Vanished (2011) User Reviews

THIS ISN'T YOUR STORY

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 24 June 2019]

The main problem is that the Amazon movie description gives too much away. If you plan on seeing this movie, don't read it. The film runs with a plot and subplot of two kidnappings. They come together in an unexpected way (unless you read the description). There is a quick explanation to tie the two together, and then the film continues to go off in a direction that is also unexpected.

There were absolutely no clues as to what was going to happen and if alien werewolves suddenly appeared on the screen, I would not have been surprised. I didn't like Carolyn Bock , the lead actress in this film. I thought her facial expression of anguish was overdone, almost comically. The film was a boring kidnapping (s) until the plots came together. At that point it peaked my interest, but it didn't last long as I kept waiting for the film to develop into the horror film which Red Box claims it to be. IMDB categorizes the film as a mystery thriller, which is a lot closer than horror.

It makes for a lower tier mystery/thriller near horror rental if you go into it blind.

Parental Guide: F-bomb. No sex or nudity.

The devil made me do it?

[toddg-473-289818 · 6/10 · 15 December 2013]

I found this film at a Redbox location, on a busy night when most other horror films were already taken. Only having the cover art to look at, I thought it looked like an interesting concept. What I didn't know is that this movie was made in Australia and not the US or UK. Having seen a few decent Aussie movies (The Tunnel Movie, Storm Warning, Red Hill), I have become accustomed to the greater length of time films made there take to develop their plots. U.S. made movies tend to reward the instant gratification expectations of their audiences, so learning a degree of patience with Australian made movies is helpful.

We start out looking at two similar sets of characters, both parents of a young child. The director skillfully takes us back and forth between them, slowly revealing the common thread that ties them together. What we learn is that a mother loses her young son to kidnappers, then loses her husband in the stressful weeks that follow in their hopes for their son's safe return. What remains is literally a person with nothing left to lose, so she methodically seeks out the identity of her son's kidnapper. She is brought together with the other couple of a young child through not only the help of an innocent looking elderly couple, but with some shady looking enforcer types who intimidate and injure the second couple. We find out that the mother in the second couple is the kidnapper of the child of the first couple, and then an intense psychological battle ensues.

All of the what has been previously described works beautifully when you are sitting in the audience, and kudos to the director for carefully laying out the pieces to the puzzle. But once both of the mothers remain as the dominant characters, the script unfortunately falls apart. Caterina, the mother of the kidnapped and subsequently murdered child, repeatedly asks Winona, the kidnapper and murder, for an explanation of why her son had to be the one taken. While there are many directions a decent screenwriter could have gone here, the one that was unfortunately chosen was Winona's explanation of an everpresent demon who forced her, and dozens of seemingly normal women through past generations, suddenly flip and murder their families.

So after all the intensity and desire for revenge, we in the audience are finally given the explanation for Winona's heinous crime: The devil made me do it. A big disappointment, to say the least. The movie correctly errs on the side of caution in its denouement, punishing both Caterina and Winona, but leaving the two remaining innocents, Winona's husband and daughter, unharmed. But what a waste of a promising idea, which successfully draws the audience in until the final scenes.

How far would you go...

[paul_haakonsen · 4/10 · 29 March 2013]

Mmm-hmm, well "Vanished" had potential, and it did start out as really interesting. There was a good amount of appeal to the movie, and it was good at building up suspense and a sense of thrill. But ultimately it all crashed down towards the last fourth of the movie. Wow, what just went wrong here. What was the director and screen writing thinking?

The part leading up to the kidnapping and the part with searching for the missing child, and the pleading through the media was actually quite good. But then the movie took a turn for the worse! I am not going to go into details, as it has to be seen to be believed. I was so annoyed with the turn of events that my attention started to drift off to my phone. The movie went from rather enjoyable to sewage in a matter of minutes.

I will say that the acting in the movie was actually quiet good for a movie of this caliber. I don't recall having seen anyone in the movie prior to this one, so it was a nice fresh touch with unfamiliar faces.

If you enjoy thrillers, then you might find enjoyment in this movie - just as I did in the first three quarters of the entire movie. There are some great moments and aspects to "Vanished". Just be warned, that the movie does take a rather radical turn of events towards the last quarter of the movie.

Blame The Devil

[lawdwise · 15 August 2019]

Liked a lot!! It's not an amazing film, but it deserves more than a 4.2. Definitely not a bad watch. Score it higher people!

Amateur movie

[colonel52 · 1/10 · 13 June 2012]

It is hard to say why this movie is so bad without giving spoilers. It is a low budget Australian movie, and it is written and directed by same guy,and he is the main problem.His direction isn't real bad but his writing is. The writing ranges from bizarre to just plain stupid.

Spoilers: In one part the woman is working at a college, because she figured out the abductor of her son worked there or went to school there. this was stupid and bizarre in itself, the way she figures this out. Then after she meets a bunch of people for I don't know how long, maybe years,

She talks to one woman once and says she just knew it was her! Talks to her one time and she just knows. after that she proceeds to stalk (for a long time, at this point I do not believe the woman had had a kid yet)and plan to kidnap this woman's child, just to actually get the woman to come to her.

She will then threaten to kill her kid unless she admits what she did. With the screenplay as it is no filmmaker could make this a good movie.

Great little thriller

[whipthedog · 9/10 · 14 July 2012]

I hate ratings. It is so unfair that someone with no interest in the subject matter can give any movie one star. And I am one of those people. I do not like American movies, and like Hollywood movies even less. They are just dumbed down BS from start to finish as far as I am concerned. So rather than give them all one star, I abstain from voting. No one gets hurt.

So it is with Vanished. I thinks that it is a very well crafted and produced little movie. Anyone that cannot follow the plot should have a second look. I thought for a first time writer /director it was a fine effort. All of the actors are new to me and did their bit admirably. Definitely worth a watch if you like a good who-dunnit movie.

They Went Far

[philhayes80 · 8/10 · 14 October 2018]

The tagline "How far would you go?" is definitely what a parent would go to to get there kid back.

The price of justice

[clanciai · 9/10 · 30 April 2020]

How much are you willing to pay for the price of justice? Well, there is one woman here, a wife and a mother, who is driven to go at any length to have justice done, and she will not give in, no matter how overwhelming the obstacles, but does she get justice in the end? And is it worth the price? Of course you must understand her, she not only lost a child but also a husband, one in a more outrageous way than the other, and she had nothing else to live for but her quest for justice by revenge at any cost. The story is extremely well concieved and structed, there is nothing illogical in it, but the greatest question, which the film tries to answer, is why did the kidnapper do what she did, and how could she do it? The effort of an answer in the film is not satisfactory - it is almost mumbo jumbo. The only possible answer could irrationalism on an inhuman scale, and that is the problem of the film. The actors are very good, especially Carolyn Bock as Caterina Hill makes a great performance and is perfectly consistent in her difficult realization of her role, while Cassandra Macgrath as Winona lacks that depth. But the main credit goes to Michael Adante, who both directed, wrote, produced and edited the film, which in its very bizarre way could be considered a masterpiece.

But a good film, with necessary tension, entertains...

[RosanaBotafogo · 8/10 · 8 May 2021]

A great suspense, almost terror when it comes to child abuse and kidnapping of minors, a dish full of revenge, served cold and with refinements of cruelty, which leaves us connected and slightly tormented, this is the highlight of the film ... The ending leaves much to be desired, leaving for the supernatural, with several reasons that would fit with mastery, and the woman with blue LED eyes, no ... But a good film, with necessary tension, entertains ...