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The Vanishing

Spoorloos (The Vanishing)

1988

George Sluizer

Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Gene Bervoets, Johanna ter Steege, Gwen Eckhaus ...

6.8

3,809

Mystery. Thriller Rex and Saskia, a young couple in love, are on vacation. They stop at a busy service station and Saskia is abducted. After three years and no sign of Saskia, Rex begins receiving letters from the abductor.

	Author	Review
Spain	FilmAffinity	Stanley Kubrick said it was the most terrifying film he’d ever seen.	POS
United States	Hal Hinson The Washington Post	"[It] has a horrifying everydayness that makes it feel close-in and inescapable (...) A brilliantly crafted intellectual thriller (...) [that] carries you down with it."	POS
United States	Roger Ebert rogerebert.com	"The movie advances in a tantalizing fashion, supplying information obliquely, suggesting as much as it tells, and everything leads up to a climax that is as horrifying as it is probably inevitable.(…) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)"	POS
United States	Michael Wilmington Los Angeles Times	"[It] succeeds the old-fashioned way: by hooking us on characters and undercurrents, seducing us into a clean, logical nightmare, then, after making each twist plausible, opening an abyss under our feet."	POS
United States	Janet Maslin The New York Times	"Sluizer, whose direction has the spooky precision of nonfiction crime writing (...) makes the characters seem quite real (...) [It] features effectively controlled pacing and a credible performance from Mr. Donnadieu	POS
United States	Mark Kermode Time Out	"An unforgettably chilling psychodrama which twists the slenderest of plots into a hellish exploration of human potential."	POS
United States	Desson Thomson The Washington Post	"Sluizer unfolds his story with non-hysterical -- but nonetheless unnerving -- precision. 'Vanishing' is refreshingly free of manipulative scenes."	POS
United States	Mike D'Angelo AV Club	"[It] takes its sweet, creepy time instilling the need to know, then fulfills that need in the bleakest, most terminal way imaginable. It’s as cruel as life."	POS
Canada	Brian Rentschler Screen Rant	"If you're looking for excellent character development with a healthy dose of disturbing creepiness, don't miss this one (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS

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