Rent The Vanishing (1988)

Worth the wait. - The Vanishing review by TDM

You'll wonder where this film is going.

It starts by setting up the plot, the vanishing, then meanders into some odd territory before bang, one of the best endings in cinema.

It is quite dated in its style (which may be off putting for some), and this was attempted to be addressed in the remake (don't go there, stay here), the acting is good enough and the story keeps enough of a pull, but...

Don't spoil this for yourself, be patient and be rewarded with a real gem of a climax.

No Hollywood soft landings here, and all the better for it.

Mystery, horror and tension without the jump scares - The Vanishing review by KB

I hired this film because it's been decades since I first saw it, and I remember it made a huge impact on me back in the day. The ending stayed with me for a long time, so I decided to see if it has stood the test of time. I would say, yes, definitely. In recent years we in the UK have grown to enjoy TV series and films from Europe, Scandinavia and elsewhere, and have got used to watching with subtitles (always better than dubbing as it's good to hear the actors' real voices). When this movie was made it was rare for a non English language film to have much success with UK and American audiences. The subtlety of Spoorloos/The Vanishing is still as impactful as when I watched it around 30 years ago on video. No irritating Hollywood jump scares for starters. My rule of thumb: the more jump scares, the lousier the film. Audiences are not stupid, we know when we feel scared, we don't need to be made to jump artificially by introducing stupidly loud and pointless musical commands. This film relied on the audience piecing little things together, observing, and yet it never really hints at the eventual outcome, so that it comes as a horrible shock. As the film progresses we are gradually introduced to the modus operandi of the villain. I noticed little things that I had missed watching the film the first time around, such as the placement of vehicles and characters, which you may or may not register but which are all there for a reason. There are one or two lovely red herrings. The psychology of this film is fascinating; we recognise that a character is doomed by their psychological reactions to certain stimuli, upon which they cannot help but act. There's also the sadness of inevitability, and the awful reality of chance changing peoples lives forever. The villain is perhaps unique in the world of film, or was at that time; they are so bland as to pass unnoticed in a crowd, and are made all the more chilling for that. The acting was natural rather than OTT, so that when a scene required a bit of hand wringing it had some impact. The ending is now no surprise to me, so the horror wasn't there in quite the same way this time. Rather like 'The Usual Suspects', you need to watch carefully first time around to benefit from the surprise ending. After that, repeat watching is just a case of spotting the clues along the way. Just one more thing to add: how refreshing to take a trip back to a time when adults and a children alike were not glued to mobile phones. The incidental scenes that show families talking, laughing and playing games together were lovely and made me long for the past.

Dated - The Vanishing review by CP Customer

Good story, and I wanted to find out what happened in the end, but it is terribly dated! I think there are better thrillers out there now.

Awful! - The Vanishing review by SoniaGee

Only rent this film if you want to be kept awake through the night following. I wish I had not seen it.

The story drags the mind into it, until the end. Like a true murder. I recommend that only if you're unemotional it might suit you.