Vacancy (Blu-ray)

 

Picture: B+     Sound: B     Extras: C-     Film: C-

 

 

Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale are a couple on the brink of breaking up who check into a hotel with a Vacancy and uncover more than they ever expected.  The Nimrod Antal-directed thriller starts out with some promise, but lands up playing more like a lower-budget version of the recently detested remake of House Of Wax (see my HD-DVD review elsewhere on this site) with the town with trick tunnels, et al.  However, it runs only about 85 minutes and makes one wonder if a better film was edited away.

 

In any event, Mark L. Smith’s screenplay has its moments as the couple meets the few locals and slowly discover they are being watched.  Too bad the makers did not know how to keep this going, because the leads are good and performances are not bad all around, including Ethan Embry and Frank Whaley.  See it if you want, but just have low expectations and you get this one in with easy on your viewing list.

 

The 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image was shot in Super 35mm by Andrzej Sekula who manages to get in some good compositions throughout and even with the wide open spaces of the scope frame, knows how to make it deceptively open and even feel claustrophobic.  Though some color is cut down, this is not ridiculously so.  The transfer is as sharp and clear as the film could get in this format.   The PCM 16/48 5.1 mix is more subtle than you might expect, but still better than the Dolby Digital 5.1 versions.  It is still to quiet at time in a way that affects its rating.  The Paul Haslinger score is wisely spare at times and there is a good soundfield throughout, even down to the kind of ambience you expect from a genre film like this.  Extras include deleted scenes, extended versions of the snuff films seen in the film and a behind the scenes featurette.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo