Brad Anderson’s (The Machinist, Transsiberian) “The Vanishing on 7^th 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.

The film attempts to address issues of isolation, religion and trust but these aspects are not well developed and unsubstantial. Throughout the film I was hoping there would be a redeeming twist that would win me back and sweep me off my feet, but unfortunately I was left in the dark.

Uta Briesewitz (cinematographer) attempts to work some magic but even this is not enough. The environments feel abandoned and desolate which is what the film is trying to accomplish. The effects of the shadows are also eerie at times but the film never fully suspends your disbelief.

Hopefully Anderson can get back on track after this as he has shown promise in the past directing episodes of “The Wire”, a fabulous television show. Ultimately this film failed to entertain and was a disappointment after the remarkable shock treatment we are used to from Anderson. Despite a star cast, a creative musical score and the potential to be great the script was weak and there was nothing for the characters or the audience to hang on to.

Moira Romano