The Scariest Movie Of The 1980s Is About A Young Dutch Couple
Stanley Kubrick called the director to say ‘The Vanishing’ was the scariest film Kubrick had ever seen and that he had seen it ten times so far.
The Vanishing is often regarded as the scariest film of the 1980s because of its masterful ability to unsettle without relying on clichés or cheap thrills. Its psychological depth and haunting realism.
The Vanishing to say that it was the scariest film Kubrick had ever seen and that he had seen it ten times. A Washington Post reviewer noted that one reason the film is so scary is that it doesn’t rely on tropes or jump scares, saying it is “refreshingly free of manipulative scenes involving running bath water, jagged-edge cutlery and bunnies in the saucepan.” In 2022, The Vanishing held an impressive 98% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Dutch title of the film is Spoorloos, which means Without a Trace. It follows two young people, Rex (Gene Bervoets) and Saskia (Johanna ter Steege), on a road trip to their biking holiday in France. As they drive, Saskia tells Rex about a recurring dream of a mysterious golden egg she had again the previous night. The couple bicker when they run out of gas but quickly make up. When they arrive at a gas station, the two bury coins at the base of a tree to signify their friendship, and Rex promises he will always be there for Saskia.
If you’re up for a hyper-realistic horror film, stream The Vanishing on The Criterion Channel or Amazon Video.
