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The Vanishing

Most Rewatchable Scene

The Vanishing The Rewatchables

Many scenes are nominated; the full Barney-to-coffin stretch and Jeff discovering Diane missing at the gas station are the final favorites.

In the discussion (15)
Approx. transcript time · 00:17:40Read transcript
  • The first ten minutes establish Barney as a psychopath through his chloroform tests and preparation.
  • Diane shouts that nobody can see their stopped car until they are on top of it and points out that Jeff passed ten gas stations.
  • Diane entering the gas station and Jeff slowly realizing she has vanished makes the premise terrifying.
  • Rita cracking Jeff’s password, putting on a black wig, and entering his command post is praised as Hitchcock and De Palma style suspense.
  • Jeff saying he would let Diane be dead in exchange for certainty reveals the depth of his obsession.
  • Barney hiding behind the door after Rita hears his answering-machine message uses a favorite horror trick.
  • Barney’s answering-machine introduction, keychain, and calm response after Jeff beats him create a bizarre confrontation.
  • The drive pairs Barney’s insistence that he is not a rapist with a roast-beef sandwich and a police stop.
  • Barney’s rescue story turns into an argument about free will and balancing good with deliberate evil.
  • The abduction flashback shows how a cheap bracelet offer persuades Diane into Barney’s car.
  • Jeff drinking the coffee despite understanding the trap demonstrates that knowing is worth dying to him.
  • Jeff waking in the coffin is singled out as terrifying and a personal worst fear.
  • Rita reversing the trap and striking Barney with a shovel makes the revised ending satisfying.
  • The whole stretch from Barney’s arrival through the beating, drive, coffee, coffin, and rescue is praised as a great twenty minutes.
  • The final personal choice is Jeff at the gas station realizing Diane is gone.