L'empire des ombres

The movie is creepy and dark and functions well without shock moments and the spilling of blood. There is some solid acting and the characters are not totally unbelievable, though they appear a little like the usual all-American suspects. I definitely don't agree with the frequent criticism that the movie lacks an explanation. The lack of an explanation is the actual concept of the movie. If the movie provided one, it would be as much fun as looking at a filled-in sudoku. The viewer is given food for thought by the different explanatory approaches done by the movie characters. I liked the reference to the "lost colony"-case, a historical oddity concerning the unresolved vanishing of a group of early settlers in America. I agree that the ending can be understood in a way that makes it seem cheesy - I interpreted it differently and so for me it was satisfying. I don't want to give anything away so let me just say as much: In my opinion no one survives at the end, but that certainly is disputable. My rating is a solid 6, although I was tempted to give more just to lift the overall rating since imo it is undeserved.

OK - let me start by saying this isn't a BAD film. Its just that there's no pay-off at the end. You're left with a "So what WAS going on?" feeling. All successful stories have a start, a middle and an end. Vanishing on 7th Street is missing the 'end'.

The acting, direction and camera work all make the grade - but thats all. Its almost as if they've JUST managed to do enough to warrant getting paid. While there are a few nice touches during the film, there isn't anything here that you wont have seen before. Although I was surprised by one event close to the end which I wont ruin by revealing here.

Unless you have some reason to watch this film I wouldn't waste the time. There are 100s of 'fair/mediocre' films out there so choose one that at least has a proper 'end'.

5/10

While parts of the movie peaked my interest, overall, it was very disappointing. A vague plot, poor script, weak effects and actors trying their best to make it work. Too bad they failed. A movie with this premise has great potential, it can lead the viewer down a path and let the audience intellectually fill in the blanks. In order for that to occur, the movie itself must provide the plot points, the material that that allows, and draws the viewer to want to connect the dots and create, so to speak, their own movie within a movie. I just gave up, and so, apparently, did the filmmakers. I won't gave away anything, because there really isn't anything to tell.

Why nut burn stuff for light. They had a entire city full of wooden objects to burn for light. Even if this was set in a rural area, they could've collected wood to burn at night.

How can you run from the dark? After waking up to an empty city Luke (Christensen) and a small group of survivors try to find a way to escape. When they realize the darkness is what is causing the vanishings can they find enough light to survive? Based on the previews I had pretty high expectations for this movie, it was very slow moving. The idea was pretty creepy, and it is tons better then "The Happening", although the story line was pretty similar. This movie seems like a really good "Twilight Zone" episode, but it doesn't really work as a full length movie. It gets repetitive pretty quick. It begins as a pretty scary movie, but runs out of steam quick and begins to drag. This is not a bad movie at all, but after the "last man on earth" type movies like "I Am Legend" this one doesn't really compare. Much, much better then "The Happening", but not one to rush out and see. I give it a C.

Would I watch again? - Probably not.

*Also try - Skyline & The Happening