Vanishing on 7th Street (2011)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Crappy film

A different way of telling a story

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Directed by Brad Anderson and written by Anthony Jaswinski. It stars Hayden Christensen, Thandie Newton, John Leguizamo and Jacop Latimore. Music is by Lucas Vidal and cinematography by Uta Briesewitz.Detroit falls dark and silent and people are disappearing into thin air. A tiny group of survivors "exist"...Well it went down like a lead balloon! Critics and horror fans alike can't find much to like about it. It's certainly a tricky film to have confidence in recommending to anyone, for it's a bit short on answers and scares, sort of? However, considering the budget there's some technical guile here, and if giving the makers some credit, there's possibly intelligence of thought in the writing as well. Religio observations, a sly incorporation of the Roanoke colony disappearance and an existential undercurrent.Yet it's such a frustrating picture, especially if you are a fan of Anderson's best works, or even if you rock up expecting the scarer that the adverts and plot synopsis' suggested. Cast are by the numbers wasted due to being hamstrung by the plot's attempt at blending chills with deeper thought, rendering the characterisations as unfleshed, while the ending feels like a cheat of unfinished business.Personally I'm glad I didn't pay at the cinema to see it, but with that comes the fact that in my darkened living room the other night I enjoyed it to a point. But here's a thing, it probably needs a second viewing for it to breathe better, but I'm not sure I could ever sit through it again... 6/10

Conceptually, this is a cool movie: all of a sudden, the world is plunged in to darkness. Those that vanish in to the night are never seen again. And those that survive to see the sunrise find that even the sun itself is beginning to disappear, bit by bit."Vanishing on 7th Street" is presented to maximize confusion and to scare the pants off you. With a high-contrast visual style where light sources are constantly blown out, it definitely has a unique look all its own, and the whispering, living darkness will make you think twice about sleeping with the lights off.Here's the problem: adrift in an ocean of style, the movie barely gives you anything to hold on to. Some of it is being cryptic on purpose, and that's fine, but other parts of it just don't have enough meat on their bones. Or, like, uh, any at all.Vanishing on 7th Street doesn't have any characters. This should be obvious enough, as the lights go out barely even five minutes in to the film without establishing anything or any one. It's not until almost halfway through the movie that anything really begins to solidify in to a coherent narrative, and even then, the cast of characters we're given mostly exists as the same "scared survivor" clichés that have become so common in zombie movies: the traumatized orphan, the hardened curmudgeon, and so on. Hope gets lost, nerves get frayed, guns get pointed, and should we leave him? I DON'T KNOW, MAN! WE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE! LET'S GO! The movie throws out vague ideas about what *could* be going on, but they never amount to anything more than just suggestions. And so, our characters of one-dimensional stereotypes move from light source to light source, running from shadows, and doing incomprehensible things that jeopardize their own safety for no other reason than to manufacture fake tension.It all feels a little thin -- a spooky concept that just needs to be fleshed out a little more. I'm not asking for it to over-explain itself to death, I'm just asking for it to explain literally anything at all even a little. It doesn't.

This is a nice, simply made movie. It features some well known actors that give plausible, if not effective performances based on the limitations of the script.The movie explores spirituality and the supernatural, and shuns the corniness you find in your more typical slasher flicks. Because it requires thinking and reflection, most fans of the horror genre won't appreciate it. However, if you're looking for something that allows for contemplation of profound ideas and certain philosophies of life and the afterlife, then this is the movie for you.Basically, the movie is centered around this massive darkness that is slowly swallowing a Detroit neighborhood. Why is where the fun begins.Highly recommended for us thinkers out there.

The film is set in Detroit in modern times. Paul handles the technical end of a movie theatre. Luke had a nice job at a television studio. Young John was with his mom. Rosemary was a nurse. One day darkness falls, so to speak. People disappear, with their clothes left behind. The period that the sun shines decreases rapidly.Three days later, almost everyone is gone. The four have found each other, and are trying to save Paul. They have figured out that they need to stay in some sort of light. Batteries that work are getting harder and harder to find. Luke locates a truck that might still work.The darkness comes after them. Will any of them survive?------Scores------Cinematography: 6/10 It's a dark subject. The camera work is pretty good for the trying situation.Sound: 6/10 No particular problems, but the creepy music is not all that creepy.Acting: 5/10 Hayden Christenson, Thandie Newton, and John Leguizamo all gave reasonable performances, but I have seen each of them do better in better films. The script did not give them much interesting to do or to say.Screenplay: 4/10 Short on ideas, useless ending. The references to Roanoke Island did not seem to lead anywhere.