While I applaud the makers of "Disappearances" for managing to accomplish a lot with very little, in the end they put too much on their plates, so much so that the movie ends up as a disappointment. For what was a really low budget, the movie looks great, with plenty of period detail as well as some good cinematography. And writer/director Jay Craven also manages to get pretty good performances from his cast of actors. Unfortunately, Craven ultimately decided that his story would not be told simply and straight. Instead, he throws in a lot of mystifying material, mainly with the unexplained visions the teenage boy in the movie has throughout. But there are also some plot points (like characters disappearing) that are simply not explained. I understand that Craven was probably trying to make something different than expected, but ironically a more straightforward telling probably would have been more successful. I admit that the messy results do grab your interest at times while you're watching the whole package... but then again, so do some car accidents.
Review of Disappearances
