MUBI

The beauty of The Vanishing is the manner in which the story unfolds. For the lovers of shock, gore and thrill, they might be ultimately disappointed with the story. Superior editing highlights the back and forth scene and time changes. The character of Lemorne is played with an unusual and sympathetic understatement. Well-acted by Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu.
I originally purchased this film because it was listed as one of the most shocking horror films. Funny. It certainly isn’t that, but it is a finely-crafted piece of cinema that is well-worth watching.
Recommended.

A smart, original, and finely crafted thriller that is ultimately underwhelming. Strong, understated performances and a tense atmosphere, though it was marred by the slow pacing – with many long take of long silences – it seemed to by trying to hold the tension longer than it could really sustain. Much has been made of the “shocking and disturbing” ending, but I actually found it incredibly uninspired and unsatisfying. An interesting film, but overall a disappointment.

I had no idea the North American remake of this movie was based on such a superior film. Sluizer’s original is an exemplary study on love and obsession, as well as the timeless horror of the notion of the everyday killer in our midst. Cinematography is excellent, with many stunning visuals throughout – perhaps none moreso than the chilling view of the professor through the rain drenched windscreen of his car, as Rex drinks the laced coffee.

I was particularly glad to see a more suitable and haunting ending to the story. What a shame it took over a decade for me to uncover this gem.

Amazing. “Golden eggs floating in space”,“going against the predestined”, “I’m a claustrophobe”. There’s some wonderfully unique writing going on here and I have the feeling that this movie deserves more than one viewing to absorb all of the subtext, but I agree with Kevin N that the tension between Raymond and Rex was a little off. This might be just because Rex is a bit of a wildcard or the fact that his character was so completely over the edge after 3 years of looking for his wife? VERY CREEPY. A must see.