Spoorloos

I have seen a lot of “horror” films and I am the first to admit that they scare the crap out of me... Some are also really bad. Those, I think, should be technically considered comedy. Movies like Descent scare me without my eyes even being open.

When I was very young I saw almost the entire Halloween series and I was completely convinced that it was a regular occurrence for men in masks to chase people around with a ridiculous knife. I would have had nightmares for days if I had done any sleeping at all.

There are so many different kinds of horror films and I am scared by most of them. I would definitely consider The Vanishing a horror film. Raymond is made to seem like a totally normal guy that has a family and works really hard to interact with them and society. As the scenes go on, you begin to learn subtle things about Raymond that makes him seem completely mentally unstable. Although he does not seem like a supernatural creature or a monster, Raymond has the ability to disregard societal conventions and the value of human life and commit disgusting acts. The disparity between his public persona and his terrifying private one makes it seem like anyone could secretly be this big of a monster.

When Raymond is telling Rex about the abduction of Saskia and they flashback to the moment when he is talking to her, I felt desperate and hopeless as she was talking to him about his keychain. I knew what was going to happen. I wanted her to turn away, I wanted him to change his mind, and I wanted to know why he was choosing to commit such a heinous act. When he chloroformed her, there was real terror in her eyes. The close up shots of the two of them put me inside of the car. I felt just as helpless as Saskia was and was terrified. 

The extent of obsession presented by Rex is also completely horrifying. He is the “normal” character in the film. He represents the loving companion that has had his love ripped tragically away from him. He is helpless and hopeless. As the film goes on, he is compared to Raymond and his character becomes more and more obsessed with finding out about Saskia’s disappearance. By the end of the film he is willing to condemn himself to death in order to learn the truth. This is pretty extreme. The way in which he dies is intense and horrifying and imagining that the same was done to Saskia makes it even more intense.

Raymond and Rex’s characters are so similar and this is a factor that makes the movie horrific. Raymond is always in control, even when Rex is beating him up. Raymond is always rational, although insane and Rex is very irrational although his actions are always those of a sane individual. The fear of being controlled by someone that is a sociopath is a more realistic fear than the fear of a supernatural monster and gore.

This film was definitely highly psychological and conceptually horrific. I’m terrified of the night I have a dream about a golden egg.