''The Vanishing'', previously titled ''Keepers'', is a 2018 British

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting. In terms of context and c ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Kristoffer Nyholm and written by Celyn Jones and Joe Bone. Based on the 1900 disappearance of the Flannan Isles Lighthouse crew, it stars

Gerard Butler Gerard James Butler (born 13 November 1969) is a Scottish actor and film producer. After studying law, he turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as '' Mrs Brown'' (1997), the James Bond film '' Tomorrow Never ...

Peter Mullan Peter Mullan (; born 2 November 1959) is a Scottish actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his role in Ken Loach's ''My Name Is Joe'' (1998), for which he won Best Actor Award at 1998 Cannes Film Festival, 2000's '' The Claim'' and all th ...

, and Connor Swindells as three lighthouse keepers whose shift takes a dark turn. The film premiered at Sitges Film Festival in October 2018, which was followed by a United Kingdom release in March 2019.

Plot

Three men begin their six-week shift tending to the remote Flannan Isles Lighthouse. Donald, the youngest, is inexperienced and learning the trade of the

lighthouse keeper A lighthouse keeper or lightkeeper is a person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Lighthouse keepers were sometimes referred to as ...

from James and Thomas. James has a family waiting for him on the mainland, while Thomas is still mourning the loss of his wife and children. After a storm the men discover a boat, a body, and a wooden chest washed ashore. Donald descends the cliffs to check on the man, who appears lifeless. As they are hauling up the chest, the man awakens and attacks Donald. In self-defence, Donald smashes the man's head with a rock and kills him. Thomas is against opening the chest, but opens it alone, and keeps what he finds to himself. Eventually the other two give in to their curiosity and find several gold bars inside. Urging caution and secrecy, Thomas proposes they dispose of the body, sneak the gold back to the mainland, and lie low for a year before splitting their shares. Another boat arrives with two strangers, Locke and Boor, crewmates of the deceased. They interrogate Thomas, who claims the body and cargo have been reported and taken away, as per protocol. The visitors leave, but attempt to contact the lighthouse by radio. Thomas and James are unable to respond due to their malfunctioning radio, revealing their lie. The strangers return, circling the island until nightfall. In a violent struggle, James manages to strangle Boor and Donald kills Locke, using the woolding. Sensing another intruder outside, the keepers chase him through the darkness and James slashes him with a hook. He is horrified to discover he has killed a young boy, reminding him of his son. After dumping the bodies into the sea the three men endure their remaining time on the island, despite mounting distrust and tension. James in particular becomes unhinged, secluding himself in the tiny chapel nearby. Donald grows uneasy and insists that he and Thomas leave with the gold. James suddenly reappears, apologising for his behaviour. Once Donald and Thomas let their guards down, James locks Thomas in the pantry and strangles Donald. Thomas breaks free and subdues James by rendering him unconscious. Finally ready to depart the island, Thomas and James board the dead visitors' boat with the gold. After throwing Donald's body overboard, James admits that he cannot bear to live with his guilt and lowers himself into the water to end his life. He calls to Thomas for help with this last act and Thomas complies by holding James' head under water before sailing on alone.

Cast

as James Ducat *

as Thomas Marshall * Connor Swindells as Donald McArthur *

Ólafur Darri Ólafsson Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (born 13 March 1973) is an Icelandic-American actor, producer, and screenwriter. He is known for ''Children'', '' Trapped'', '' The Deep'', '' Lady Dynamite'', and ''The Secret Life of Walter Mitty''. Early life Ólafu ...

as Boor * Søren Malling as Locke * Gary Lewis as Kenny * Gary Kane as Gherd * Roderick Gilkison as the galley hand * Emma King as Mary

Production

On 31 October 2016 it was announced that a psychological thriller ''Keepers'' was in development, which Kristoffer Nyholm would make his directing debut from a script by Celyn Jones and Joe Bone. Kodiak Pictures would fully finance the film along with

Cross Creek Pictures Cross Creek Pictures is an American film production studio formed in 2009 by Timmy Thompson, Tyler Thompson and Brian Oliver. Its first production was the acclaimed ''Black Swan'' (2010), which was followed by '' The Ides of March'' (2011), ''The ...

, which would be produced by Andy Evans, Ade Shannon, and Sean Marley for Mad as Birds along with

and Alan Siegel for G-BASE, Maurice Fadida for Kodiak Pictures, and Brian Oliver for Cross Creek. Butler,

and Connor Swindells would star as James, Thomas, and Donald, respectively, in the film inspired by a true unresolved 1900 mystery at the Flannan Isles Lighthouse.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...

on the film began in mid-April 2017 in

Galloway Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway. A native or ...

, Scotland. Locations included the

Mull of Galloway The Mull of Galloway ( gd, Maol nan Gall, ; ) is the southernmost point of Scotland. It is situated in Wigtownshire, Dumfries and Galloway, at the end of the Rhins of Galloway peninsula. The Mull has one of the last remaining sections of natur ...

Port Logan Port Logan, formerly Port Nessock, is a small village in the parish of Kirkmaiden in the Rhins of Galloway in Wigtownshire. The Gaelic name is Port Neasaig. Port Nessock Bay is now all that remains of the western end of a strait that in post-g ...

harbour,

Killantringan Lighthouse Killantringan Lighthouse is a lighthouse located near Portpatrick in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. The light came into operation in 1900, and served as a waypoint in the North Channel of the Irish Sea. The name Killantringan is de ...

near

Portpatrick Portpatrick is a village and civil parish in the historical county of Wigtownshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is located on the west coast of the Rhins of Galloway. The parish is about in length and in breadth, covering . History ...

and

Corsewall Lighthouse Corsewall Lighthouse is a lighthouse at Corsewall Point, Kirkcolm near Stranraer in the region of Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland. First lit in 1817, it overlooks the North Channel of the Irish Sea. The definition of the name Corsewall is t ...

near Stranraer.

Reception

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critics consensus reads: "Suspenseful atmosphere, an evocative setting, and a strong cast keep audiences invested throughout ''The Vanishings patient approach to unraveling its mystery." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the film has a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

score of 64 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vanishing, The (2018 film) 2018 films 2018 psychological thriller films 2018 thriller drama films British psychological thriller films British thriller drama films Films about murder Films shot in Scotland Films set in Scotland Films set on islands Films scored by Benjamin Wallfisch Lionsgate films Saban Films films Works set in lighthouses British films based on actual events Thriller films based on actual events 2010s English-language films 2010s British films