The Vanishing (1993):

Starring:

Kiefer Sutherland - Jeff Harriman

Jeff Bridges - Barney Cousins

Nancy Travis - Rita Baker

Sandra Bullock - Diane Shaver

Park Overall - Lynn

Maggie Linderman - Denise Cousins

Lisa Eichhorn - Helene Cousins

George Hearn - Arthur Bernard

Lynn Hamilton - Miss Carmichael

Director:

George Sluizer (The Vanishing 1988)

Synopsis:

George Sluizer's 1992 English-language remake of his 1988 Dutch thriller The Vanishing follows the same plot-line as the original film, yet with one important difference. The film details a young man's (Kiefer Sutherland) search for his girlfriend (Sandra Bullock), who disappeared at a gas station after the couple had a fight. Where the original film didn't reveal what happened to the girlfriend until late into the movie, the 1992 version opens with her kidnapper (Jeff Bridges) plotting his abduction. Over the course of the film, Sutherland's search for Bullock is intercut with footage of Bridges that illustrates his mental illness and his repeated attempts to abduct women.

Review:

I've read quite a few reviews on this version of the film, with everyone saying to "watch the original, it's better". Well that might not be very hard considering this one wasn't very good at all. A very interesting choice of character portrayal by Bridges who plays the character very all over the place. Kiefer, pre-24, does a lot of the same things he does in a lot of his more action-ish roles. Lots of yelling, lots of sporadic movement that ultimately is over reacting & unnecessary. I feel like if they hadn't revealed so much about Bridges character throughout the film it would have been much more interesting & left me to be more invested & interested in the film. But since you already knew the end game, it took away a lot of it.

Budget: $23,000,000

Box Office: $14,543,394

Profit: -$8,456,606

Rotten Tomatoes: 47%

Flixster: 50%

20%

Lead Acting: 6/15

Supporting Cast: 2/15

Plot: 7/10

Compared To The Genre: 0/10

Cinematography: 5/20

Intrigue: 0/20

Extra: 0/10