THE VANISHING (1993) - Movie Review

Director: George Sluizer
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Kiefer Sutherland, Nancy Travis, Sandra Bullock
Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery
Writer: Todd Graff
Runtime: 109 min
Rated: Rated R for terror and violence, and for language
Buy This Movie: DVD (Amazon), Amazon Prime Video

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Synopsis:

In this riveting, tension-filled psychological thriller, a young woman (Sandra Bullock) mysteriously disappears, sending her boyfriend Jeff (Kiefer Sutherland) on a years-long quest to find her. Not even a new love (Nancy Travis) can keep him from his obsessive search. All the while, the calculating psychopath (Jeff Bridges) who kidnapped his girlfriend stalks Jeff, ultimately taking him through the exact same steps that led to the crime. In order to find out what happened, Jeff must put his own life in the hands of this devious stranger.

Review:

"The Vanishing" was yet another case of an American remake that ended up being inferior to the original. The original is the 1988 dutch film "Spoorloos". Both were directed by the same person, George Sluizer, but his 1993 US version was pretty much universally panned for being a Hollywoodized version of a much darker and intellectually satisfying movie. But you know what ? This is still one hell of a guilty pleasure.

As a remake, it's almost scene for scene the same as the 1988 movie. Even the runtime is almost identical. I generally hate that, but somehow I found myself giving this one a pass. Maybe it's because it's hard to find movies that actually feel cinematic these days. Regardless, even with all its flaws it's still a brisk thriller with an excellent cast. Kiefer Sutherland is surprisingly good, and I just with I could have seen him work with a better script. Nancy Travis starts out as a supporting character with little to do, but gets to kick some righteous butt by the end. Sandra Bullock also does a great job with the little screen time she has in this early role. But the real star of the show is Jeff Bridges who delivers a startlingly creepy performance, and his character is so disturbing that it qualifies this guy for a psychoanalysis session with Hannibal Lecter. Bridges deserves a lot more credit than he got, and maybe even an honorable mention as one of the most terrifying psychopaths of all time.

Much like Paul Verhoeven's "Hollow Man", the movie starts out with big ambitions but devolves into slasher horror, yet still never gets quite as silly as the 2000 sci-fi thriller. It still maintains some logic, apart from a bunch of requisite plot contrivances, and there's still plenty of thought provoking material left over from the original. The cinematography is great, evoking a Hitchcockian visual style, and the score by Jerry Goldsmith is a pleasure. It might not be one of Goldsmith's better scores, but it still sounds better than 90% of the bland film music I've listened to in the past couple of years. A major detractment is the weird happy ending that feels tacked on at the studio's request. It's stupid and even makes a cringey attempt at humor despite the fact that the characters have gone through one hell of a traumatic experience.

"The Vanishing" is ultimately a serviceable thriller that will keep you immersed in its sinister mystery. For deeper, darker thrills check out the 1988 original, but you should definitely give the remake a try, at the very least for the solid performances and that whiff of old school '90s cinema.

SCORE: 7/10