VACANCY (2007) movie review

Vacancy (2007) d. Antal, Nimrod (USA)

While on a road trip, bickering couple Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsdale find themselves stranded when their car (surprise!) breaks down in the middle of nowhere. Eventually, they stumble upon a hotel where Norman Bates, um, I mean, Frank Whaley, provides our couple with a “room with a view” for the night. However, as they will soon discover, they are the view – thanks to hidden cameras – and the couple must spend the night fighting for their lives to avoid becoming the latest installment in the hotel’s unsavory snuff film cottage industry.

HAUNTED (1995) movie review

Haunted (1995) d. Gilbert, Lewis

Aidan Quinn stars as a 1920s English college professor moonlighting as a charlatan-busting paranormal skeptic. Beckoned to allay the spectral fears of an aging country spinster, he finds himself embroiled in Kate Beckinsale’s bizarre incestuous family dynamic alongside his own troubled childhood memories. This is a handsomely mounted haunted house tale, with ample amounts of sexual tension and ghostly imagery to go around. It should be noted, however, Gilbert tips his hand a few too many times as to the true nature of the situation, such that the climactic reveal is foreshadowed approximately halfway through. To keep us distracted/occupied, there’s a healthy amount of sexy skin on display, although the majority of it appears to be courtesy of body doubles (whose faces are even seen at a couple points! Um, what’s the point, guys?). Not an unsung classic, but worth your while. Based on James Herbert’s novel.