Weekly Review -- When checking in means checking out

Vacancy (2007) -- As far as troubled-couple-in-jeopardy plotlines go, Nimród Antal's Vacancy is far less intimidating than my Halloween pick, The Strangers; still, it stands on its own as a nasty, messy little thriller. Amy and David Fox (Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson) are not merely bickering. Torn apart by loss, they spend a great part of a return trip home throwing verbal darts at one another, each one paradoxically trying to hurt and heal the other at the same time. When their car breaks down, they find themselves at a dirt cheap motel, with only a creepy desk clerk (Frank Whaley) and a few worn out video tapes for company. As if they had not gone through enough, what they find on those tapes puts them directly in the path of danger... The movie derives its suspense from Amy and David literally getting cornered, with the perpetrators attempting to beat them to a psychological pulp. The main strength of Vacancy can be found in details like loud knocks and unnerving silences, as well as the general unpredictability of the attackers; however, the effective suspense gives way to not-so-subtle action midway through the proceedings, which makes the movie lose its initial power. Beckinsale and Wilson are convincing as the conflicted couple; Beckinsale especially demonstrates a raw vulnerability that slowly grows into unsurpassed survival instinct. I could not help but notice tiny homages to Psycho, from the opening and closing credits design, to the music, to the initial exchange between the clerk and the couple. Although the movie is not in the same league as the ultimate motel-from-hell chiller, it does make you think twice about all the secrets that the numerous roadside establishments strewn across North America may be hiding. Bad for business? Sure, but great for a night of scares.

7/10