# Just Saw The Dutch Film "The Vanishing". 3 1/2 Stars? It Sucked. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 29, 2002, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-saw-the-dutch-film-the-vanishing-3-1-2-stars-it-sucked/130087 "2002-09-29T08:07:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2002, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-saw-the-dutch-film-the-vanishing-3-1-2-stars-it-sucked/130087/1 "2002-09-29T08:07:38Z")
Always heard this was a classic, and one of the great horror films. It was SO lame…is it because it is dated, or was it always this bad? ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2002, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-saw-the-dutch-film-the-vanishing-3-1-2-stars-it-sucked/130087/2 "2002-09-29T08:21:13Z")
Was the movie about an abducted woman and her boyfriend’s search for her? That was re-made in 1993 as a Kiefer Sutherland / Sandra Bullock ‘vehicle’ - backwhen Hollywood was europe-remake-happy and used the word ‘vehicle’ for motion-pictures. I thought the original was French - but close enough 😉 Ahh… yes Roger Ebert gushed about the original, while giving the remake one star. > [@](#): > > In 1988, George Sluizer made a French-Belgian production, also called “The Vanishing,” that was one of the most intelligent thrillers I’ve seen. [{ kniggets from the Chicago Sun Times… }](http://www.suntimes.com/ebert/ebert_reviews/1993/02/840650.html) ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2002, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-saw-the-dutch-film-the-vanishing-3-1-2-stars-it-sucked/130087/3 "2002-09-29T09:29:02Z")
I have to say that I liked that movie a lot. I never thought of it as a “horror film” though. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2002, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-saw-the-dutch-film-the-vanishing-3-1-2-stars-it-sucked/130087/4 "2002-09-29T14:37:41Z")
It’s not a horror film by any means. I’d call it a “thriller”. But is it “bad”? I don’t think so. I liked it. There were two things that bothered me about it though: [spoiler]1. How could a guy lose a finger falling from a balcony? It seemed silly to me. I don’t recall if the loss of a finger was central to the guy’s becoming a killer; but they mentioned the finger just because the actor was missing one, then I don’t see the point. 1. The boyfriend was an idiot at the end. _No one_ would have gone through with it at the end. I know they tried to show the process by which he came to the decision, but all the time I was thinking, “You’re a bloody fool.” I just didn’t believe it.[/spoiler] Still, the ending was tasty. I have not seen the American version. (Nor have I seen the American version of _Breathless_, for that matter.) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2002, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-saw-the-dutch-film-the-vanishing-3-1-2-stars-it-sucked/130087/5 "2002-09-29T14:39:21Z")
That should have been: _If_ they mentioned the finger just because the actor was missing one… ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2002, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-saw-the-dutch-film-the-vanishing-3-1-2-stars-it-sucked/130087/6 "2002-09-29T15:03:03Z")
I thought it was remade into Breakdown with Kurt Russel and some woman I can’t remember. ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2002, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-saw-the-dutch-film-the-vanishing-3-1-2-stars-it-sucked/130087/7 "2002-09-29T15:24:27Z")
**Coldfire** will be along soon. I saw the original movie on IFC a few years ago - and Coldy maybe saw the American remake with Jeff Bridges as the bad guy and Kiefer and Sandra as the characters nobody cared for anyways. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2002, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-saw-the-dutch-film-the-vanishing-3-1-2-stars-it-sucked/130087/8 "2002-09-29T16:44:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Johnny L.A. \* > \*\*It’s not a horror film by any means. I’d call it a “thriller”. But is it “bad”? I don’t think so. I liked it. There were two things that bothered me about it though: > > [spoiler]1. How could a guy lose a finger falling from a balcony? It seemed silly to me. I don’t recall if the loss of a finger was central to the guy’s becoming a killer; but they mentioned the finger just because the actor was missing one, then I don’t see the point. > \*\* I haven’t seen either version of this movie, so I can’t comment on its purpose, but I personally know of a little girl who lost a finger when she tripped and fell down (total fall of about 2 1/2 feet). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2002, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-saw-the-dutch-film-the-vanishing-3-1-2-stars-it-sucked/130087/9 "2002-09-29T19:32:53Z")
**obfusciatrist** : I suppose it could happen if it got stuck, as happened to a little girl at Disneyland. But I can’t recall if it had anything to do with the plot.