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The Vanishing

Play trailer Poster for The Vanishing R Released Feb 5, 1993 1h 50m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
49% Tomatometer 37 Reviews 46% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Barney (Jeff Bridges) is a disturbed man intent on abducting a woman. After numerous failed attempts, he manages to kidnap young Diane (Sandra Bullock), who is on vacation with her boyfriend, Jeff (Kiefer Sutherland). As time passes, Jeff remains determined to find out what happened to Diane. When Barney unexpectedly confronts Jeff, it leads to a tense life-or-death situation. Meanwhile, Jeff's current girlfriend, Rita (Nancy Travis), manages to follow him in hopes of keeping him out of harm.
The Vanishing

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Critics Consensus

The Vanishing copies the form of its pulse-pounding predecessor but loses much of its thrilling function along the way, leaving American audiences with one more rote remake.

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Critics Reviews

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Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly Rated: A- Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Variety Staff Variety Schematic and unconvincing. Aug 12, 2007 Full Review Nigel Floyd Time Out Misjudged, compromised Hollywood remake. Jan 26, 2006 Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins Bridges makes a memorable, superb psycho, demonstrating remorselessness, fortitude, an unnerving calm, and a faint Dutch (or simpleton) accent. Rated: 8/10 Sep 25, 2020 Full Review Vanessa Letts The Spectator American scriptwriters have run out of ideas. Jul 24, 2018 Full Review Malcolm Johnson Hartford Courant Until its over-the-top climax, which combines absurdity with one flash of slasher stuff, the American remake proves an intriguing variation on the first film. May 29, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Farah R I love 90s Sandra Bullock, so I decided to watch The Vanishing solely because she's in it. Unfortunately, I was disappointed because she only has a few scenes in it, and its kidnapping premise is not the most realistic. Jeff Bridges plays an unconvincing psychopath, and Keifer Sutherland overplays the obsessed boyfriend trope. The only saving grace was Nancy Travis's character, who seemed to have the only brain cell in the movie. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 11/01/24 Full Review 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 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 out of 5 stars 02/08/24 Full Review Hellonearth its a good, well, decent movie tbh yall tripin 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 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 out of 5 stars 04/04/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Vanishing

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Barney (Jeff Bridges) is a disturbed man intent on abducting a woman. After numerous failed attempts, he manages to kidnap young Diane (Sandra Bullock), who is on vacation with her boyfriend, Jeff (Kiefer Sutherland). As time passes, Jeff remains determined to find out what happened to Diane. When Barney unexpectedly confronts Jeff, it leads to a tense life-or-death situation. Meanwhile, Jeff's current girlfriend, Rita (Nancy Travis), manages to follow him in hopes of keeping him out of harm.
Director
George Sluizer
Producer
Larry Brezner, Paul Schiff
Screenwriter
Todd Graff
Distributor
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Production Co
Twentieth Century Fox
Rating
R
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 5, 1993, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 10, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$13.4M
Runtime
1h 50m
Sound Mix
Stereo