Adapted from the novella The Golden Egg (1984) by Tim Krabbé, The Vanishing (1988) follows Rex and Saskia, a young couple who are travelling on holiday in the south of France.
At a gas station, the couple buries two coins by a tree as a romantic gesture whilst Rex promises never to abandon Saskia. Shortly after, Saskia leaves Rex outside while she goes to buy drinks in the gas station. After a long time of waiting for Saskia to return, Rex discovers that she’s gone.
The film then jumps backwards and forwards in time as we follow Saskia’s abductor’s journey before and after the abduction. Alongside this journey, we also follow Rex as his obsessive search for Saskia extends for years.
Stanley Kubrick famously told George Sluizer (dir) that The Vanishing was “the most terrifying film I’ve ever seen in my life.” In response, Sluizer asked Kubrick if he’d seen his own film The Shining (1980). Kubrick replied: “Oh, that’s just child’s play. That’s not frightening at all compared to your movie.”
Bobby says: “Annoyingly, I first watched the 1993 remake before the original 1988 film. I really liked the concept of the film, and although the remake was also directed by Sluizer, the original is where the true horror lies. Devastating and chilling, The Vanishing tells of a tragedy that is possibly the most severe in cinema.”