good amount of violence and quite a bit of blood. The gore doesn't go over-the-top, but some of the kills/attacks are pretty brutal.
- Sex/Nudity: There are a couple brief sex scenes, but only a woman in a thong is shown.
- Scares/Suspense: There are a few good jump scares, and a couple chases are mildly thrilling, but nothing overly frightening.
- Mystery: As we know everything that's going on and, due to the fact that it's a prequel, the inevitable outcome, there's not much mystery.
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Final verdict: 5/10. Take it or leave it.
-AP3-