Vanishing on 7th street

Creepy

THE MOVIE: CRITIC'S TAKE

This movie has been floating around for awhile waiting for a theatrical release. I heard some good things and bad things about this movie for some time now. When I finally came across a copy of this film I decided to give it a view for myself. Given the cast I was expecting good things from them. I was expecting to be entertained with the mystery surrounding the characters. I have to say that I wasn't disappointed but I can see why this film has yet to be widely released.

STORY

The story begins with Paul, played by John Leguizamo, working his theater shift at AMC. Shortly the lights go out and everyone has vanished leaving their clothes and screams behind. Paul finds another survivor and they both search the grounds for any more. Paul's headlight goes out while shining the light for the other survivor and is taken away abruptly. Needless to say Paul jetted the hell out of there or at least it seemed.

I should have quit

The story quickly jumps to Rosemary, played by Thandie Newton, and Luke, played by Hayden Christiansen. Rosemary was in a hospital when this occurred. She was looking for her baby when she came across a man on an operating table awake and still cut open! The man wasn't in pain long because the lights went out again and he vanished into thin air. Luke awoke oblivious to what was going on. As he called for his girlfriend, I presume, he was being closely followed by shadows inside his apartment. It wasn't until he walked outside that he found out the horrible truth. Most of the people in the city have disappeared.

WTF

3 days later and every light source has almost been consumed by the darkness including the sun. Luke finds himself alone looking for food, water, and more light sources. He comes across a bar that still has juice in it. He takes a brief look around before deciding to have a nice drink. When the lights start to flicker he finds the generator and notices it is in bad shape. He also finds a little boy named James, played by Jacob Latimore, holding a shotgun ready to fire. After a few tense moments James finally lets down his guard and the gun. Luke and James begin to bond while throwing back a few shots of alcohol and telling each one their stories. Yes the little kid does drink in this film. Luke is about to leave when Rosemary burges in looking for her baby.

This has to be a nightmare

Rosemary is acting like a crazy person trying to find her child. After she is calmed down she shares her backstory about what happened. Soon after they hear a man cry out for help. Luke doesn't want to do it himself but he doesn't want the girl to do it either. Seems like Luke is having an inner conflict with himself. He doesn't know if he wants to be a hero or an asshole.

I feel the force

The man turns out to be Paul! He was hit over the head with something and couldn't move. Once Luke gets him to safety he tells them all about Roanoke and what happened to the people there. This starts a debate on why they are here and why this is happening. Luke isn't trying to hear it and wants to find a way out of the city. He knows there's other survivors in the Chicago area and wants to reach them. He comes up with a plan but one by one the 5 survivors begin to vanish.

We aren't alone

By the end of the movie there is only two survivors. I won't give away who or what but the ending was unique in its own way. You won't be able to guess what happens throughout the film because the film is quite unpredictable. They had a good story to tell and they did just that. This story will leave you with something.

ACTING

The chemistry in this movie is not a problem. It's Thandie Newton's over-dramatic performance that is. In some scenes she went over the top that made me giggle a little. I was left thinking "Was all that necessary?" She did a performance that would have stole hearts in a drama movie but for a film like this it seemed a bit too much. I know she's suppose to feel for her baby but when the viewer is about to laugh his ass off at her, something isn't right. She needed to tone it down a notch.

Are you my son?

Hayden and Jacob did good jobs but the real star of the film is John. He stole the movie away from the others and had more of a story to tell. John Leguizamo is one of the most underrated actors in film and this movie proves that John can hold his own as a staring man. Things don't seem to flow right when John isn't on camera and you can almost feel it through your screen. The film is decent by itself but John is the reason why you should watch this film. He really brought this film to life.

Spotlight

SPECIAL EFFECTS

For this low budget film the special effects were very good. I thought the shadowy figures were done well. They pop out at you at times that gives away a feeling of fear. The landscapes were lively despite the lack of people on it and the environment seemed real enough to be hell. Being afraid of the dark is never fun and the special effects team did a great job returning that childhood fear. I will never look at a shadow the same way again.

WRITING AND DIRECTING

The movie was written by Anthony Jaswinski. He did a great job with the pacing of the film. The dialog seemed natural given the plot. He gave us a saying that some my find cheesy but I think fits right in the story. "I exist." Is heard throughout the ending of the film from its victims. It made you think that there was hope when you knew there wasn't any.

The film was directed by Brad Anderson. Most of this film is shot in the dark. It is very hard to film in the dark but this directer made it look easy. I was surprised on how good it looked and the detail of the film. It reminded me a bit of 30 days of night. I'm sure this director will find work again in the horror and thriller genre. He made a film that is full of suspense.

THE END

If you can find this film give it a view. You will either love it or hate it. If you're a fan of John Leguizamo give this a view. The film isn't perfect because the writer let these characters do stupid things to drive the story and there are some situations involving children that may be uncomfortable for some viewers. I think this is the real reason why this film isn't in theaters today but overall the film is quite enjoyable. Watch it with the lights off if you can. You might find yourself looking around more than you should.



STORY 6 out of 10
ACTING 6 out of 10
SPECIAL EFFECTS 7 out of 10
WRITING 6 out of 10
DIRECTING 6 out of 10

OVERALL 6 (GIVE IT A TRY)