September 21, 2007 \ The Clarion
ARTS & LIFE
Page 9
DVD Review: Vacancy
by Zack Harding
Arts & Life Editor
Looking for something to rent
this weekend? If you want a
mediocre thrill that has some
interesting plot devices, try
Vacancy.
Starring the ever-average
Luke Wilson, whom I can’t help
but like for some reason, and
the beautifully British Kate
Beckinsale, Vacancy begins
with an eeriness that never lets
up, that is until the action really
starts.
The plot revolves around a
broke down car, a remote motel,
and the unlucky and unhappy
couple, David and Amy Fox.
Soon after they retire to their
motel room from a rough night,
they begin to realize that
something is not quite right.
David, played by Wilson, finds
some video tapes and upon
playing them, finds gruesome
scenes of murder Soon after,
he figures out that the room
pictured in the videos is the
same room the he and Amy are
currently in.
Things become increasingly
frightening as they realize that
they are the subjects of an
upcoming snuff film, much like
the videos that were left lying
in the room. All involved must
be commended on how well the
building tension works up until
this point, as it is genuinely
creepy and uncomfortable.
Beyond these scenes of
escalating tension we have the
typical horror-movie style
chase scenes which really undo
the wonderful tension and
atmosphere that are apparent
in the rest of the movie.
The best acting in the film
goes to the Norman Bates-
esque villain portrayed by
Frank Whaley. He is nerdy,
weird, violent and sinister all at
the same time. His portrayal of
the motel-manger would be
disturbing to even the most
emotionless of audiences.
Ultimately, the film finishes
with a ridiculously Hollywood
event that stretches the
suspension of disbelief well
beyond its breaking point. All
in all. Vacancy is a pretty good
thrill and uses its snuff-film plot
pretty well, but it really goes
nowhere.
HOROSCOPE
by Sara Duncan
Staff Astrologer
Aries: If your hear “This Magic
Moment” idly gaze towards 3
o’clock.
Lucky Color: Gangreene
Taurus: A fortune from a cookie
will plot your ironic demise.
Lucky Color: Crap Bag
Gemini: If your hear “This Magic
Moment,” an Aries will be idly
gazing at from 3 o’clock
Lucky Color: Rusty Infected Nail
Cancer: Herpes is real- protect
yourselves!
Lucky Color: Banana Hammock
Yellow
Leo: If you’re hot, call 914-500-
7495. Ask for Gene.
Lucky Color: Banjo White
Virgo: If you eat a rock beware of
dental consequences.
Lucky Color: River Brown
Libra: Don’t let an eyeful of sand
get you down.
Lucky Color: Blind
Scorpio: Quote a colonial
American figurehead and you shall
be rewarded...intimately.
Lucky Color: Hillbilly Tooth Gold
Sagittarius: The sky is up. The
ground is down. If you play your
cards right you won’t end up in
either.
Lucky Color: What the hell?
Capricorn: Follow the raven at
dusk.
Lucky Color: Black like your soul
Aquarius: Your life will be like a
Disney movie. So fmd a four
legged companion and be on the
look out for a royal lover
disguised or in peril.
Lucky Color: Princess Pink
Pisces: RRUUUNNN!!!!
Lucky Color: Staph Red
What BC is Reading
Joseph Chilton: "The Great American Novel" by Phillip RqiIi
Aaron Palmer: "Slaughterhouse Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
John Padgett: "Wieland" by Charles Brockden Brown
Sarah Carlson: "Daughter's Keeper" by Ayelet Waldman
Jonathan Poeples: "Eye of the World" by Robert Jordan,
Zack Harding: "The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldridge"
by Philip K. Dick
Let us know what you're reading. Send it
to Clarion@brevard.edu