VANish

After a month and bit of watching purely Oscar nominated films it always takes a bit of getting used to, and is somewhat of a relief, delving back into standard action-thrillers. 'VANish' is obviously a long way from being Oscar material but it's still pretty good. The dialogue actually holds together really well for the most part and the story moves at a good pace. In fact the pace really does move along at supersonic speed. The film doesn't even reach 80 minutes but they could easily have panned it out to 90 if they'd wanted to with needless extra scenes and irrelevant dialogue (or heaven forbid an opening title sequence). Bravo to them for being happy with the runtime and not insulting the viewer.

"Girl Power" seems to be a large part of what director Bryan Bockbrader has gone for here and it works. Almost every male in the movie is a complete moron and the one and only female is a calm and competent woman who rules over them all (even when her hands are tied behind her back). That's not to say there's nothing for men to enjoy - there's more blood, guts and gore than your average thriller, that's for sure. Maiara Walsh did a very good job in the lead role and her acting seems to have taken a step in the right direction since I last saw her in 'Desperate Housewives'. All in all a nice surprise.

An independent/low budget movie that does deliver mostly. The story is nicely told and the action is nicely shot as well (there will be blood at times, so you can't be too squeamish about it). Don't expect to see too much of Danny Trejo though. I think he's doing a lot of movies, where he just has a small role (like in this one).

But the movie works well, especially the twists and turns along the way (no pun intended). There are a couple of different endings to this which normally isn't the best sign, but I think the ending that made it into the movie is the best one. It almost couldn't have ended any other way (even if it did and you can watch those scenes on your disk)

I was immediately gripped withing seconds of watching 'VANish'. When meeting Max and Jack, you can't help but become attached to the characters, even though you speculate that maybe, they aren't the most wholesome of characters. It becomes evident upon kidnapping Emma, that they have very little experience in the matter, especially when they add the undoubtedly awkward Shane into the mix. They all travel towards their destination with what seems to be separate motives and as it all begins to unravel, you're sitting on the edge of your seat, captivated by action and delightfully demoniac violence as the plot twists further.

It's visually stunning and brought me to that same blissful state of entertainment that I would normally get from a Tarantino or Rodriguez film. It's like nothing I've seen before, the fact that it takes part almost wholly in the van adds to the thrill factor, as if you were yourself, along for the ride. It is a masterful feat that Bryan Bockbrader, wrote, directed, produced and starred in the film and that kind of dedication is few and far between. The appearances by seasoned pro's Tony Todd and Danny Trejo adds to the frenzy of excitement. The cast has wonderful chemistry and the writing is extremely intelligent and engrossing. All and all, a gripping outside of the box (while inside a van)tale unlike any kidnapping thriller you'll ever watch. It's available on DVD, Blue Ray, Video on demand and iTunes and I highly recommend checking it out.

This is a kidnapping for ransom with a twist film. While a ransom demand was made there is more going on than simply wanting cash.

This is a low budget film but I didn't find it to bad as bad as some of these horror snobs have made out. I thought the plot was decent, the acting wasn't awful but it wasn't great and the camera work was passible.

I liked that it was bloody and for the most part, it had a steady pace. It isn't great but it isn't an unbearable movie either. You'll just have to check it out and see how you like it.

Greetings from Lithuania.

"VANish" (2015) is sometimes laughably bad, sometimes laughably gory, sometimes laughably stupid but most important, never good. The plot is very simple, and not really engaging. To be honest, i somehow managed to watch it till the end, till the very bad end. There was a shoot out scene at the end that has to be one of the worst shoot out scenes in the movie history - seriously, watch it closely and you will spot some very serious errors in continuity, terrible editing and even worst directing. What was the point of this whole movie?

Overall, to think that someone managed to spend a lot of money for creating this stuff and hoping to get it back kinda makes me want shake my head in disbelieve. The only think that was kinda nice in this movie actually was Bryan Bockbrader's acting. That i think was not bad performance at all, and you clearly see that this guy has some natural talent, although the material is wrong to make any real judgments. Overall, you can safely skip this flick and save some 1 h and 17 min.