Movie

The Vanishing

1988 · 106 min

A cold, methodical descent into obsession and evil that tightens like a vise, leaving you unsettled long after.

Tagline: Who Has Seen This Woman?
Overview: Rex and Saskia, a young couple in love, are on vacation when they stop at a busy service station. Saskia is abducted in broad daylight and three years pass with no answers or closure surrounding her disappearance. Rex has nearly given up all hope when he suddenly begins receiving letters from her abductor.

Stream in the UK

STUDIOCANAL PRESENTS Apple TV Channel

More options Data from JustWatch

In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone: darkstrength 3 of 3
tensestrength 3 of 3
bleakstrength 2 of 3
melancholicstrength 2 of 3
Pacing: slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: obsession
grief
isolation
morality
fate
Places: road trip
countryside
big city
Era: contemporary
Audience: adult
Form: nonlinear
twist ending
Content intensity: Gore mild
Language mild
Violence strong
Sex mild

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	2
Horror	6
Humour	1
Realism	8
Romance	3
Tension	9
Darkness	9
Complexity	7
Emotional weight	8

Titles like The Vanishing

Movie

The Vanishing

1993

A slow-burning, unsettling thriller that burrows into obsession and loss, building dread toward a grim, claustrophobic payoff.

Same director: George Sluizer · Dark, tense · about obsession and grief · nonlinear

Also: Same director: George Sluizer
Via: dark
tense
obsession
grief
nonlinear
Pacing: measured
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 109 min

Details In your watch list

The VanishingHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Oldboy

2003

A stylish, brutal revenge thriller that grips you with tension and leaves you shaken by its emotional depths.

Dark, tense · about obsession · nonlinear

Via: dark
tense
obsession
nonlinear
Pacing: brisk
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 120 min

Details In your watch list

OldboyHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Burning

2018

A slow, haunting experience that lingers in ambiguity, with quiet tension and a sense of unease that builds to a disturbing climax.

Dark, tense, slow-burn · about obsession and isolation · nonlinear

Via: dark
tense
obsession
isolation
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 148 min

Details In your watch list

BurningHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Prisoners

2013

A relentless, grim descent into desperation and moral compromise that keeps you tightly wound and uneasy throughout.

Dark, tense, slow-burn · about obsession and grief · twist ending

Via: dark
tense
obsession
grief
twist ending
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 153 min

Details In your watch list

PrisonersHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Keane

2004

A raw, immersive plunge into a grieving mind, tense and heartbreaking, with moments of tenderness that cut through the despair.

Dark, tense, slow-burn · about obsession and grief · nonlinear

Via: dark
tense
obsession
grief
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 95 min

Details In your watch list

KeaneHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Mystic River

2003

A slow, heavy descent into grief and suspicion, where every scene tightens the knot of guilt and violence.

Dark, tense, slow-burn · about grief · twist ending

Via: dark
tense
grief
twist ending
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 138 min

Details In your watch list

Mystic RiverHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

The Skin I Live In

2011

A cold, unsettling plunge into obsession and revenge, unfolding with surgical precision and leaving a lingering sense of dread.

Dark, tense, slow-burn · about obsession · nonlinear

Via: dark
tense
obsession
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 120 min

Details In your watch list

The Skin I Live InHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Decision to Leave

2022

A slow, hypnotic plunge into obsession and deception, where longing and suspicion blur until the tragic end.

Dark, tense, slow-burn · about obsession and isolation · nonlinear

Via: dark
tense
obsession
isolation
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 139 min

Details In your watch list

Decision to LeaveHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Searching

2018

A taut, emotionally charged thriller told entirely through screens, keeping you glued as a father pieces together his daughter's secret life.

Tense, melancholic · about grief and isolation · twist ending

Via: tense
melancholic
grief
isolation
twist ending
Pacing: brisk
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 102 min

Details In your watch list

SearchingHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Forgotten

2017

A disorienting, slow-burn puzzle that keeps you uneasy and guessing until its devastating final act.

Dark, tense, slow-burn · nonlinear

Via: dark
tense
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 108 min

Details In your watch list

ForgottenHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Gone Baby Gone

2007

A grim, morally tangled crime drama that keeps you uneasy and ends on a haunting, unresolved note.

Dark, tense · about grief and morality · twist ending

Via: dark
tense
grief
morality
twist ending
Pacing: measured
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 113 min

Details In your watch list

Gone Baby GoneHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

The Guilty

2018

A claustrophobic, pulse-pounding experience that unfolds entirely through phone calls, demanding close attention as tension mounts.

Dark, tense, slow-burn · about isolation and morality · twist ending

Via: dark
tense
isolation
morality
twist ending
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 85 min

Details In your watch list

The GuiltyHidden from your suggestions.

Where to watch in the UK

Stream

STUDIOCANAL PRESENTS Apple TV Channel

Rent or buy

Apple TV Store
Sky Store
YouTube

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres: thriller, mystery
Directed by: George Sluizer
Written by: Tim Krabbé, George Sluizer
Starring: Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Gene Bervoets, Johanna ter Steege, Gwen Eckhaus, Pierre Forget, Bernadette Le Saché, Tania Latarjet, Lucille Glenn
Music: Henny Vrienten
Cinematography: Toni Kuhn
Runtime: 106 min
Country: Netherlands, France, Germany
Languages: English, Dutch, French

TMDB IMDb Letterboxd Wikipedia Wikidata

The Vanishing

How it feels

More like this

Titles like The Vanishing

Where to watch in the UK

Details