There are thousands of horror movies ranging from possession thrillers to surreal nightmares to straight-up gore fest Basically every horror movie utilizes some genre cliches like jump scares breathing intense music darkness or blood But is it possible the scariest movie of all really defies most if not all typical horror cliches In this essay, I'm going to look at the film Stanley Kubrick hailed as the most terrifying film I've ever seen. That movie is George Sleitzer's 1988 film Spourlous, or in English, The Vanishing. In this essay, I hope to uncover why this film may be considered so terrifying.
First, I want to take the time to issue a spoiler warning. If you haven't seen The Vanishing and don't want it ruined, I suggest not continuing the video. I also want to issue a hype warning. My intention with this video is to offer my thoughts on why this film is considered so terrifying and not to praise it endlessly, which, in my experience, may leave potential viewers with too high an expectation.
With that said, let's dive in. The Vanishing follows a young couple, Rex and Saskia, as they enjoy a biking holiday in France. After they stop at a crowded gas station, Saskia disappears without a trace. Rex spends the next three years of his life searching for her to no avail.
After the first act concludes, the film switches perspectives to that of Saskia's abductor and charismatic high school teacher, Raymond Lemorn. The remainder of the film's time is spent between Raymond and Rex and is presented non-linearly. Stanley Kubrick said, you know, it's the most terrifying film I've ever seen in my life. And I said, have you seen The Shining? And he said, oh, that's just child's play compared.
But what is it about this film, rated suitable for 12-year-olds, that made Kubrick and many others so scared? I believe the answer to that question can be answered in three ways. First, is the fear of the unknown. Secondly, is Sleitzer's insistence not to judge Raymond, and third, is the seemingly coincidental nature of it all. According to horror author H.P.
Lovecraft, the oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. What a filmmaker chooses to show and what not to show greatly affects the audience, and The Vanishing is a masterclass in this area. The film practices incredible self-restraint in that after Saskia disappears, excluding flashbacks, we never see her again. Rex is left to torturous wonder as to what grisly end she may or may not have met. Although the film does reveal the abduction more to the audience, Roger Ebert wrote about the film, We know more than the husband does, and yet the more we know, the more we wonder and fear.
The unexplained disappearance of a loved one is a deep fear all humans can relate to. Psychologist Pauline Boss refers to this phenomenon as ambiguous loss, more specifically as type 1, that occurs when there is physical absence with psychological presence. Boss writes, Ambiguous loss confuses families, prevents resolution of the loss, and freezes the grief process. Without verification of death or any certainty of return, Rex and we as the audience are denied closure.
Rex flounders through life, unable to maintain a healthy relationship with his new girlfriend, and desperately obsessing over Saskia's fate by spending all his time, energy, and money trying to find answers. The refusal to provide closure is even more effective because although the film does technically show the abduction and the abductor and in great detail, we still never learn exactly what happened to Saskia at the hands of Raymond. It isn't until the film's panic-inducing climax that Rex and we as the audience are finally punished for a grief-freezing obsession. And even then, are we to trust Raymond that Saskia suffered the same fate, and even more crushing, does it even matter anymore?
Or are Rex and Saskia living out a self-fulfilling prophecy foreshadowed by Saskia's earlier nightmare about the golden egg? Secondly, slights or refuses to condemn Raymond's actions from a filmmaking perspective by the use of horror cliches, particularly music. For example, let's watch one scene from the film. In other horror movies, we might find Raymond, the film's antagonist, practicing his techniques in a way that indicates his evil nature, like this. But instead, Sleitzer opts for more neutral, and perhaps even more disturbingly, a positive framing.
In doing so, Sleitzer withholds judgement and even dares us to like Saskia's abductor and assumed killer. I believe that if the film employed more conventional horror cliches, we may have felt scared because the music suggests we feel scared. Ultimately though, we would have trusted the film to guide us morally because by making Raymond scary, it takes a moral position. But because Sleitzer does not do that, there's an uncomfortable feeling that arises as we watch Raymond carry out his activities so casually. There's a sense that the film is willing to let us empathize with Raymond.
We don't feel as divorced from his actions because the film lets us into his world. Thirdly is the seemingly coincidental nature of it all. When Raymond coldly abducts Saskia, we are torn apart by how blissfully ignorant she was and that her disappearance was purely a happy coincidence for Raymond.
The universe almost hands her to Raymond, who can't believe his own luck. And in a tragically comedic way, it's as if Raymond manifested Saskia by using Rhonda Byrne's Law of Attraction. His constant practice, visualization, and desires pay off in a devastating way.
This observation of the cruel, amoral nature of chance is terrifying as Saskia and Rex could really be anybody, ourselves, or our loved ones. It is terrifying because it is so plausible, real, and near to our hearts. The totally random abduction of someone as innocent and natural as Saskia by a man as believable and brutal as Raymond seems almost too real. It may be that we so often hear of events like this happening with the same precise irrationality that it hits so hard.
It just doesn't make sense, and it never will. Thank you for watching my video essay on The Vanishing. Do you think it deserves the accolade of most terrifying film, or do you think Kubrick was on some milk plus?