An absolute waste of money

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Director Bryan Bockbrader has created a gem in VANish.Starring Maiara Walsh.Also starring Tony Todd who has been in other classic flicks, Hatchet II 2010, Hatchet 2006, Final Destination 5 2011, Final Destination 3 2006, Final Destination 2 2003, Final Destination 2000, Wishmaster 1997, The Rock 1996, The Crow 1994, Candyman 1992 and Platoon 1986.Also starring Danny Trejo who has also been in other classic flicks, In the Blood 2014, Dead in Tombstone 2013, Recoil 2011, Death Race 2 2010, Machete 2010, Predators 2010, Planet Terror 2007, The Devil's Rejects 2005, The Salton Sea 2002, From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money 1999, Point Blank 1998, The Replacement Killers 1998, Con Air 1997, From Dusk Till Dawn 1996, Desperado 1995, The Stranger 1995, Maniac Cop 2 1990, The Hidden 1987 and Runaway Train 1985.I enjoyed the violence.If you enjoyed this as much as I did then check out other classic hostage flicks, The Belko Experiment 2016, Hounds of Love 2016, The Call 2013, The Cottage 2008, The Butterfly 2007 and Kidnap 2017.

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 don't want to pretend that i am a movie reviewer, but as a movie goer and a mega movie appreciator myself, i feel the need to inform the readers of this site's reviews that they shouldn't dismiss a movie just because a dumb nerd with an obsolete idea about how a movie or the world, in general, should be like said it was average. There is nothing average about this movie. No way! I know, this movie doesn't deserve a 10 (of course!) but it also doesn't deserve the 4s or the 5s it's getting! The hell! Are you knuckle-heads, kidding me!? I want to know , just from pure curiosity, which are these "all-so- qualified" reviewers' favorite films! It seems to me that they have absolutely no idea of how a review must be done , story wise of course... I am not picking on, or have anything to say against , their ability to pick apart any movie from a technical point of view, but when it comes to judging a movies' structure and story they are utter morons... To cut the crap... Watch the damn movie and i guarantee you, you will love it! Real score should be somewhere around 8! But not a 5 or a 4! WTF???? Stupid imbecilic Bieber ass generation reviewers!

OK first lets get one thing out of the way. Tony Todd (Candy Man fame) has like 4 mins of screen time and Danny Trejo has like 5 mins out of the total 1 hour 13 mins of runtime. the rest of the cast is somewhat unknown or sidekicks from other movies.Girl is kidnapped by three morons and from there on forward nothing makes sense. The way they kidnap her, the reason they kidnap her and the whole VAN trip is without any substance. Some blood is there but no impact like which you find in Quentin Tarantino movies. The end fight is like it was choreographed for a school project. If you are looking for a movie like this which is actually good then please watch "The Baytown Outlaws" as i can recommended that any day.Seriously just avoid this and find something else to watch cause in the end you will definitely feel like you have just wasted your money and a significant amount of time.