VACANY 2: THE FIRST CUT is  a prequel that shows how it all began.  It is not about knowing what will happen.  It's more about how it happened.  The way the film is shot and directed adds to this good prequel.  A recently engaged couple is on the way to a small South Carolina town (with the annoying black best friend along for the ride).  They decide to stop at the Meadow View Inn for the night.  It is a big mistake that could cost them their lives because the hotel employees have joined up with the homicidal Mr. Smith to kill unsuspecting guests and film their murders.   The prequel divides it's time between the killers and the couple (and their black friend).  As DTV films go, VACANCY 2 isn't bad.  It is a tense and moody film.  Good for a one time viewing.   The only one nitpick is that two of the bad guys wear masks like the one you see in THE STRANGERS.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The deleted scenes amount to extended scenes which were thankfully cut down.

The two featurettes look into the making of the film-

CAUGHT ON TAPE: BEHIND THE SCENES OF VACANY 2- Cast and crew talk about making the film which was shot in 19 days.

BEHIND THE FACADE: CONSTRUCTING THE MEADOW VIEW INN- the more interesting featurette of the two as they talk about how they built the set  (they only had three weeks to built the motel), building it to fit the film (some are just facades you won't notice in the dark and lighting the set while HD Video presented it's own challenges).

Rounding out the extras is a feature audio commentary with director Eric Bross, actors Agnes Bruckner and Devid Moscow, and

FINAL ANALYSIS:  If you liked the first one and enjoy a tense horror thriller, VACANCY 2 is up your alley.

this DVD review is (c)1-15-2009 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com (all spam will be sent into a black hole) and look for additional content at http://enterline2.tripod.com