Writer-director Peter Facinelli explores every parent's nightmare in new thriller 'The Vanished'

HOLLYWOOD -- Actor Peter Facinelli is the force behind a dramatic new movie. It involves a murder, an almost empty RV camp and two parents asking, "Where is our daughter?"

In "The Vanished', a family camping trip turns into an agonizing adventure. Parents, played by Anne Heche and Thomas Jane, report their daughter just suddenly disappeared soon after they arrived at a near empty RV park. They quickly begin to suspect pretty much everyone... and things get ugly.

Facinelli wrote and directed "The Vanished", building his story off of something that happened to him in real life.

"I went to an RV park and there was a guy. When I paid the guy, there were gunshots and I looked up and he said, 'Oh, there's a prison a couple of miles down the road. Two, three gunshots are normal. Anything more, come running to the front desk.' So I didn't sleep well all night that night!" said Facinelli. "And then I started thinking, well, what if my daughter went missing? What if there was a convict on the loose? And it started planting the seeds for this film. I think it's every parent's worst nightmare. I mean, I have kids and I remember when there were just like literally right below me and I'd look up and I'd start panicking and calling their name. 'Dad, I'm right here.' And you're, like, worst five seconds of your life."

Facinelli also wanted to explore what this scenario might do to a relationship. The answer is... plenty! And by the time you're done with this movie, there's a twist no one will see coming.

"I haven't had anybody figure it out yet so if you do figure it out, out there, you get the golden prize!" said Facinelli.

"The Vanished" is available in select theaters, on digital and on demand August 21st.