The Vanishing (1993)
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A man becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth behind his girlfriend's mysterious disappearance at a gas station.
The story
Jeff Harriman becomes obsessed with finding his girlfriend, Diane Shaver, who vanished at a gas station three years prior. He meets Rita, a woman who sympathizes with his plight, and they begin a relationship. To continue his search without upsetting Rita, Jeff uses a military uniform as a cover for his investigations. When Rita discovers his secret project, he is forced to reveal the truth about Diane's disappearance. The narrative follows Jeff's desperate quest to uncover what happened to her, leading him into a dangerous confrontation with the man responsible for the crime.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The film begins with Barney, a chemistry professor who is perfecting methods for kidnapping. Three years ago, Jeff's girlfriend Diane vanished at a gas station after meeting Barney. Jeff becomes obsessed with her case and eventually meets Rita, who becomes his partner. When Rita discovers Jeff's secret investigation into Diane's disappearance, he reveals the truth. Barney eventually contacts Jeff, offering to reveal Diane's fate if Jeff experiences what she did. Jeff is drugged and wakes up in a coffin. Meanwhile, Rita discovers Barney's identity and confronts him at his cabin. A fight ensues, and Rita tricks Barney into taking a drugged drink. Jeff eventually wakes up, kills Barney with a shovel, and reunites with Rita. They ultimately decide to sell the story of the events as a novel.
- First release year
- 1993
- Runtime (minutes)
- 109
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- George Sluizer
- Writers
- Todd Graff · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Jeff Bridges · Barney; Kiefer Sutherland · Jeff; Nancy Travis · Rita; Sandra Bullock · Diane
- Genres
- psychological thriller; horror
- Themes
- obsession; the banality of evil
- Tone and mood
- tense; suspenseful
- Premise and plot tags
- kidnapping; missing persons; psychopaths
- Source material / true-story basis
- French-Dutch film of the same name
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews and was criticized for being a poor remake of the original, specifically for its different ending and 'slasher' elements.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 49% · scale: percentage · review count: 37; Metacritic · score: 49 · scale: 100 · review count: 17
- Production trivia
- The film was considered a box office bomb.; The Mini-Mart was a filming location for Twin Peaks.; The film was a remake of a 1988 French-Dutch film.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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