The defence The Arthouse Gremlin
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
Back to trending 
The Vanishing
Thriller · Drama · Mystery · 1993
The boyfriend of an abducted woman never gives up the search as the abductor looks on.
Movie details
The Vanishing
“Obsession is the ultimate weapon.”
1993 Thriller · Drama · Mystery 1h 49m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.2 / 10
Community rating
The boyfriend of an abducted woman never gives up the search as the abductor looks on.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Vanishing?
For the defence
The Arthouse Gremlin
“The stranger, the better.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
The Return
Horror · 2006
Joanna Mills has a successful career but feels her personal life is spinning out of control. She has few friends, an estranged father, and a crazy ex-boyfriend who is stalking her. Joanna begins having terrifying visions of a woman's murder, and it seems that she is the killer's next target. Determined to solve the mystery and escape her apparent fate, Joanna follows her visions to the victim's hometown and finds that some secrets just do not stay buried.
The Last House on the Left
Crime · 2009
When athletic teen Mari Collingwood opts to hang out with her friend Paige in town rather than spend an evening in with her parents vacationing at the family's remote lake house, it marks the beginning of a night no one is going to forget.
Like Minds
Thriller · 2006
A forensic psychologist must determine if a minor should be charged with murder.
Shimmer Lake
Thriller · 2017
Shot in reverse day-by-day through a week—a local sheriff embarks on a quest to unlock the mystery of three small-town criminals and a bank heist gone wrong.
Suburbicon
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In the quiet family town of Suburbicon during the 1950s, the best and worst of humanity is hilariously reflected through the deeds of seemingly ordinary people. When a home invasion turns deadly, a picture-perfect family turns to blackmail, revenge and murder.
I Am All Girls
Drama · 2021
A special crimes investigator forms an unlikely bond with a serial killer to bring down a global child sex trafficking syndicate.
Savaged
Action · 2014
After thugs brutalize a deaf-mute woman, the spirit of an Apache warrior takes over her lifeless body and sets out on a bloodthirsty quest for revenge.
Barron's Cove
Crime · 2025
When his young son is viciously murdered by a classmate, a grieving father with a history of violence kidnaps the child responsible, igniting a frenzied manhunt fueled by a powerful politician -- the father of the kidnapped boy.
180
Thriller · 2026
When an unexpected road rage incident puts his son in critical condition, an enraged father spirals down a dark path of emotional turmoil and vengeance.
The Good Neighbor
Thriller · 2022
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
George Sluizer
Written by
Todd Graff
Kiefer Sutherland
Jeff Harriman
Jeff Bridges
Barney Cousins
Nancy Travis
Rita Baker
Sandra Bullock
Diane Shaver
Park Overall
Lynn
Lisa Eichhorn
Helene Cousins
George Hearn
Arthur Bernard
Court is in session
Put The Vanishing on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.