Vacancy

This film had the potential of being so much better. I absolutely love the idea. And the set up, even though slightly cliche, still works. The cinematography by Andrezej Sekula was fantastic. His uses of desaturated bleached warm tones and interrupting shadows really creates an uncomfortable creepy feel. The film was an art directors dream and was definitely done right. My big problem with the film is that the filmmakers kept reminding you that THIS IS A HORROR MOVIE instead of just revealing unsettling moments bit by bit. The opening credit sequence felt like someone had just found Flash and wanted to make something "really cool" yet way over the top, music included. The ending was infuriating and fell prey to the "safe American endings Syndrome." It would have been interesting to see Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner in the roles of Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale, although the two didn't do a horrible job. The actor who shined in this film was Frank Whaley who plays the conniving hotel clerk. His look, his reactions, and his wit are all played out very nicely. I do have to commend this film for not going the route of the tasteless torture porn sub genre. The film could have easily gone that route and become another Hostel/Saw catastrophe. Where as the film stands above those types of films and has a handful of suspenseful moments, it still falls short overall, one for building suspense, too quickly and awkwardly, and two for reminding us with masked villains and way to many over dramatic music cues that we are most definitely watching a horror film.