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Journalism of Courage
Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Luke Wilson, David Whaley
Director: Nimrod Antal
A dark night, a lonely stretch of road, a disused motel, an eccentric manager, stuffed animals, strange women screaming into the night8230; No, it ain8217;t Psycho we are talking about. This is Vacancy, and that it is.
Taking hints from that 1960 classic, or at any rate inspired by it, director Antal makes a promising beginning, with the hint of something sinister floating under the surface as a couple on the verge of a divorce get lost in the middle of the night, bickering.
But Antal doesn8217;t know what to do with the rest of the film. It is like a vacant box, with almost everything thrown in to keep it going for 90 minutes.
Yes, it is scary, but bereft of suspense, it is true slasher-fashion, who-lurks-behind-that-door kind of fear. And about how much more gory killing will we see. But it8217;s the end that takes the cake, a hastily thought-out scene that puts even Bollywood to shame.
Amy Beckinsale and David Fox Wilson are headed home when their car breaks down and they have to take shelter for the night at a motel. Once they have got over the cockroaches and dirty sheets, they are troubled by loud banging that seems to be coming from all around their room.
Soon David realises that they are being secretly filmed by the motel manager and his men, who take pleasure from killing guests in their rooms and recording it for private viewing.
It8217;s a long, long night as Amy and David try to evade their chasers through 8220;plans8221;, each of which centres around somehow running out, with the killers watching every door and window. There8217;s a nice scene here, with Amy and David banging at a motel window to catch the attention of a man who has just driven into the motel, and who may or may not be in cahoots with the rest of them.
But for the most part, the chase involves watching the same couple including the likable Beckinsale scurrying around a tunnel like rats, emerging into different rooms of the motel. There are even real rats running around, just in case we miss the picture.
