Vacancy
2007 thriller about a bickering couple, David and Amy (played by Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale), who are forced by circumstances to stop in a seedy motel and find out the hotel owners make snuff movies with their guests as the stars/victims.
Tropes used in Vacancy include:
- Ax Crazy: The motel manager.
- Bittersweet Ending
- Car Fu: Amy takes out the two masked killers this way.
- Chekhov's Gun: The second revolver. A slightly more subtle one is the cockroach that is seen disappearing under the bathroom rug - it is later revealed that there is a trapdoor under there.
- Developing Doomed Characters: Arguably the first twenty minutes.
- Disney Death: David.
- For the Evulz: Yes, they make money out of it, but the villains' main reason for shooting these films is pure, unadulterated fun.
- Genre Savvy: David has many Genre Savvy moments - one of them being when he thinks to check behind the shower curtain in case one of the killers is lurking there. There's nobody there, but hey, no harm in checking.
- Hell Hotel: Of course.
- Inn of No Return
- Large Ham: Mason the manager.
- My Car Hates Me: Justified, as the villains tamper with the vehicles to ensure that their victims can't drive away.
- Obviously Evil: The motel manager.
- Offscreen Teleportation: Subverted: there are actually underground tunnels under the motel.
- Serial Killer: Killers, to be precise.
- Snuff Film
- Shout-Out: Obviously Psycho.
- Villainous Breakdown: The motel manager suffers this at the climax.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: It seems to be implied that Amy has a fear of rats.