If you come across a copy of a movie called The Vanishing, make sure it doesn’t have the names Jeff Bridges, Keifer Sutherland, or Sandra Bullock anywhere near the title. Not that these actors, are bad—I like them all quite a lot, particularly Sutherland—but I can’t recommend the version of this film in which they star.
That one was made in 1993, with the same title, story, and director as the original Dutch production. As far as acting goes, the stars of the American remake are more than up to the task; and technically, the film is well-made. The only difference—or anyway, the one glaring, enormous difference—is the ending. In George Sluizer’s original production, the ending is dark, bleak, and makes sense. The ending of his remake is silly, unrealistic, and disappointing.
I don’t think I felt that way when I saw the remake of The Vanishing (the first version I saw) in . . . oh, I don’t know, ninety-ninety-something . . . but that probably had a lot to do with my teenage naivete and the fact that the ninety minutes leading up to the ending are completely engrossing, top-notch suspense material.
In both versions, a man and woman are on a cross-country trip and stop at a gas station off the highway. She goes in to buy some things, and he never sees her again. This begins a three-year-long quest to find the missing woman. Simultaneously we follow the man who likely kidnapped her. Somehow the fact of knowing his identity early on does not detract from the film’s suspense.
That one was made in 1993, with the same title, story, and director as the original Dutch production. As far as acting goes, the stars of the American remake are more than up to the task; and technically, the film is well-made. The only difference—or anyway, the one glaring, enormous difference—is the ending. In George Sluizer’s original production, the ending is dark, bleak, and makes sense. The ending of his remake is silly, unrealistic, and disappointing.
I don’t think I felt that way when I saw the remake of The Vanishing (the first version I saw) in . . . oh, I don’t know, ninety-ninety-something . . . but that probably had a lot to do with my teenage naivete and the fact that the ninety minutes leading up to the ending are completely engrossing, top-notch suspense material.
In both versions, a man and woman are on a cross-country trip and stop at a gas station off the highway. She goes in to buy some things, and he never sees her again. This begins a three-year-long quest to find the missing woman. Simultaneously we follow the man who likely kidnapped her. Somehow the fact of knowing his identity early on does not detract from the film’s suspense.
The ending of Sluizer’s original film will disturb the viewer. Indeed, I put on something very light-hearted and easily digested, when the film had finished, as I did not want this to be the last thing I saw before shutting my eyes for the night.
The American version will likely leave an unsuspecting viewer feeling like they’ve just watched a well-made American thriller. They might not even notice how cheap the ending is.
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