The Vanishing *** (1993, Jeff Bridges, Kiefer Sutherland, Nancy Travis, Sandra Bullock) – Classic Movie Review 8992

For his 1993 remake The Vanishing, director George Sluizer Hollywoodises his 1988 Dutch psychological horror thriller The Vanishing [Spoorloos] and adds an extra female character (a spunky girlfriend for the hero) and a different ending. This spoils things a little. The Vanishing (1988) wasn’t broken and didn’t need fixing. But nevertheless the 1993 The Vanishing is still a chilling and dangerous movie messing with the dark side that is perhaps best left buried.

As Barney Cousins, Jeff Bridges gives a compelling portrait of the unhinged abductor of Jeff Harriman (Kiefer Sutherland)’s first girlfriend, Diane Shaver (Sandra Bullock). Sutherland does well too as his character obsessively tries to find her. Nancy Travis has a much more conventional time as the new girl, Rita Baker, a character that tips this film towards the usual and the ordinary. Her presence takes away from the whole psychological basis of the hero’s lonely obsession that propels him into an absurd act of masochistic daring to find out the truth, and takes away much of the screen time needed to experience the obsession fully.

Though the 1988 The Vanishing is a creepier, more chilling movie, the remake remains a polished, visceral thriller that grips all the way and gives you a sick feeling in your stomach. That nice Mr Bridges freezes the spirits in this horrible, disturbing bad karma movie.

This time Todd Graff writes the screenplay, based on Tim Krabbé’s novel.

It is one of the small band of movie remakes by the original director, which include Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much.

Also in the cast are Park Overall, Maggie Linderman, Lisa Eichhorn, George Hearn, Lynn Hamilton, Garrett Bennett, George Catalano, and Frank Girardeau.

The Vanishing is directed by George Sluizer, runs 110 minutes, is made and released by 20th Century Fox, is written by Todd Graff, based on Tim Krabbé’s novel, is shot by Peter Suschitzky, is produced by Larry Brezner and Paul Schiff and is scored by Jerry Goldsmith.

Sutherland and Bullock worked together again in A Time to Kill (1996).

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8992

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