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.

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.

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)

"Max, hide the beers. I mean, who gives a sh*t, man. The whole van smells like pot and alcohol."

Seeing the title of this movie, it inevitably made me think of the legendary polish product, used to remove stains. I must admit that as the film progresses, and especially during the rough and gore climax in the end, they sure could use a load of this product to remove the resulting stains (blood stains that is). Eventually, the initial meaning of the movie title will be a reference to the fact that the entire film almost solely takes place in a van. "VANish" surely can be considered as a low-budget film that was made in an unreal short period. In 13 days they've made the whole thing and in a way you'll notice that.

Despite the low budget, the film still looks surprisingly fresh and professional. In terms of images anyway. The sultry and hot desert environment where everything happens, shimmers of the screen. Everything is soaked in warm colors. And although it's a simple story that was filmed in a driven way, there are some shortcomings in it. I'm a fan of low-budget movies. And after watching all these million dollar blockbusters, it's sometimes a relief to see a minimalist creation. It's the purity of such movies that intrigue me and not the dizzying special effects or the exuberant paid movie stars who appear in it. That this film won't be nominated for an Oscar is obvious of course, but usually there is still a revelation to discover in such a creative product. In "VANish" this is without a doubt the actress Maiara Walsh who plays brilliantly the part of Emma: a brave young lady who, even though she finds herself in a dire situation, continues to provoke and belittle the three kidnappers. A funny rendition that guarantees hilarious conversations now and then.

Another highlight is the brief appearance of Tony Todd, who I'll always remember as the imposing and frightening "Candyman" from the eponymous movie. A central interlude so absurd that it made me think of "Pulp Fiction" and the character of Todd as intimidating as ludicrous. I'm sure Tarantino could appreciate this fragment. Besides that, I think you can compare "VANish" with "From Dusk Till Dawn" (except that the latter with regard to the finishing touch and elaboration surely is from a different level). At first glance you might think that this is yet another Danny Trejo one-man-show. Are you a hardcore Trejo fan, then you'll be deeply disappointed, because he appears only for a few minutes (which I didn't regret). He might be a crucial part of Jack's (Austin Abke) established plan, but the final emphasis is on the interaction between the four protagonists and the hidden agenda of Jack.

The biggest disappointment was the denouement. In line with the slasher films of the 90s, this film ends in a huge bloodbath and the shown violence reaches excessive proportions. But ultimately, these violent scenes aren't really innovative and they look just as old as those of the good old days. Nevertheless you would expect them to be more realistic and credible with today's technology. It seemed as if the staff used buckets of fake blood on the set. Also, the three kidnappers Jack, Max and Shane were at one time really irritating. Admittedly, Shane (Adam Guthrie) and Max (Bryan Bock Brader, Director) weren't really sane (drugs, alcohol and PTSD are most likely the cause of this), but gradually they became more and more schizophrenic and hallucinatory insane. In contrast, Jack is an example of self-control. That's why a visit to his angry girlfriend, who broke up with him for unknown reasons, during the abduction is plain normal (for me this was a bit exaggerated).

Perhaps the biggest plus of this film is the simplicity of the story: two perfectly normal looking weirdos (a kind of "Dumb and Dumber"-types) abduct the daughter of a drug baron for ransom, the trip to the meeting is fairly chaotic, one of the kidnappers seems to have a different motivation, the denouement turns out to be quite bloody. And that's perhaps the downside of the film. A too simplistic story. Perhaps they should have extended that period of 13 days a little, to embellish the story a bit and improve the gore, bloody scenes. The movie isn't that bad, but maybe they rushed it a bit as if all hell would fall on them.

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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.