Fear of the unknown is a solid foundation for a Horror/Thriller, and that fear has never been weaponized as effectively as in The Vanishing. After a lengthy introduction where a typical couple have a typical amount of friction, the woman mysteriously disappears. Every small moment is patiently detailed while the story picks up its momentum from the mystery. Events are developed naturally while at the same time moving forward with purpose.
The story seems to tell us everything because we also meet the strange man who must have abducted the woman. We watch him prepare and come to understand his need to do this. And still… we don’t have an answer to the central question. Time moves forward and the woman never returns, so it’s clear something bad happened to her. But what? We want to know. Enough time has been spent that we want to know more than anything else. So, the film has us in its grip, and we are deep inside the psychology of the boyfriend, who wants closure even more than we do. He’s presented with an interesting choice, one that very directly asks how bad do we want to find out?
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