Vacancy 2: The First Cut DVD Review
Having seen Vacancy, I think the title of Vacancy 2: The First Cut is confusing. Perhaps Vacancy: The Beginning, or even The First Cut: Vacancy 2 would have been better, as this film is actually the set up to Vacancy, and explains how a hotel in the middle of nowhere became a snuff film set.
My Rating: 
But back to Vacancy 2, which, like Vacancy, takes place at the Meadow View Inn and explains the back story how the snuff film business in the middle of nowhere got its start as low-budget porn, then evolved to something not just perverse but also gruesome.
David Moscow plays Gordon, Meadow View Inn’s creepy hotel manager, and Brian Klugman plays Reece, creepy hotel employee, both of whom are in business with a trucker (David Shackleford). It seems they have a “special” room in the hotel full of hidden cameras, where they film couples getting it on, then sell the tapes to the trucker, who then distributes them to various “consumers”.
One night, Mr. Smith (Scott G. Anderson, reprising his role as Mr. Smith from the first Vacancy movie) comes rolling through looking for a room for he and his “gal”, and the guys watch via hidden cameras as he kills her. Realizing that calling the cops will in turn expose their seedy operation, instead the three venture in to a loose partnership, whereby Mr. Smith kills, Gordon and Brain let the cameras roll, and they all make a profit on the snuff films.
Now that the back story to the back story is set up, enter Jessica (Agnes Bruckner), her fiancé Caleb (Trevor Wright), and Caleb’s childhood friend Tanner (Arjay Smith), who are en route to Jessica’s parents place. They decide to stop for the night and pull in to the Meadow View Inn. Jessica and Caleb lie and say it’s just the two of them to avoid paying for an extra room, and guess which “special” room they are assigned? Soon Tanner discovers the hidden video feed, which of course is caught on camera where the snuff film team can see. Segue into brutal stabbings, smashed limbs, and people being blown away by shotguns.
Good versus evil is pitted against each other from here on, and Jessica, Caleb and Tanner have to fight for survival against three people with loose morals and motivated only by fear, money, lust and passion for killing—all a deadly combination platter.
Director Eric Bross (Stranger Than Fiction) and writer Mark L. Smith (Vacancy) work well together in this film, and take what could have been a cheesy straight-to-video film, turning it into something worth watching.
Bruckner (Blood And Chocolate, Venom, Murder By Numbers) does well in the heroine role, Anderson has already proven to be a good psycho killer (in Vacancy), and Smith (Be Kind Rewind, The Day After Tomorrow) provides the comic relief in the film. Probably the only roles I’m not buying are baby-faced Moscow (Riding In Cars With Boys, Honey), Wright (“George Lopez”) and Klugman (“Felicity”, “Frasier”), all of whom seem miscast and out of their league.
Vacancy 2: The First Cut is presented in 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen, with audio in English language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Extras include a commentary track featuring director Bross, producer Hal Leiberman, executive producer Brian Paschal, and actors Bruckner and Moscow.
There are also two featurettes. The first, Caught On Tape: Behind The Scenes Of Vacancy 2, shows some on-set action, as well as short snippets with various cast and crew. The second, Behind The Façade: Constructing The Meadow View Inn, features interviews with set crew regarding construction of the creepy hotel. There are also three deleted scenes.
Vacancy 2: The First Cut is rated R “for strong violence and terror, language and some sexual content.” This film is entertaining, but is probably more appreciated once you’ve seen Vacancy. I give it 2.5 stars out of 5 stars.