The Vanishing (The Original)

The Vanishing (Sporloos) (1988)

Runtime: 107 minutes

Directed by: George Sluizer

Starring: Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Gene Bervoets, Johanna ter Steege, Gwen Eckhaus, Bernadette Le Sache

From: Several companies from The Netherlands, France, and West Germany

What a cheery movie to announce that my schedule is back to normal… at the crack of dawn, those family members returned home; I’ll miss them, including the two very young children that both like me. Thank goodness today was a day of rest after yesterday was a LONG day at the Magic Kingdom. Throughout the years I’ve heard plenty about The Vanishing and even as a youth remember advertising for the American remake-more on that at the end.

At first, I wasn’t sure about the movie, which was viewed on the Criterion Channel. After all, the beginning is a young Dutch couple arguing with each other on a rural road and in a tunnel, the guy (Rex) driving the vehicle runs out of gas. That is rather dopey, made even worse by the knowledge that the girl (Saskia) made a remark earlier concerning the fuel situation. After that, though… I was invested.

On holiday in France, the girl vanishes from a rest area; to clarify for those around the world, I know that in Europe those rest stops usually are attached to gas stations. In the United States, that only happens once in awhile and those places have an unsettling reputation due to the typical locations in the middle of nowhere off an Interstate or a toll road; that said, I imagine that around the world those places exude creepiness. Even during the day at a busy location, Saskia vanishes.

What wasn’t expected (and I hope this isn’t spoilers for anyone) is that much focus is placed on the kidnapper, whose identity is shown even before Rex and Saskia make it to the rest stop. What makes the movie incredibly creepy is that we see a flashback to this man-Raymond Lemorne-preparing for his first kidnapping. There are detailed preparations for this, and many false starts. The fact that he’s a successful family man instead of the “raving maniac” stereotype helps make this feel realistic… at least realistic when it comes to a cinematic story.

No matter any criticisms or the unexpected directions this went, this was still the enthralling and rather dark journey surrounding a cold and calculating person… a self-proclaimed sociopath who admits as such and the proclamation isn’t lame or blatantly a put-on. It’d be a shame for me to reveal any more and ruin the surprises that this had in store for me as a first-time viewer as others should also go into this not knowing too much. I’ll just say that this has moments (especially the ending) which will chill to the bone. Heck, KUBRICK apparently found the entire thing more terrifying than even his own The Shining. Plus, obsession is the key theme, and not just for one character.

What performances from Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Gene Bervoets, & Johanna ter Steege as the three main players. It’s the type of story uncommon to American movies; not a shock then that general consensus proclaims that the Hollywood remake done in ’93 was disgraceful compared to the OG product. Not even the director of this (George Sluizer) being allowed to do his own work over mattered in the end. Without knowing the details, the mind can just imagine how badly Hollywood screwed it up…