Vacancy staring Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson is a film that has received mixed reactions from both the press and public since its release and after watching it this evening I can completely understand why. It's that old classic formula, Amy and David Fox, a married (but soon to be divorced) couple on their way home from a long night of travelling decide to take a detour and lo and behold find themselves stranded in the middle of nowhere. As luck would have it of course, there is an old run down motel just down the road and the couple decide to spend the night.

As you would expect from this type of film we soon learn that the motel owner has gone a bit ‘Norman Bates' and whilst watching TV in their room they begin to realise that the scenes of torture and murder playing out on the screen in front of them have actually taken place inside the four walls of that very motel. They soon realise that escape is not going to be easy and a series of hidden doors and underground passages give the motel owner and his sicko friends the upper hand providing no end of hiding places in the ultimate game of cat and mouse. As I already mentioned, the movie has received mixed reviews, with people being split 50/50 between loving the movie and hating it.

I think that this is largely to do with the fact that although the film has plenty of drama and some VERY tense moments its plotline has been over used. It bears more than a vague resemblance to Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 classic ‘Psycho' and has countless scenes that make you think "haven't I seen that in another movie?' but the tense and dramatic scenes that begin to unfold almost manage to outweigh this. Along with my own personal fear of ‘old people' as mentioned in previous blogs, another of my all time fears is someone breaking into the house. (I'm not paranoid, honest!) In fact I think that this was actually voted the number one fear in a public poll somewhere recently so it would explain why this movie really unnerves people.

The fact that the two main characters have no control of the situation and their realisation that they are being watched from every angle really gets you thinking and you can't help but be swept along in the moment. Both Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale have some rather cheesy lines to endure through this movie at times but generally they both acted well and built up the suspense convincingly. Frank Whaley who played the creepy owner of the hotel gave a good performance but again the role just felt like it had been done before. My overall view on Vacancy is that it's definitely watchable, enjoyable and actually very tense and engaging at times but if you're looking for an ORIGINAL concept for a horror I would advise you to pass this one by and keep searching! Watched Vacancy? Let me know what you thought by hitting ‘Reply'