The Vanishing

This is an intriguing situation where director George Sluizer had an international hit with SPOORLOOS in 1988 and came to North American to remake his own film in 1993 with some interesting results. I of course though the original was the better of the two but I found myself asking the question of was this due to it merely being a foreign film, hence more alien, or is the better made of the two. This is open to debate as the casting in the orginal seemed better suited than the Americanized version. While Jeff Bridges presents us with a truly creepy lead, I'm not even sure we can call him "bad" but certainly disturbed, there was something less convincing about Keifer Sutherland. Not a bad performance as such but somehow not right for the role. Sandra Bullock is surprisingly effective and Nancy Travis has moments but they are not consitent. I guess it's a case of Bridges acting above the cast surrounding him and it for this reason I think THE VANISHING is one to see. He more than carries it and the character is unique in the horror/mystery realm.