Vacancy is a slickly produced thriller that would be easy to criticize for being so damn familiar, but it's over so fast that you really don't get the chance to be bothered by the borrowing. If Disturbia (a better movie in most regards) is the Rear Window for the My Space generation, then I suppose Vacancy is Psycho. This isn't to say that Vacancy is in the same league as Psycho, but then it isn't really fair to compare the two. The only thing Vacancy shares in common with the Hitchcock classic is that it's set in seedy, roadside motel a good distance from the beaten path.

Following a nifty credit sequence, we're introduced to traveling married couple David and Amy Fox (Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale). The attractive pair are clearly on the skids as is evidenced by their constant bickering and nagging. As they make their long journey to a family function, car trouble necessitates a nights layover in a run down motel in the middle of nowhere. The proprietor of the hotel is a twitchy, eccentric (played with oddball glee by Frank Whaley) who likes to watch horror films at high volume while sitting alone in his office. But these aren't your run of the mill horror flicks as David and Amy quickly discover. In fact, shortly after checking into their room, it isn't long before the beleaguered couple begin to suspect that they may have stumbled into the Roach Motel. And as the trailer suggests the majority of the film is comprised of the couples' desperate attempts to check out.

Vacancy makes a bid for "torture porn/snuff flick" shock value, and while it's obviously more extreme than the (PG-13) Disturbia, it isn't nearly as in-your-face as Saw or Hostel, and in fact, much of the violence is off screen. Director Nimrod Antal (yes, that's his real name) is more interested in fashioning a pressure cooker thriller. He simply introduces us to his leads, then hurls them in the pot within the first five minutes.

As a simplistic thriller, Vacancy lacks the efficiency and all out tension of the similarly themed Breakdown, but, in spite of it's familiarity and complete and utter predictability, it's never boring. I never found myself looking at my watch. On the other hand, I didn't go to the bathroom or get a snack - Vacancy is only eighty minutes long.

Wilson has a couple of nice moments here and while Beckinsale doesn't exactly exude depth, she's still a looker. Furthermore, I applaud the film makers for not turning her into super woman in the final moments of the film. This girl takes a big time beating. Frank Whaley appears to be having the most fun, and while there's zero insight into who this guy is (I suppose it's completely irrelevant, so who cares?), I love the way Whaley plays it. He sort of reminded me of that whacky character actor Michael J. Pollard.

Vacancy is far from perfect. It features characters doing things that would suggest they've never seen a single horror film in their entire lives, and brings to the forefront some of cinemas dumbest villains ever (it's a lot more scary when the bad guys are not only pure evil but highly intelligent as well). Still Vacancy does move at a brisk pace, and I like the way it was shot. I probably would have given Vacancy higher marks had it not concluded with such a dull, uneventful, cop-out of an ending. Even so, it's a serviceable enough joyride for thrills and chills seekers.