A white-knuckle thriller with a wide range of terror and a narrowed setting, Vacancy plays out with a stark level of realism for its hopefully farfetched plot, but feels cornered by Hollywood’s demand for a clichéd conclusion. With solid performances, a catchy horror score, and an inventively macabre premise, Vacancy still manages to be a lot of fun packed into a minimal amount of time.

Unhappy couple David (Luke Wilson) and Amy Fox (Kate Beckinsale) are returning home from a trying endeavor involving their failing marriage and take a shortcut off the highway to save time. An unexpected turn of events finds their car out of commission and the weary travelers are forced to stay at a seedy motel whose visitors meet a ghastly fate for entertainment, and do anything but smile for the camera. In order to escape, David and Amy must rely on each other (as well as a few blunders on behalf of the murderers) in a desperate fight for survival.

Both relative newcomers to the horror film genre, Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale add a charmingly realistic appeal to their characters as a troubled couple on the verge of separation, possibly due to the death of their son. Their early incessant bickering and apparent exhaustion of each other's presence on the tiresome drive home puts an interesting spin on the typical horror movie victims. Because there are only two main protagonists, all character development is more intensely focused and the audience is treated to a richer introduction to their lives, resulting in added appreciation and sympathy for their dire situation.

Without "stupid" villains, most horror films would last only ten minutes with all protagonists dead and disposed of in half that amount of time. For the sake of suspense and feature-length thrillers, the entities of evil involved usually make a mistake somewhere along the line, allowing the forces of good to prevail, if only for a little while. The antagonists in Vacancy aren't spared from this trait and while they are certainly menacing, they are equally dimwitted, unambitious, and unimaginative when it comes to the dastardly deeds set forth for them to commit. On top of this they are also inexplicably absent while their prey is attempting to escape. We forgive them though, because without their ineptitude there would be no harrowing close calls or shocking near-misses.

While the trailer gives away more plot twists than I probably will, those afraid of spoilers may want to skip this paragraph. Hollywood seems to have an infatuation with happy endings in horror films, or the overly cliché twist ending where the bad guy isn't really dead or the creature mutated, transformed, or otherwise escaped in part or in whole from whatever intricate and seemingly inescapable plan was devised to destroy it. Vacancy contains no such alien life forms, but it does offer a rather unexpected (and unfortunately unwanted) twist in its conclusion. Perhaps the studios believe that the majority of audiences wouldn't enjoy a more tragic ending, or were test audiences not pleased by a more realistic encounter with vicious thugs? I suppose a plot involving only two main protagonists might create too strong an emotional bond between the characters and the viewer to see such a grievous fate befall them. But then again, it's a horror film. Isn't violent death a prerequisite? Shouldn't one expect dark tragedy to afflict its characters? Director Nimrod Antal has created a believably realistic scenario with a likeable couple placed in a chilling plight, but ultimately betrays his audience with an unrealistic twist - though the decision may not have been entirely his.

Regardless of any intentional or forced changes in its denouement, Vacancy manages to entertain for the extent of its relatively brief running time and Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale make compelling victims. A twisted story infused with an intense struggle for survival and a subtle yet searing commentary on voyeuristic violence as entertainment creates a thriller definitely worth seeing - but possibly on DVD.

- Joel Massie

Read the MoviePulse Exclusive Interview with Luke Wilson HERE.