Rish Outfield's reviews
This was another TBS Superstation horror movie (after Triangle last fall), but this one got a lot more coverage. I felt bad because Children of the Damned was on another channel at the same time, but I chose to see this. It starred Harry Hamlin and Susan Dey, late of "L.A. Law," as a couple on a cross-country trip with three kids. They stop in a weird gas station/diner, then decide to investigate Weaver, B.F.E, the nearby ghost town, even when the restaurant cronies try to change their minds. One of the locals says, "You want some advice? Stay on the pavement!" Which we've never heard before. So, they get to the town (all one block of it) and find it mysteriously stocked and de-populated, an eerie testament to when it was last occupied. They also find something that looks like a human skin nailed to the wall, and the disturbing videotape of what happened to a previous group that stopped in. Then, wouldn't you know it, their vehicle won't start, and they have to spend the night. Spookiness ensues.
I know the idea sounds done to death (and it is), but Disappearance managed to wring clever scares and tension from a premise as old as the hills. It ended up being quite impressive for a low-budget TV movie. The acting was nice (Hamlin still looks real good) and the dynamics of the characters worked well too. For example, later on, when Hamlin's daughter says she has a bad feeling and wants to get out of town, Hamlin loads everybody into the van and they take off.
The film moved along quite nicely. I also didn't always know where things were going, and that's refreshing. Two-thirds of the way through, I commented in my notes "They're doing a good job at drawing out what the threat is." But little did I know...
You see, I've repeatedly stated that the ending of a Horror movie is the most important part of the film. I don't care what the professors, filmmakers, and phone psychics say, the ENDING is the most important part. And here's the caveat for Disappearance: the ending of the movie completely ruins everything than came before. A terrible no-explanation big-mystery show-nothing finale which basically rewards those who've watched for two hours with a veritable slap in the face. My mouth agape, I felt insulted, I felt I had wasted my time. This was less satisfying than the Blair Witch ending by far. And like the story of Judas, that last infamous act undermined every good thing that came before.
I'd Recommend It To: I really enjoyed nine tenths of the film, and would've heartily recommended it had it not so throughly condemned itself with the finale. Even a mediocre ending would've been adequate. But with the ending they gave us, I sincerely recommend it to NOBODY. The filmmakers need to be made to answer for their crimes.
Note: I've sat here for fifteen minutes trying to figure out what the Threat and Weapon really were. I came up snake eyes. Sorry.