Vacancy 2: The First Cut

The Pinewood Motel was shut down in April 2007 and 200 videotaped murders were discovered from as far back as September 2004. It all started with motel clerks Reece (Brian Klugman) and Gordon (David Moscow) videotaping the sexual escapades of their guests and selling them to the truck driver (David Shackelford). Then they film the mysterious Mr. Smith murdering a woman in the room. They take Smith prisoner who sells them on making more snuff movies. Young couple Jessica (Agnes Bruckner) and Caleb (Trevor Wright) with their funny black friend Tanner (Arjay Smith) arrive at the motel just in time.

It's a real disappointment that neither Frank Whaley nor Ethan Embry come back for this prequel. The connection to the first movie is lost. I only know Bruckner and she's played this damsel-in-distress before as all young actresses do. The concept is basically the same as the original which means that there are no surprises. The first one was a well-made simple B-horror elevated because of compelling good actors in the cast. The simplicity means there is no place for this to go. The lack of good actors is really where this falls down. Fank Whaley was creepy in the first one. This is just a straight-to-video cash grab.

A direct-to-DVD sequel to the surprisingly successful VACANCY, a supposed horror/thriller that I wasn't too fussed about if I'm truthful. I felt that VACANCY was a film I'd seen a hundred times before, and the same can be said for this low budget sequel which takes the form of a prequel set in another motel.

The story is very predictable and aimed at the torture porn market. A travelling group of three teenagers end up staying at a remote motel (is there any other type?) and fall foul of a group of weirdos who decide to make a snuff film. There are no shocks or surprises here, and the writing is merely perfunctory. The characters act dumb and stilted, and the worst thing is that there's no sense of empathy; you never care as to who lives or dies.

Agnus Bruckner (THE WOODS) is the typical pretty blonde heroine but her character is severely underwritten to the point that the villains are more interesting than the supposed protagonists. The direction is insipid and uninspired and despite the plentiful chase sequences there isn't an exciting moment in the whole movie. Can't say I'm too surprised...

Vacancy 2: The first cut is a film that is better than it really ought to be.

I have said this comment countless times before, but an idea that has been implemented to great effect in the first film makes it interesting, and suspenseful.

Now with a prequel, it begins to give off some bad vibes, as if the ending has already been predetermined, and therefore it would need something truly unique to make it memorable.

Thankfully it created its own distinctive story about how the culprits began their operation at the Meadow View Inn, and how they turned into the monsters that terrorized couples, and families from the original Vacancy.

The acting was decent enough, although there won't be any award winners.

The psychopath Smith who was played by Scott Anderson was the absolute standout for me. He was bone-chilling, vicious, cruel, and sadistic. I couldn't believe the motel perverts trusted, and sided with him knowing how unstable, and deranged his actions were.

I would be a little more intrigued, into his past, and why he became such a savage to be able to commit these horrendous acts without remorse.

The good was that there is a lot of tension. You want the kids to survive, therefore you are alert, and on the edge of your seat constantly barracking for their survival.

The bad is that this is a very limited story, and doesn't deviate whatsoever from that blatantly obvious plot, so there's nothing that makes it stand out.

I can't give much more in-depth information here, this is a film that you already know won't reach any great expectations, It does sit below par because it's not entirely terrible, but I'm not sure that it warrants much of your time.

4.5/10.

The original Vacancy was a rather simple but also rather effective and well done little horror film; and while it certainly wasn't brilliant, I did at least enjoy it. I do have to say that I never really thought the film needed a follow-up, and after finding out that Vacancy 2 would be a direct to video release, I did abandon all hope...but to my surprise, the film is better than I thought it would be an almost qualifies as being a decent horror film. Naturally I was expecting this film to be more or less the same as the original; but actually it does take a (slightly) more unexpected route. This film is actually a prequel to the original. The plot begins with a seedy motel where the employees spy on couples having sex and then sells the tapes to a marketer who gets rid of them on the black market. Things are turned upside down one day when a man arrives with a prostitute, and kills her. The hotel owners then hatch a plan with the murderer to make snuff films instead of sex tapes.

The film attempts to explain how exactly the staff of the motel in the original film got into the business of killing people; but due to the bizarre plot decisions spread throughout the film, Vacancy 2 actually creates more questions than it answers. For a start, why set it a different motel all together? Also, I don't remember seeing ANY of the characters of this film in the original. The saddest part is that most of these changes are put in place because of the ending, which could have been a lot neater if only the filmmakers were a bit braver! Still, on its own merits; the film is entertaining, if shallow and silly, entertainment. The victim characters are just your average horror film fodder and neither invokes any emotion towards them nor do they really provide any interest. The team of killers is slightly more interesting...though not much more. Still, it would be silly to go into this expecting anything more than just a throwaway ninety minutes and the film was at least more entertaining than I thought it would be. I'd say it's just about worth a look if you liked the original.

Vacancy 2 is not as great as the first, but it does have some of the same suspense in the first half.

I found it pretty interesting and entertaining, especially as seen as a prequel. I did like how the order of the killings were not as obvious as other slasher films, but I do not like how it ripped off from The Strangers (a superior film) in the killers' masks. Saying that, the ending also sort of fell apart, and the reason is because there is just way too much chase. However, it still makes for a quick and mostly entertaining film that manages to be alright for a quick Saturday night, but do not expect it to be as great as other horrors, since the original was not all that either.