The Vanishing

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Gabriel S The Vanishing (1993) is Hollywood’s shameless adaptation of the homonymous Dutch version, which, then, is also an adaptation of a novel by Tim Krabbé called The Golden Egg or, in Americas, The Vanishing. Quick disclaimer: I didn’t read the novel, nor watched the Dutch version. Though The Vanishing (1993) might have the Super Cinema Machina touch, it feels old and clunky. The cinematography is simply not there, with a weird pacing that feels like disjointed scenes blended together in Microsoft’s Movie Maker. The plot is about a writer named Jeff Harriman that lost his girlfriend some 3 years ago. He is trying to move on, but not only the not-knowing haunts him, life seems to be throwing at him some curveballs. Unaware to Jeff, but the kidnapper is watching his every moves. This story tries to explore certain themes, but exploration seems shallow due to the weird cinematography. Quilty is clearly a light theme at play, due to an argument between characters Jeff and Diane before her disappearance. Other themes include being stuck to the past, not moving on, and, of course, the mind of a psycho. Jeff (Bauer) by awesomely young Kiefer Sutherland is a joke. Kiefe tries, but the acting is a bit off. I never seemed to care enough for Jeff, and I think this is because the pacing of the story is too frantic, there is not enough time to create emotions. Then we have Jeff Bridges as Barney Cousins. Jeff displays superior performance, impersonating a character that we might call a 90s Chigurh. Overall, The Vanishing (1993) might be okay for boomers, but I feel that, in 2024, it is just not recommendable. The movie feels outdated and shallow, too fast and without depth. I heard that the Dutch version is better, but 1988… I’m not sure… Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 05/28/24 Full Review Justin T On a technical front there is nothing to really complain about or take notice of. It was a drama that was shot nicely without standing out. There was one great shot inside a coffin though. This is a remake and remains faithful to the original except altering the spoken language. The ending was too happy though considering the dark tone of the story. It is an interesting story; shame that it's a remake as the original did the job. It's quite a slow and intelligent film but that is not my style! Still I quite liked it a little. Not worth watching the original and the remake, they are basically the same so pick one and go with that. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/08/24 Full Review Hellonearth its a good, well, decent movie tbh yall tripin Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 10/12/23 Full Review Audience Member Saw this when if first came out. The original foreign version by the same director is much darker but the first 2/3 of this movie is good. They gave it a Hollywood ending. Saw Jeff Bridges in an interview about this movie where he wanted to keep the original ending but the director wanted Americans to accept this movie. Anyway, this is very creepy and the idea of being buried alive is terrifying. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 05/07/23 Full Review Tony B ♪ Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl... At the coopaaa Coopacabaanaaa ♬ Creepy film. Bullock has a small cringe part childishly dominating her pushover Kiefer boyfriend; it's good once she vanishes. The more engaging characters are Bridges for his kooky psychopathy and Travis for her common sense--something Kiefer lacks throughout the movie and all characters do in the final act that does not do the film justice. Would you really get in the car with a known psycho, would you drink their Kool-Aid to find out what they promise is the truth? Kiefer does, even Bridges drinks his own, under the narrative of "your obsession is my weapon," when really a sane person would fight and beat it outta them, flight, or raise the alarm for help. Travis even shows up to the fight with not only no bullets in the gun, but not even a gun in the gun box. Such stupidity was out of character and just ruined the film, however the wide majority of it is creepy, convincing, and an original plot, if a remake, and despite the purists' opinions, a better one at that. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/04/23 Full Review Green C Great cast, good story. Love the 90s films. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/23/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Vanishing

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