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Hayden Christensen, John Leguizamo, Thandie Newton, Jacob Latimore, Taylor Groothius ... see more see more... , Jordon Trovillion , Arthur Cartwright , Neal Huff , Hugh Maguire , Erin Nicole Brolley , Stephen Clark , Carolyn Clifford-Taylor , Larry Fessenden , Nick Yu

From director Brad Anderson (Session 9, Transsiberian, The Machinist) comes VANISHING ON 7TH STREET, a terrifying, apocalyptic thriller that taps into one of humankind's most primal anxieties: fear of... read more read more... the dark. An unexplained blackout plunges the city of Detroit into total darkness, and by the time the sun rises, only a few people remain-surrounded by heaps of empty clothing, abandoned cars and lengthening shadows. A small handful of strangers that have survived the night (Hayden Christensen, Thandie Newton, John Leguizamo and newcomer Jacob Latimore) each find their way to a rundown bar, whose gasoline-powered generator and stockpile of food and drink make it the last refuge in a deserted city. With daylight beginning to disappear completely and whispering shadows surrounding the survivors, they soon discover that the enemy is the darkness itself, and only the few remaining light sources can keep them safe. As time begins to run out for them, darkness closes in and they must face the ultimate terror. -- (C) Magnolia

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15,358 ratings

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52% liked it

50 critics

R, 1 hr. 31 min.

Directed by: Brad Anderson

Release Date: February 18, 2011

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DVD Release Date: May 17, 2011

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Flixster Reviews (1,284)

  • jmanard52
    June 22, 2011
    jmanard52
    A very interesting premise i think . .lets see the Dark kills you? I guess it wasnt too bad. Wasnt too original and Hayden wooden actor Christensen still cant act. Watch this one when really bored and ready to go to sleep :)
  • FiLmCrAzY
    February 5, 2012
    FiLmCrAzY
    Completely bewildered as to what the hell was going on in that movie, the shadows werent explained and the light wasnt explained, infact nothing was explained.
    If the writers and directors made this film entirely on the bases that they wanted to be mysterious and to make people w... read moreonder then they succeded but thats pretty much all they succeded at, as this movie is a complete waste of time!
  • blkbomb
    January 12, 2012
    blkbomb
    I didn't have that high of expectations going in, but I thought I'd give it a shot since Brad Anderson directed it. My low expectations weren't even met by this disgrace of a movie. The cliché use of whispering in the background was really starting to piss me off about a half hou... read morer in. Add a horrible performance by Hayden Christensen and you got one of the worst movies I've seen in awhile.
  • ythelastman89
    August 27, 2011
    ythelastman89
    Vanishing on 7th Street had all the promise to be an amazing movie, but it completely collapses in the second half. The ending is completely ridiculous as well and makes you feel as though you've completely wasted your time. However, the first half is really well done. Showing al... read morel of Detroit completely empty is really effective and creepy, especially when you have the clothes of victims scattering the ground. The introduction to each of the three main characters was also really well done and exactly the kind of characterization that is necessary for an apocalyptic type movie. Hayden Christensen, John Leguizamo and Thandie Newton are all really good in their roles; if only the kids would've been left out it would've been such a better movie. Visually it's really interesting because it's mostly dependent on stylized lighting and simple effects shots. Overall, it's just a mixed experience that is somewhat still worthwhile, but extremely disappointing in terms of it's final message and result.
  • bbcfloridabound
    June 30, 2011
    bbcfloridabound
    A real good film about people being taken by what appears to be the shadows in the darkness. Cool idea. Plenty of suspense. Its worth 4 stars.
  • LWOODS04
    June 17, 2011
    LWOODS04
    Cast: Hayden Christensen, John Leguizamo, Thandie Newton, Jacob Latimore, Taylor Groothuis

    Director: Brad Anderson

    Summary: No one can explain the mystery when residents of a vibrant urban center begin disappearing one by one. But it seems to have something to do with the... read more shadowy figures they come into contact with right before they vanish.

    My Thoughts: "No chills or thrills here I'm afraid. Just a waste of time and effort. I really wanted to turn it off about thirty minutes into it. But I'm a trooper and always finish what I start, even bad films like this one. Was it creepy? Yes a bit. But the suspense was lacking, well truthfully, non existing. Concept was OK. But there were so many things wrong with the film. There are so many potholes you end up lost in the dark with the characters. There isn't very much going on to keep your attention. The film got boring very quickly. You don't know the characters because there is no character developement. You only get few seconds of flashbacks so you don't really care when one disappears. In the end you expect some type of an explanation but it never comes. In some films that sometimes works, but no so much for this film. You needed some things explained and you never get it. It was just a big disappointment."
  • lewiskendell
    May 25, 2011
    lewiskendell
    No doubt about it, this is a pretty terrible flick.

    Don't let the semi-interesting trailer fool you into watching Vanishing on 7th Street like it did me. The movie goes downhill from nearly the very beginning, with some of the most terrible acting that I've seen in quite a while... read more. Hayden Christensen is the main culprit, but even generally good actors like Thandie Newton and John Leguizamo give poor performances thanks to the miserable script. Everyone consistently overacts so badly that it almost seems intentional. And the characters are poorly written, unlikable, annoying, and stupid beyond logical belief.

    Let's not bother with the story. It tries to be mysterious, deep and frightening, and it fails. Hard. Imagine The Happening, but even more nonsensical.

    Do yourself a favor and skip this.
  • MovieGeek13
    March 18, 2011
    MovieGeek13
    There is a great movie buried somewhere in Vanishing on 7th Street. But the story resorts instead to cliche characters reacting to cliche situations. If you've ever seen a movie where a man wakes up to a completely abandoned city after a massive catastrophe, you can pretty much p... read moreredict how the story will unfold.
    Hayden Christensen plays the anti-hero, a man with a troubled past looking for redemption. Thandie Newton plays the grieving mother. And John Leguizamo plays the man who's only purpose is to briefly explain to the audience what is going on. None of these characters are particularly smart, and will do many things that will have you rolling your eyes.
    Director Brad Anderson takes a major step back here. He's never been a director that has been able to revive or reinvent genres, but he's given us some interesting genre fair with Session 9, The Machinist, and Transsiberian. Here, he doesn't have a grip on the material, and his movie seems like it was plagued with problems in the production, from the uninspired sets, poor lighting, narrative twists that are never fully explained, and a rushed ending. We've all seen this before. A cool concept ruined by a bad movie.
  • 3niR
    March 17, 2011
    3niR
    My fear towards dark have increased! I actually loved the beginning. The idea was very spooky and new to me (well not completely, it was kinda similar with I Am Legend, kinda). The ending was a bit disappointing since it doesn't have any explanation to anything. You'll be ... read moreleft with loads of questions unanswered.
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    February 21, 2011
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    "Stay in the light"

    When a massive power outage plunges the city of Detroit into total darkness, a disparate group of individuals find themselves alone. The entire city's population has vanished into thin air, soon the daylight begins to disappear completely, and as the s... read moreurvivors gather in an abandoned tavern, they realize the darkness is out to get them, and only their rapidly diminishing light sources can keep them safe.

    REVIEW

    Brad Anderson's (The Machinist, Transsiberian) "The Vanishing on 7th Street" opens with an interesting concept. One night a power outage hits New York City and when the lights come back on, almost everyone has disappeared. The victims have vanished leaving nothing behind but their clothing. Disquieting events are happening as the structure of the day disintegrates and daylight hours grow very short. Lurking in the shadows is an unsettling whispering presence. The story is that of four survivors who attempt to escape the darkness engulfing the city and overwhelming their psyche. Is this an alien attack or a punishment from above?

    Luke (Hayden Christensen) one of the survivors, is a famous news reporter who is forced to overcome the events and save the day. He scourers the city in hopes of finding others. Despite Christensen's efforts to create a powerful character, the script lets him down. Among the people he finds is Paul (John Leguizamo) a lonely projectionist, James (Jacob Latimore) a gun wielding boy guarding his mom's bar and Rosemary (Thandie Newton) a distraught women searching for her lost lover who has apparently been swept of in the ominous night. A strong cast but unable to really capture the audience because of the weak script and the lack of convincing theatrical suspense.

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Critic Reviews

Tom Long
March 4, 2011
Tom Long, Detroit News

Prediction: Vanishing on 7th St. will vanish from theaters very quickly. Full Review

Lisa Kennedy
February 25, 2011
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post

Brad Anderson's supernatural thriller is stacked to keep us guessing. Initially, this makes it watchably atmospheric. But the inconclusive hints lead to the sense that he's withholding too much. Full Review

Betsy Sharkey
February 24, 2011
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times

Anderson spends most of his energy creating a mood - making "Vanishing" more cerebral than white-knuckle, though a few more shrieks (mine) might have been nice. Full Review

Tirdad Derakhshani
February 24, 2011
Tirdad Derakhshani, Philadelphia Inquirer

This is The Twilight Zone as written by Jean Paul Sartre. What audacity! What vision! And, alas, what a failure. Full Review

Stephen Whitty
February 18, 2011
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

Anderson does a lot with very little - a wavering light, a patch of darkness - and Jaswinski's script tries to break up the stage-bound monotony with a few well-timed (if not particularly informative)... Full Review

Lou Lumenick
February 18, 2011
Lou Lumenick, New York Post

Brad Anderson's creepily effective low-budget thriller may not have a punch line worthy of your typical "Twilight Zone" episode, but it otherwise gets the job done in under an hour and a half with a g... Full Review

Elizabeth Weitzman
February 18, 2011
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News

The complete lack of explanation suggests Jaswinski forgot to finish his script. But Anderson tries hard to compensate, distracting us with suitably ghostly atmospherics. Full Review

Manohla Dargis
February 17, 2011
Manohla Dargis, New York Times

Working from a script with diminishing returns by Anthony Jaswinski, Mr. Anderson smartly frontloads the movie, drawing you in with long shots of deserted cityscapes, the quiet punctured by periodic b... Full Review

James Rocchi
February 17, 2011
James Rocchi, MSN Movies

A little more polish in the writing could have made it a must-see, but as it stands, it's a fairly solid B-movie matinee with a nicely calibrated mix of intellectual dread and visceral shock. Full Review

Owen Gleiberman
February 16, 2011
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

Mostly, we're left staring blankly at a quartet of victimized ciphers. Full Review

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