I watched this movie as a teenager (about 20 years ago) and thought it was very entertaining. After reading the negative comments and after watching the original titled Spoorloos just a few weeks ago, I thought that I would probably change my mind about the remake. So I bought an old DVD and gave the film a second try. To my own surprise, I still liked it. Of course, the original film is better, but The Vanishing is definitely not a bad remake. I must even admit that some scenes of the remake made more sense to me, for instance how the boyfriend gradually falls in love with a new woman; his decision to intensify the search for the missing ex girlfriend; the killer's motivation to go after the boyfriend etc. The parts that were admittedly pretty dumb are the long scene of the new girlfriend fighting with the killer and the lame "coffee joke" in the very end.
The original film is definitely more "intelligent", in particular as regards the portrayal of the killer's personality. However, the remake does not disappoint.
The original film is definitely more "intelligent", in particular as regards the portrayal of the killer's personality. However, the remake does not disappoint.