#tim krabbe

I can't remember the last time a movie gave me nightmares. That's reason enough for you to check out Spoorloos (The Vanishing). While I wouldn’t categorize it as a horror movie and most people probably wouldn't lose sleep after it's over, this is a deeply unsettling thriller. The way it approaches the idea of a casual evil makes this the kind of movie you never forget.

Rex (Gene Bervoets) and Saskia (Johanna ter Steege) are vacationing in France when they stop at a rest area. Soon after, Saskia disappears. For three years, Rex searches for Saskia, never giving up because the man responsible for her disappearance, Raymond (Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu), has been sending him postcards. After pleading for answers on television, Raymond approaches Rex in person, vowing to tell him the truth about what happened.

Unexpectedly, The Vanishing shows us Raymond quite early in the movie. It's not just that we're clued in; we essentially get to sit down and have a conversation with him to find out why he did whatever it is he did. Diabolically, Raymond does not tell Rex what happened to Saskia right away, choosing instead to recount every step and circumstance that brought her within his reach. About half of the movie is centered around Raymond, a man who seems like a perfectly normal person at a glance; definitely not someone you'd pick as a sociopath. He tells us how and why he decided to do what he did, and we then follow his numerous efforts to perfect his kidnapping technique. What’s particularly unnerving is that he goes about it like you would any task. He has a goal. He tries to entice a would-be victim into his car. It doesn't work. He comes up with another strategy. "Ok, let me try again, but do THIS instead". George Sluizer, working with writer Tim Krabbé (who wrote the novella on which the film is based), drives you mad with suspense even though there shouldn't be any. You know all of these initial efforts by Raymond will fail. You know “nothing will happen” until he meets Saskia. Despite this, every rehearsal and new idea fills you with dread because you know every trial and error brings him closer to Saskia.

Raymond's matter-of-fact admission calms you in a way. It also makes you realize how dangerous a situation Rex has found himself in. He has no special training. He doesn’t have a weapon to threaten or coerce Raymond into doing or saying anything he doesn’t want to. He was given the choice to hear Raymond's story, but he's also been powerless since that day. It makes you wonder if the sociopath really cared about Saskia… or if the real prize was the maddening obsession he cultivated within our protagonist. The overwhelming need to know becomes contagious. Even though there’s a voice screaming inside your head saying, “Just get out of there!” you want answers. If Rex were to break the fourth wall right there and ask you whether he should walk away or continue listening, you’d tell him to stay. You NEED to know where this is headed. Consequences be damned.

Much of the film’s success comes from its unique structure and the absence of clichés. They're so effective that you might overlook the film’s performances. Even though Saskia isn’t in the movie much, she makes a big impact. On paper, it sounds like everything Rex does is unrealistic, but the performance sells it and Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu is the reason I woke up in a cold sweat. Everyone who’s seen the film remembers the conclusion and the last few scenes that lead up to it, but the opening is excellent as well. After hearing the premise, I was sure that the intro was headed one way. When it didn’t, I realized immediately that this movie was going to be something special. On its own, that opener is a mini-movie – the kind that will have you and whoever you’re sitting with diving into a long conversation.

Before watching Spoorloos/The Vanishing, I only knew two things about it: 1) that it was about a woman disappearing and an obsessive search to find her. 2) that the director remade the film for American audiences but changed the ending. That's the reason I picked up this movie "blind". I figured it would be a fun game to play with my friends; we'd watch this, then the remake the following week to see their minds blown. I still might follow through with that plan, though what I initially thought might be kind of funny may turn out to be enraging instead. This movie is just about perfect and seeing it get mangled - by its own director, no less - might be as horrifying as the original film… for entirely different reasons. (Original Dutch/French with subtitles on Blu-ray, July 18, 2025)