Like many other characters before him, Hayden Christensen walks out one day (presumably onto 7th street) to find his city completely abandoned. Maybe he's seen 28 Days Later or I am Legend, and feels prepared for the situation and even a bit bored with it at first. I sure did. But then the situation gets more ominous, and soon he finds out he's not dealing with vampires, zombies or even vampire-zombies, but with merciless shadow monsters.
Despite the familiar setup and cheesy title, Vanishing on 7th Street really has a lot going for it by the end of the trailer. The preview proclaims that it's from the director of The Machinist. That movie was pretty uneven, but director Brad Anderson's less-appreciated efforts like Session 9 and Transsiberian are solid and suspenseful enough to make any of his new work worth a look.
And back to those shadow monsters: it seems that they are responsible for the disappearance of everyone except for Hayden Christensen, Thandie Newton and John Leguizamo. It's anyone's guess as to how they chose who to leave un-vanished, but it's a pretty interesting choice for a trio. It looks like they left a few others without their name above the title too.
Anyway, thanks to Anderson's atmospheric, claustrophobia-inducing visual style, these faceless monsters actually look pretty menacing. The set design is spooky too, with dark alley-ways and abandoned hospitals that bring to mind Silent Hill. But unlike that film, I'm betting that the script Anderson's working with makes at least a little sense and contains some genuine suspense. At least, I'm hoping.
Verdict: Sold.