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Vacancy is a 2007 horror/thriller which stars Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale. It was distributed by Screen Gems and was released to the public on April 20, 2007. Production was scheduled to commence in August 2006 with Nimród Antal signing on to direct it.

Early on, it was thought that Sarah Jessica Parker was going to be in the film. A September 2006 article in The Hollywood Reporter announced that Kate Beckinsale had signed on to replace Parker.^[1]

Taglines:

• How can you escape...if they can see everything?.

David (Luke Wilson) and Amy Foxs' (Kate Beckinsale) car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. The bickering couple decide to spend the night in a motel, home to a creepy manager named Mason (Frank Whaley). Soon after they discover that the low-budget slasher movies they're watching on the motel's television are really not fake and were filmed in that very room in which they're staying. They are afraid they'll become a part of a similar snuff film. After lots of in between bickering, they crawl through a sort of underground tunnel to escape from their room, which leads to the lobby of the hotel. David and Amy struggle to get out alive while cameras watch some of whats going on. They are able to make a 911 call which summons a police officer to the premises, but he ends up being killed by one of the thugs who helps make the films, so again David and Amy are left on their own. David is eventually stabbed by one of these thugs as Amy watches from a secure hiding spot. In the end, Amy kills a few with her car and after a long battle to defeat manager Mason, succeeds in killing him. The film ends, and David actually revives with the assistance of another call to 911.

Vacancy opened at #4 in its first week at the box office grossing $7.6 million at 2,551 locations. In its second week the film had a 45.9% drop-off, falling to a #8 position. The film has grossed $18.9 million domestically and $9.5 million in foreign countries, making a total of $28.4 million worldwide. The film received some mixed reviews with Rotten Tomatoes giving the film an average rating of 54%. "Vacancy's restraint with gore is commendable", said one critic. The Rotten Tomatoes "Cream of the Crop" raters scored it an average of 60%.[1] [2]

Vacancy was released on DVD on August 14, 2007 in anamorphic widescreen, with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. Special features include deleted scenes, a making of featurette, the full versions of the snuff films, and a trailer gallery. It was also released on Blu-Ray Disc and UMD for the Sony PSP.

The advertising strategy for the film has made use of the Internet as well as a toll free phone number. In addition to the TV spots and trailers shown in theaters and on television, the toll free number is made to sound as if one is actually calling the motel in which the film is placed. In the background, screaming can be heard accompanying the voice of the proprietor, who informs callers about "slashing" prices and the "killer" deals that the motel has, of course that is, if it is not vacant. The toll free phone number for the ad is 1-888-9-VACANCY (1-888-9-8222629).

In addition, the phone call also refers the caller to the film's website, which is also set up to be the site of the actual motel. After calling, one is given a "promotional code" (8889) which can be entered at the website http://www.1-888-9-vacancy.com/, which then shows previews of the snuff films that the motel proprietor and various people created, taken from the set. It was assisted and directed by Julie Tsaruhas.

The advertising campaign was also criticized for being too widespread. Vanilla Revolution, for example, wrote that the "multiple commercials during one session is not only unnecessary, it’s annoying" and that he would be boycotting the film in protest. [3]

1. ^ Kate Beckinsale joins Vacancy. Retrieved on 2006-01-02.

• Official Site
• Vacancy at the Internet Movie Database
• Vacancy at Rotten Tomatoes
• OhmyNews International Film Review
• Antal In Talks To Direct Vacancy
• Killer Movies
• Rope Of Silicon
• Dread Central
• Vacancy - Nimród Antal - Interview in the Dark on IFILM
• Vacancy, A flawless horror-thriller. Watch it if you dare in The Economist 2007-04-19, p.89

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