The Vanishing

Now that I got that Netflix disc that allows me to watch their streaming movies through my PS3, I took a test run with this extremely creepy thriller from the Netherlands. I usually don’t like watching movies made before like 1995 because the video quality is often fuzzy and off-putting, but this 1988 film looked pretty good and I never felt I was in danger of hearing the Thompson Twins during an especially lengthy music montage.

The story is pretty chilling in its own right, but it is the execution that makes it really bizarre and gives you the feeling that you are actually watching a crime unfold.

A man and his wife (or girlfriend) are on a trip. They pull up to a ginormous gas station that appears to be a popular stop for tourists, travel groups and in this case abductors. Without giving anything away the lady vanishes (get it? like the title) and so begins the man’s three-year search for her.

Most people would certainly stop looking after that amount of time, but he keeps going. Why? Because the kidnapper periodically sends him cryptic clues as to her whereabouts and that she may not be dead. Gross.

Much of the movie is actually from the kidnapper’s point of view. It tells you pretty much in the first 10 minutes who he is. The flashbacks that make up a large portion shows his repeated attempts at abducting women. He fails numerous times until eventually pulling it off.

The kidnapper is really creepy. You get the distinct sensation that your uncle is touching you when he is on screen. He is a real fucked up bastard. This is of course countered by a seemingly normal home life with a wife and two daughters. The ending will probably make you pretty damn uncomfortable, but that’s the point really.

The Vanishing isn’t a movie you’ll be talking about vigorously with your friends, but it is a pretty good watch. You might even be able to throw in a pretentious aside at a dinner party that you watched a Dutch film. So, ya know…that’s neat.

P.S. – There was an American version made with Kiefer Sutherland, Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock. I’m sure it sucks, but if you want to see it, go for it I guess.

Score – 70

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