VANish

It takes a lot to make a movie set in one confined environment and this writer director has come up trumps with this.

I did not expect to enjoy this as much as i did as some of the acting is not that great, the gore scenes are actually quite funny and not well done but I am not sure whether it was meant to be black humour but it has accomplished it by accident and quite well I must say.

Ignoring all the deficiencies it was well photographed , directed and the female lead was good in the role so against all odds this film actually comes out quite a way on top of what I otherwise would have expected it to be. I would like to see the alternate endings which all sounded as good as each other so all in all this was a well above average nights viewing and I am giving it a very respectable 7/10.

OK so the first half hour of this movie was tough to get through because the acting was very poor - or so I thought...

After watching the whole movie I rate the acting quite good, especially from Maiara Walsh, who was brilliant. Initially the two guys in the van appeared to be complete half wits and I thought it was the acting but thinking about it, some of it was the characters they were playing - who were morons...

Considering the very limited sets and budget, this movie delivers an enjoyable ride. Some of the violence effects are second rate and some acting is below par but generally good - and as I have mentioned - Maiara played a good part - and is drop dead gorgeous to boot :) 6 stars - OK this should really have got a 5 stars but gave it an extra one because of Maiara Walsh :)

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.

What hooked me in was that they had Danny Trejo's mug on the poster (which by the way I think is one of the better indie posters I've seen in a long time). Now, I always come in with very low expectations when it comes to a Danny Trejo film as he's in every single film you can imagine so his quality control is scant. Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It surprised me on how entertaining it was having only been shot entirely in a van! The director Bryan Bockbrader highlights this very well, using the tight space and passenger POV to claustrophobic effect. His performance as the sadistic half-brother to the film's protagonist played by Austin Abke is equally effective in its own right. Performances were solid overall with what may possibly be a career-turning role for Maiara Walsh as the acerbic and witty abductee of the brother's scheme to rip off her formidable, drug lord father: the one, the only, Danny Trejo. Tony Todd's brief but memorable cameo was especially exciting to see as well as new comer Adam Guthrie as the junk fiend, ex-military buddy along for the ride. Though maybe not an awards contender, VANish is a fun, fast-paced thrill ride that is sure to entertain even Trejo skeptics like me.

I had fun with this movie. It wasn't high art but I really enjoyed the characters and their interplay. That was the best part really, I just liked listening to them talk to each other, but it was enough to keep me watching through the first half, and then I was just curious enough to finish it. The challenge they set themselves of only filming in and from the van was interesting. And the lead actress was very charismatic and beautiful, reminds me a tiny bit of Kate Siegel. Also always grateful to get to spend any time with Tony Todd or Danny Trejo.

It's definitely worth a watch.