Peter Facinelli wrote and directed The Vanished, a psychological thriller film released in 2020. It follows a couple on their search for their daughter, who went missing on a camping trip. The Vanished is available to stream on Netflix.
Given the nature of this post, it should go without saying, but if you haven’t seen the movie yet and want to witness The Vanished conclusion unfold without any signs as to what’s to come, read on!
What Exactly Happened in The Vanished?
In the beginning of the movie, Paul and Wendy Michaelson, together with their daughter Taylor and pug Lucky, drive their RV to a lonely lakeside campground. While Wendy is gathering supplies, Paul encounters Miranda, a beautiful woman from a nearby campground. When Wendy returns, though, they realize Taylor has vanished.
They try to reach Tom, the manager, but to no avail. Sheriff Baker and Deputy Rakes form a search team, but Paul and Wendy are instructed to remain put. Paul and Wendy submit a missing person report after 24 hours and hear that there is an escaped convict in the region, but he is unlikely to be the culprit.
Paul and Wendy decide to investigate on their own and discover a man sleeping by a campfire with a rifle beside him. Wendy grabs his revolver, assuming he’s the fugitive. The sleeping person stirs and reaches for the pistol, only to be shot.
The sheriff informs them the next day that the prisoner was apprehended on a bus leaving town, and that a camper had been shot to death. Wendy shot an innocent guy, Paul and Wendy realize. Miranda and her husband Eric become more wary of Paul and Wendy as local officials become more engaged. Read also: The Cabinet of Curiosities: Ending Explain
While they’re gone, Paul and Wendy search their RV for a strand of beads belonging to their daughter Taylor, but they can’t find it. Paul sees Miranda making love that night. The two couples go out on the lake together the next day to continue their quest. They find a plastic bag floating in the water after six hours on the lake, but it has no clues.
Eric and Miranda are accused by Paul and Wendy of abducting their daughter since they have been unable to conceive. Wendy takes out a gun, which leads to a fight in which Miranda is shot and Eric is stabbed. Paul and Wendy quarrel as they return to shore, disturbed.
Baker discovers Eric’s body in Eric and Miranda’s RV, where he discovers the beads, which Wendy verifies are her daughter’s. Later, Baker learns that Eric was holding strands of hair in his palm. Wendy later accuses Tom of being the perpetrator and investigates his home, discovering a hidden passageway leading to a toilet and a closet shelf with a collection of child pornography recordings. Read Also: Will There Be A Ninth Season of The Vampire Diaries?
She’s knocked unconscious and restrained. Tom tries to restrain Wendy after diverting Paul’s attention away from her, but she discovers a hammer on the floor and murders him. Baker suspected Tom of being involved in a child pornography ring, and with the investigation seemingly closed, Paul persuades Wendy to dispose of Taylor’s belongings. Tom’s groundskeeper Justin, who has been experiencing his own problems, eventually recovers the goods. He desperately attempts to contact the police but is unable to do so.
Baker ultimately receives a Dear John letter from his wife, but then sees something odd about a photo of the Michaelsons—they are posing in front of the World Trade Center before the September 11 attacks, and Wendy is pregnant in the shot, hinting that Taylor was much older than 10 years old.
After contacting another police network, he discovers from Paul’s brother that their daughter died six years ago and that the Michaelsons have been living a dream in which they believe their daughter is still alive due to their inability to effectively go through the stages of mourning. Rakes verifies that the hair on Eric’s hand has Paul’s DNA on it.
In flashbacks, the couple murders Eric and Miranda, Paul plants the beads in the RV, and Justin discovers the blanket with the daughter’s genuine birth date. When the police return to the campsite, they discover another RV couple who have temporarily lost their kid and are concerned that she has been abducted by the Michaelsons, but the girl reappears. The Michaelsons have already departed the campground and are reminiscing with Taylor, who is playing on the video screen in their RV.
What Happened to Tylor in the Ending?
The film’s major narrative centers around Paul and Wendy Michaelson’s 10-year-old daughter Taylor’s death. The couple plans to spend Thanksgiving holiday with their daughter by driving their RV to a campsite. Taylor, on the other hand, appears to disappear into thin air while Wendy is in the grocery and Paul is captivated by their gorgeous campsite neighbor Miranda. What went wrong with her? Was she abducted?
When Sheriff Baker (Jason Patric) notices an old photo of Wendy pregnant during the construction of the two towers in New York City, the reveal occurs. There is a discrepancy in the timeline. So he instructs his deputy (Facinelli) to contact Paul’s brother for confirmation. Why doesn’t the brother have contacted them sooner, or why would still not they have contacted relatives? On broadcast, they had a media conference. Someone would have seen and alerted him, especially if the Michaelsons have a history of doing this.
Cassey Moore is a features writer for Quest. I’m a British writer of both horror and supernatural series. Cassey is also a digital marketing manager.