"Vacancy"

With a great ode to Hithcock in it's opening credits, the movie "Vacancy", which I saw on DVD, had me from the start. It's a short, quick, intense film that had lots of suspense, but also, a surprising bit of soul. The movie begins with an apple and ends with a couple in a courtyard. What got me was the main characters were a couple who are splitting up. Their son David died and unable to express their grief, they lash out at each other. On one last road trip to visit her family their car breaks down and they spend a night in a motel. And the horror/suspense takes off from there. But eventually there comes a scene in which the couple apologize to each other over David's death, they forgive, then they mourn, then they work as a team to solve the problem ahead, using wisdom instead of fear, and say the words "I love you". There is even a death and resurrection in this film. The irony is that redemption for this couple comes in the form of an unholy trinity who is trying to hurt them. Good film, but I would say stay away from the DVD extra labeled "snuff films". It is pointless and truly torture porn in the worse sense. Also, "Vacancy" had what I considered a highly misogynistic scene, although we never get to see it, but in true Hitchockian style, get to use our imagination, which is often worse.