Vacancy 2: The First Cut (2008) Reviews

• Pretty average sequel to surprisingly enjoyable "Vacancy".

  HumanoidOfFlesh2009-01-15

  Agnes Bruckner plays Jessica,a sexy girl from South Carolina.She on a road trip with her fiancée Caleb and annoying friend Tanner.Soon they find themselves checking into the Meadow View Inn a week after an initial murder took place the previous week.The motel's employee Gordon and his three comrades focus on torturing guests for profit and recording their agony on tape,leaving the three friends having to fight for survival.This straight-to-video sequel to horror hit "Vacancy" offers nothing fresh.It's more violent and sadistic than its predecessor,but less believable.The characters of villains are actually more interesting than protagonists.The motel setting is spot on as it provides some spooky atmosphere.It's a shame that the climax is so anticlimatic.6 out of 10.

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• A mediocre prequel to a mediocre film

  Shattered_Wake2009-01-04

  The story chronicles the events of the first victims of the snuff filmmakers of Meadow View Inn (from Vacancy (2007)). The victims include a horny young newled couple, a hooker and her John, and three friends just looking for a place to rest. Vacancy 2: The First Cut, opening with some of the most poorly written introductory description, does not start well. When it moves to the first scene (a drunk newlywed couple looking for a place to stop and have sex), it gets even worse. The writing begins terribly and the acting by the unlikable newlyweds was even worse. Also, the shakycam was doing nothing but add to the annoyance. The only good thing about starting a film like this? It has nowhere to go but up. And it does get better. The root story of Reece (Brian Klugman) and Gordon (David Moscow) is actually fairly interesting and goes for more than just the "Oh, they're crazy and that's why they do it" storyline. One bad thing, however, about showing the roots of villains is the risk of making them likable, sometimes more likable than the victims. For me, that was the case here (and has been many times before). I really didn't care about or like any of the tenants of the Meadow View; but, as I knew the backstory of Reece and Gordon, I was interested in them. Even the 'likable' tenants weren't people I'd root for: the main couple was overly nice and boring, and the token black guy was just over-the-top annoying (although, he would end up becoming the only reasonably likable and intelligent one of the victims). As the story progresses, it's quite apparent that the film is not attempting anything new. It's essentially a younger re-do of the first film, with a couple added elements from other horrors. For instance, the killers wear a sack over his head like The Man in the Mask from The Strangers. Visually, the film works well. It's not the cheap 'shot-on-film' look low-budget film-making has been moving towards. The setting is creepy and the mood is always nicely set with the spooky atmosphere. Unfortunately, the script is lacking with its unoriginal and overdone storyline, not to mention one of the worst and anticlimactic endings ever. Overall, if you're a big fan of the original, you'll probably enjoy it, but for the majority, it'll just be mediocre sequel to a mediocre original. Obligatory Horror Elements: Final verdict: 5/10. Take it or leave it. -AP3-

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• Better than expected...but still rather silly and dull

  The_Void2009-03-02

  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.

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• Insipid sequel

  Leofwine_draca2013-11-29

  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...

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• Decent Prequel

  claudio_carvalho2009-01-25

  In 2004, the redneck managers of the Meadow View Motel Gordon (David Moscow) and Reece (Brian Klugman) use room 6 to videotape the intimacy of the guests to sell porn movies. When the mysterious Mr. Smith (Scott G. Anderson) checks in with a young woman, they witness the sadistic psychopath guest stabbing and killing his mate. The footage is a success and they decide to make other snuff movies with Smith. When Caleb (Trevor Wright), who is traveling from Chicago with his fiancée Jessica (Agnes Bruckner) and his best friend Tanner (Arjay Smith), decides to rest in Meadow View, they have a nightmarish night and try to survive from the sick intention of the gang. The underrated "Vacancy 2: The First Cut" is a decent prequel to the original "Vacancy" (which is also a reasonable movie, nothing more than that). There are some stupid scenes, like for example Jessica beating on the window instead of escaping; or the attitude of Tanner in the house of Otis and Doris; or the conclusion with the police finding no evidence of the murders; but the final result is not bad or mediocre like mentioned in some reviews. The screenplay and the story could be better but work on DVD. My vote is six. Title (Brazil): "Temos Vagas 2 - The First Cut" ("Vacancy 2: The First Cut")

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