The Vanishing (1988) - That Ending, Tho...

Okay, so I finally got around to watching "The Vanishing" (the original 1988 Dutch/French one, not the American remake, which we will NOT speak of!). I'd heard it was psychologically intense, and man, it delivered. I gotta say, as a score guy, the lack of a HUGE, bombastic score kinda amplified the dread. It's almost unnerving how ordinary everything feels leading up to Saskia's disappearance. Like, you're just waiting for something bad to happen, and the music never gives it away. It's all very subtle underscore. The real meat is in Rex's obsession. Johan Leysen (Raymond Lemorne) is so chillingly calm and collected. I mean, the scene where he explains exactly how he planned everything...brrr! The way he justifies it to himself is truly disturbing. And that final scene? I actually felt claustrophobic just watching it. Talk about commitment to finding out the truth. I won't spoil it, but WOW. I needed a shower after that. What I'm still turning over in my head is how casually evil Lemorne is. No big reason, no dramatic backstory – just wanted to see if he could. It's terrifying. The film just lets that sit with you, which makes it all the more unsettling without a traditional score to tell you how to feel. I spent ages looking for a soundtrack release, and found nothing. It's a shame, because even how subtly present the music is, I would love to hear it by itself away from such an emotionally taxing film. I will say, the pacing may not be for everyone. It's very deliberate, almost slow-burn. But stick with it. It's a great character study of obsession and the banality of evil, with a killer ending that I think really sticks with you. Let me know if you've seen it, I'm curious what everyone else thought!