Fantastic!

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Blistering performances.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Don't waste your time. Terrible cinematography in this clearly low-budget trash. The use of the n-word while talking about someone, was where I turned it off. The hostage throwing up oatmeal earlier is where I should have truned it off. Just wasted 20min of my life.

It was kind of cheesy of the promoters to put Danny Trejo's face so prominently on the poster for this movie when he was barely in it, but I understand the reasoning - without his name value, no one would have paid any attention to "VANish", thinking it to be just one more in an endless sausage chain of low budget mean-and-gritty thrillers. And the movie uses his limited appearance effectively - "VANish" is a better movie with him than it would have been without him.There is enough talent and craftsmanship involved here to make "VANish" intermittently interesting; it's even chewy and funny at some points, and there are a couple of genuine shocks. But the four young actors who carry the movie don't quite have the "larger than life" quality to pull off some of the outrageous lines and actions that are the movie's reason for existing. And they don't seem "hard" enough. I didn't believe for a second that the kidnappers were capable of accomplishing their stated objectives (Give them a few years to mature, and they might - all of them have obvious talent.). And the screen play doesn't quite manage to successfully pull of the shifts in tone and emotion it tries for. There's a whole lot of "whoa, where did THAT come from???" moments here that aren't really justified by anything that came before.But it's interesting that 90 - 95% of the movie takes place inside and around the confines of a van, and yet the director makes that limitation work for him. I was never bored with the setting and appreciated the way the setting managed to focus and intensify the near Pinter-esque interactions between the characters while also adding the subtext and fascination of a road trip from Hell. Props to Terry Todd for a fine reading of a very quirky character whose appearance and fate in the middle act of the screen play definitely pumped things up. Again, the movie used him well (as much as they could afford of him), and "VANish" was a better movie with him than it would have been otherwise. If you like the kind of thing that Tarantino and Rodiguez specialize in, "VANish" might have enough of it to repay your interest.

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.

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.