Vacancy (2007)

A young married couple becomes stranded at an isolated motel and finds hidden video cameras in their room. They realize that unless they escape, they'll be the next victims of a snuff film

Director:

Nimród Antal

Writer:

Mark L. Smith

Stars:

Kate Beckinsale, Luke Wilson, Frank Whaley

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kate Beckinsale	...	Amy Fox
Luke Wilson	...	David Fox
Frank Whaley	...	Mason
Ethan Embry	...	Mechanic
Scott G. Anderson	...	Killer
Mark Casella	...	Truck Driver (as Mark Cassella)
David Doty	...	Highway Patrol
Norm Compton	...	Snuff Victim
Caryn Mower	...	Snuff Victim
Meegan Godfrey	...	Snuff Victim (as Meegan E. Godfrey)
Kym Stys	...	Snuff Victim
Andrew Fiscella	...	Steven R
Dale Waddington	...	Brenda B (as Dale Waddington Horowitz)
Ernest Misko	...	Snuff Victim (as Ernie Misko)
Bryan Ross	...	Snuff Victim

Storyline

David and Amy Fox find themselves stranded in the middle of nowhere when their car breaks down. Luckily, they come across a motel with a TV to entertain them during their overnight stay. However, there's something very strange and familiar about the Grade-Z slasher movies that the motel broadcasts for its guests' enjoyment. They all appear to be filmed in the very same room they occupy! Realizing that they are trapped in their room with hidden cameras now aimed at them filming their every move, David and Amy desperately find a means of escape through locked doors, crawlspaces and underground tunnels before they too become the newest stars of the mystery filmmaker's next cult classic!

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Plot Keywords:

motel | trapped | stars | raccoon | snuff film | 

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Taglines:

How can you escape...if they can see everything?

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for brutal violence and terror, brief nudity and language

Details

Official Sites:

Sony [France] Sony [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 April 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hotel sin salida

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$19,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£565,936 (UK) (15 June 2007)

Gross:

£1,838,975 (UK) (6 July 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Screen Gems, Hal Lieberman Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The snuff films were all shot on the first day of shooting.

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Goofs

When Mason is giving David dimes, the first coin to fall into David's *empty* hand makes the same metal-on-metal clink as the others.

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Quotes

[first lines]
David Fox: [after swerving while driving] Son of a bitch!
Amy Fox: What are you doing?
David Fox: It was a goddamn raccoon in the middle of the road!
Amy Fox: Well, better to kill us than get a little roadkill on the car, huh?
David Fox: Well, we're still alive. I can tell by the pissy look that you're giving me.

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Connections

Referenced in Machete Betty (2011)

User Reviews

My Theatre Had No Vacancy

The theater was packed more so than usual and why not as Vacancy was a very entertaining thrillride.Kate Beckinsale is great in her first Horror film and Luke Wilson is great in pretty much his first serious role as these two squabbling spouses can feed off of each others talent.Remember when we had nothing but slasher movies being intentionally funny, you know the days where Jason X, Wrong Turn, Scream, Freddy vs Jason, and I Know What You Did Last Summer well that is slowly coming to an end as Vacancy aligns itself with Saw, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and The Hills Have Eyes as a great serious slasher that doesn't have ridiculous humour or one liners.Vacancy has a simple enough storyline that has indeed been done before but the best thing about it is that unlike so many other slasher movies this one has a lot of character development as these characters aren't the typical teenager or cop whose name you don't remember or care about you know damn well who the Fox couple is, why they're having problems, and you end up rooting for them to survive.To say Vacancy is scary is a bit of a stretch but to say Vacancy is a great thriller would be about accurate.The storyline progresses at a fast pace but none of it is half @$$ed or out of nowhere everything makes sense in the end.Vacanc's pacing gets you're adrenaline pumping in the same way that any good quality thriller does.Vacancy has has a much more realistic and believable story as you know full well these killers are everyday people they aren't a monstrous man with a flesh disease like in Texas Chainsaw or House Of Wax and it's not some campy undead serial killer like Freddy Krueger or Jason Vorhees.I think what added to the effect of the creepy atmosphere was having pretty much the whole film take place at night as it really gave you a cold feeling that something was lurking out their.Again my only complaints are that the dialogue is sometimes not well delivered, the plot is at times over the top, and it borrows a lot of elements from Psycho and Saw.

The Good -Overall good acting -Doesn't rely solely on gore or jump scares -Good amount of character development -Excellent pace that keeps the adrenaline pumping

The Bad -Some bad line delivery -Plot tends to get a little over the top -Various horror clichés eg. the car breaks down