Vanishing on 7th Street

Vanishing on 7^th Street

Studio: Magnolia Pictures
Year: 2010
US Rating: Rated R for Language
Film Length: 91 Mins

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 1080P High Definition
Audio: English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish

Release Date: May 17, 2011

Review Date: June 1, 2011

“I’m here because I WILL myself to exist”

Introduction

Picture this. You are happily going about your evening, minding your own business when suddenly everything goes dark for just a moment. When the lights flicker back on, everyone has disappeared and all that is left is the pile of clothes people were wearing before they mysteriously and without warning vanished in to thin air. That’s the hook of Vanishing on 7^th Street – and it’s a good one. The hook however remains the highlight of the experience.

The Film: 3 out of 5

A mass vanishing following a brief blackout leaves just a handful of ‘survivors’ in the city. In the light they are safe, but when the light flickers or dies, shadow figures of people spread across walls and ceilings toward them. Anyone caught in the dark will disappear – their clothes dropped in a pile on the floor like everyone else in the city that disappeared on the night of the blackout. The survivors find each other in a brightly lit bar running on generator power. The sun is rising later and setting earlier everyday – they must escape the city, keeping themselves bathed in light from flashlights, lighters, and anything else they can get their hands on. But time is running out.

There is a kernel of a good idea here, but nothing standout. Even a cursory familiarity with science fiction conventions and a few steps into the horror genre will quickly recall scenarios with more than fleeting similarity in film and television. Everything from The Twilight Zone and Richard Matheson’s The Omega Man to Chris Carter’s The X-Files have played in this space. Updated iterations of those genre successes like I Am Legend and the CW’s Supernatural series achieved the look, feel, and mood sought in this film with pleasing success, and so for Vanishing on 7^th Street to matter, it must accept that such concepts have been exhaustively explored and add something to it. But it doesn’t. Besides some exciting visuals and a genuinely commitment to the ‘vanishing’ technique, director Brad Anderson’s end of the world story, written by Anthony Jaswinski, has all the trappings of an homage without a voice of its own or the drive of something unique at its core. Anderson directed the terrific The Machinist in 2004 – a haunting tale that achieved a superior ambience and environmental disconcertion than Vanishing manages.

The core set of players are fine. Hayden Christianson settles in quickly to the role of jerk-turned-hero, Luke; John Lequizamo continues his dramatic performances run with a likeable but uneven movie theater worker, Paul. Thandie Newton dives into the role of Rosemary with both arms and feet – perhaps a little too deep for the sum of this film’s parts but her talent is hard to deny. The film introduces us to Jacob Latimore as James, the young boy waiting for his mother to return from her search for more light. A little rough around the edges, but he’s likeable and services the role as written well enough.

The screenplay by Jaswinski moves quickly, perhaps impatiently, into the vanishing, as a rag tag group of the remaining coalesces into a loose band of survivors trying to make sense of the encroaching darkness. Shadows as foe might seem dramatically wanting, but Anderson places the impending moving shadows in as many frames as possible thus keeping his survivors – and us – on edge as much as possible. But the pieces Anderson has assembled from this story fail to come together in the meaningful way I am sure he was hoping. Veiled tones of fate and the afterlife are tucked away in the corners of the script, but a rather sloppy assembly of such notions, and the characters conceived to explore them, stop the film from resonating.

Flashbacks are a perfectly fine narrative device, but used here they rob moments of genuine dramatic weight. Consider the scenes where Thandie Newton’s character recalls the moments leading up to the vanishing – it is inserted on the heels of a more stoic moment; a quiet pause for her character as others are discussing the events around her. Pulling away at that moment to show the pain she felt when everyone around her disappeared scars the moment her character was in and renders mute the power of her flashback.

The religious, spiritual, scientific, and skeptic perspectives trotted out in dialogue – with questions of why people are gone or why they were left behind. Such things are expected and not terribly deep - but each time a character questions why they were not taken it is hard not to yell at the screen that all they need do is go stand in the dark and they’d be on their way. The religious ‘Left Behind’ series approached similar subject matter with a heavier hand than Vanishing – but this film chooses to merely pose possibilities rather than commit. That can be more interesting in some films, but here it is a knock.

Occasional performance weaknesses, the convenience of light and light sources in logic-bending places, and the sense that the shadows are villainous ‘nosferatu’ shaped creatures are dents in what is otherwise an okay thriller that has a hard time distinguishing itself in the realm of its story or as a production not made for television.

The Video:  4 out of 5

Vanishing on 7^th Street premiered on HDNET movies – not uncommon for Magnolia releases and I wish I had caught the broadcast to be able to compare the fine HD quality of that station and this 1080p release. Filmed at 2.35:1 it is presented that way here. A dark film taking place 90% at night, the black levels and how colors are handled in low ambient light are the tell. They appear fine. Black levels are really quite solid and the ambient lighting – courtesy of cinematographer Uta Briesewitz – deliver natural flesh tones and enough deep onscreen shadows (which are supported by animated shadow movements) to keep things tense. Onscreen light sources are aided by CGI creating brilliantly clean bright spots. No evidence of unwarranted DNR or edge enhancement is present. Some elements appear softer than others, but overall this is a good transfer.

The Sound: 4 out of 5

Vanishing on 7^th Street is presented with a failry boisterous English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. A dialogue heavy script with reliance upon a meld of soundscape and traditional horror score provide opportunities for the surrounds to be of use. The low end frequency in the subwoofer rises in and out of scenes as a tease for the darkness and whispering sounds, along with alley way rattles allow for some directional effect. The audio is solid for this film.

The Extras: 3 out of 5

Alternate Endings (8:20): The alternate endings are really just slight variations on the chosen close to the film – ‘blink and you’ll miss the difference’ kind of changes, mainly in the editing and in the music chosen.  

Commentary with Director Brad Anderson: Brad Anderson provides an even keel audio commentary, lacking energy, but this is still an interesting listen. Though a more detailed commentary covering the technical side of working with darkness and characters in constant and heightened fear would have provided more value, there are nuggets here.

Revealing the Vanishing on 7^th Street (7:03): Cast and crew talk about the story – how they were intrigued by the concept and their joy at being involved.

Creating the Mood on 7^th Street (4:22): Really just a continuation of the ‘revealing’ special feature, covering the suspense created by the lighting (and the darkness).

Behind the Scenes Montage (2:12): As the title suggests, a montage of shots from behind the scenes set to music from the film.

Fangoria Interviews (22:59) and (7:25): Director Brad Anderson and Jacob Latimore – who plays the young James – are interviewed by Tony Timpone of Fangoria covering the what, why, and how of Vanishing on 7^th Street.

HDNET: A Look at Vanishing on 7^th Street (4:21): Some repetition here from the other special features (but better produced).

Theatrical Trailer

Digital Copy

Final Thoughts

I am uncertain why end of the world tales that begin in the city involve the main characters seeking refuge, shelter or hope outside the city. I wonder if the same concept told from the rural landscape would have people itching to ‘get to the city’. Unlikely.

A particular mystery out of Roanoke, Virginia (fodder for sci-fi shows like Supernatural and The X-Files before) seems to be the nugget from which this film idea was born. A well-produced-if-trite spin on the end of the world with designs on being more intimate and chilling; it somewhat succeeds, but inconsistent conventions for realizing the fate of characters and some flaws in the storytelling conspire together to produce merely an average tale.

Overall 3 out of 5

Neil Middlemiss

Kernersville, NC