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VANish
USA 2015
produced by Bryan Bockbrader for Grizly Films
directed by Bryan Bockbrader
starring Maiara Walsh, Austin Abke, Bryan Bockbrader, Adam Guthrie, Tony Todd, Danny Trejo, Joe Davis, Hope Diaz, Denise Dorado, Luis Deveze, Michael Mendoza, Dan Brunker, Lena Banks, Katherine Joan Taylor
written by Bryan Bockbrader, music by Michael Tuller, songs by Bombay Show Pig, The Ruse, The Parlatones, Sahab, Maiarah Walsh, Emma Hewitt, special effects by Jefferson Wagner/Movie Arms Management, special makeup effects by Lior Molcho
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!
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Jack (Austin Abke), his psychopath half brother Max (Bryan Bockbrader)
and his army buddy with PTSD and a drug problem Shane (Adam Guthrie)
decide to line their pockets with gold by taking Emma (Maiara Walsh),
daughter of businessman Carlos Rodriguez (Danny Trejo), hostage and demand
5 million Dollars in cash for her release. It's arguable if this is a good
idea, but the kidnapping works out easily enough (even if Max has to shoot
someone, which he enjoys a bit too much), but problems start once Emma's
in their abductors van: Fact is, our heroic trio aren't exactly
professional kidnappes, use their real names in front of their abductee,
show their faces and the like - heck, she finds out Jack is actually a
Facebook friend of hers and she knows Max (a failed actor) from a TV spot.
What's more, she's totally estranged from her father, so he's not likelyto
show up at the money handover ... and that said, she would have also
preferred it if her abductors had asked for more money to give her her
share as well (in her words, "you didn't have to kidnap me, you could
have just asked.") ... so somehow the situation gets a little out of
hands right there, and even more so when the others find out that Emma's
dad isn't just some rich businessman but he head of the Mexican drug
cartel, and despite being estranged from his daughter, he's not one to be
played with ... And amidst all of that, the ties within the group begin to
worsen ... Genre fave Tony Todd has a very amusing guest spot as a nosey
cop. VANish is pretty much the little movie that could.
Filmed mostly inside a van (as the title might suggest) and mostly just
being the exchange of 4 people, this works just beautifully, as it doesn't
try to be more than it is, and thanks to a great and witty script that
highlights the irony of the story, great characters, a quartet of strong
leads, and an energetic directorial effort. And believe me, when the
action sets in and the blood's flowing in that one, it really does!!! Totally
worth a look! VANish will be released on VOD/DVD/BluRay/iTunes
February 24th, 2015.
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