The film is about a different path that some people are going through after the massive power outage in Detroit. Now, everyone is in total darkness, where you find a diverse group of individuals themselves alone during those moments. The daylight disappears, as everyone realizes that darkness is coming for them and that something strange is happening.
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.
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.
IGN DVD
January 29, 2012
The film borrows from too many sources, and almost always comes up short, lacking depth, character or reason.
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 good cast.
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) flashbacks.
