Vanishing On 7th Street

Vanishing On 7th Street taps into one of humankind's most primal anxieties: fear of the dark. An unexplained blackout plunges the City of Detroit into total darkness, and by the time the sun rises, only a few people remain—surrounded by heaps of empty clothing, abandoned cars, and lengthening shadows. A small handful of strangers that have survived the night (Christensen, Newton, Leguizamo and Latimore) each find their way to a rundown bar. With daylight beginning to disappear completely and whispering shadows surrounding the survivors, they soon discover that the enemy is the darkness itself. (Gary Reber)

Special features include commentary with Director Brad Anderson, an alternate ending (HD 08:21), the featurettes Revealing The Vanishing On 7th Street (HD 07:04) and Creating The Mood (HD 04:23), a behind-the-scenes montage (HD 02:13), Fagoria interviews with Anderson and Actor Jacob Latimore (HD 30:23), HDNet: A Look At (HD 04:21), the theatrical trailer, up-front previews, and BD-Live functionality.

The 2.40:1 1080p AVC picture is stylized to compensate for the limits imposed by shooting with the Red One HD digital camera, which is deficient in low-light conditions. Yet the story is all about darkness. Thus Cinematographer Uta Briesewitz and Director Brad Anderson had to compensate by rigging the sets with light brighter than anticipated, which resulted in an unusual contrast range and highlight glow against deep black levels that, at times, appear crushed. Colors are varied as well, between strong saturation and desaturation. Thus, the picture is surreal looking at times and deprived of naturalness. Resolution is excellent, with fine details revealed in facial features, clothing, and object textures. As well, dimensionality is terrific. The imagery is crisp, well defined, and pristine throughout. Overall, this is a very engaging and unusual visual experience. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 7.1-channel soundtrack is terrific and conveys a creepy feeling throughout. Atmospherics and low-level sound effects are effectively rendered, for emotional disturbance. Whispering voices are heard in the shadows as well as muted screams and city sounds. Effects punctuate, to enhance the mood and intensify the sense of fear and apprehension. Gunshots and other effects are punctuated with deep .1 LFE energy to sub-25 Hz frequencies, which further underscores the sense of suspense and doom. The orchestral and electronic music score effectively casts an ominous tone to the proceedings. The jukebox music played in the bar provides occasional reprieve. The music is nicely recorded with a wide and deep soundstage presence that effectively extends to the surrounds. Fidelity and dynamics are excellent throughout, for all the sound elements. Dialogue is effectively spatially integrated as well. The added two channels are optimally positioned at 90 degrees relative to the sweet spot listening and viewing positing and enhance the effective directionalizaton of the soundfield. This is a wonderful holosonically® enveloping soundtrack experience that really delivers the goose bumps, for a truly spooky sonic adventure. (Gary Reber)