Horror/Sci-Fi stories revolving on a small handful of survivors of the apocalypse usually result in very tense, atmospheric and compelling movies. There are the obvious adaptations of Richard Matheson's classic novel, more specifically "The Omega Man" and "I Am Legend", but also several more obscure but very worthwhile hidden gems, such as "Night of the Comet", "The Quiet Earth", "The Flesh, The World and the Devil" and "Where have all the people gone?" I was really hoping that this modestly budgeted and seemingly unsettling (judging by the DVD cover, at least) new flick could be another apocalyptic gem. My hope even increased upon noticing the name of director Brad Anderson (whose "Session 9" and "The Machinist" are vastly underrated genre highlights) and a few people in the cast, like John Leguizano and Thandie Newton. Unfortunately, however, this turned out to be an enormously disappointing and almost frustratingly bad movie with absolutely nothing to recommend; not even for die-hard Sci-Fi movies. The script of "Vanishing on 7th Street" pretty much contains every irritating rookie mistake you can think of. Yes, as a writer you need to remain vague about the cause of the apocalypse and the nature of the evil purchasing the last remaining survivors
But eventually you do have to reveal something at least! Who or what are the silhouettes prowling in the dark shadows? Why did exactly these four people escape from the first death rush that caused everyone to vaporize in the clothes? Is there anywhere left to run to outside of Chicago? The characters are asking themselves these very same questions and they don't find an answer, neither, so don't expect that the film will make any sense to us. Apart from a relatively absorbing first fifteen minutes, in which the survivors are confronted with their desolate situation, "Vanishing on 7th Street" is an extremely boring and void experience. Four people, three adults and a twelve-year-old kid, entrench themselves in a trashy bar with all the neon lights, jukeboxes and flickering pinball machines working at maximum power. This is necessary because, whenever it gets dark, whiny and badly computer engineered black silhouettes try to devour them. Further onwards in the film, the survivors go completely berserk – I presume – and start hallucinating as well as undertaking all sorts of idiotic rescue attempts. You don't feel sympathy for any of the characters and, quite frankly, I didn't get the impression that they really wanted to survive their ordeal. The performances are alike, meaning mundane and careless, and Anderson only manages to generate a few noteworthy atmospheric moments near the beginning. I believe another reviewer said it best when he wrote: if "Vanishing on 7th Street" would have been another tad bit slower and more boring, it would have been an over-hyped M. Night Shyamalan dud.
Review of Vanishing on 7th Street
