Last night I went to my first Midnight Madness this year at Toronto International Film Festival. For those that aren’t familiar, it is usually reserved for the horror/thriller genre flicks. The audience, delirious from lack of sleep, usually goes absolutely insane. Last year I attended midnight screenings of Daybreakers and Jennifer’s Body which were a great time and my first this year was Brad Anderson‘s Vanishing on 7th Street.
I’ve loved everything I’d previously seen from the director (Session 9, The Machinist, Transsiberian). His latest is a low-budget horror film which stars Hayden Christensen, Thandie Newton, John Leguizamo and a debut performance from Jacob Latimore.
The premise is fascinating. People all over the world suddenly disappear leaving their clothes behind. Only a few manage to stay alive. The first 15 minutes or so are truly captivating, but likely due to budget constraints the survivors occupy a bar and the film starts to drag.
The acting is bad, but I didn’t mind for a film like this. I just wish they made the one-room dynamic a bit more interesting. Anderson took a few chances in the ending, which I admired, but I can’t say I enjoyed the film overall.
Last night as we got out of the screening, Alex Billington (from FirstShowing.Net) and I recorded our reactions. Check it out below.