Review of The Vanishing (1993) by Brett B — 13 Nov 2012

Jeff Bridges is REALLY good, as is Kiefer Sutherland, and while the first act is effective, the film becomes more and more conventional as it heads towards its climax. Bridges plays a first-class weirdo, and he somehow manages to make this dangerous, unhinged character at least somewhat sympathetic.

The main problem with the film is - quite simply - that it's not as shocking or disturbing as the original; indeed, that first film has one of the great gut-punch finales in thriller cinema, whereas this version devolves into a pretty standard, stale wrap-up.

This is not at all a bad film, and it's worth it for Bridges alone, but overall it feels like a fairly unnecessary remake.