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The Vanishing

year 1993decade 90sdirector George Sluizergenre Horrorgenre Thriller
host Bill Simmonshost Chris Ryanproducer Craig Horlbeck
All 32 categories

The Coach Finstock Award for Best Life Lesson · 58:32

Do not drink the coffee

Chris Ryan: The practical lesson is to refuse Barney’s coffee.

The film

The Vanishing (1993)

Directed by George Sluizer · Horror

109 minutes

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Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Jeff Bridges Barney Cousins
Kiefer Sutherland Jeff Harriman
Nancy Travis Rita Baker
Sandra Bullock Diane Shaver
Maggie Linderman Denise Cousins
Lisa Eichhorn Helene Cousins
George Hearn Arthur Bernard
Lynn Hamilton Miss Carmichael

Everything from the episode

In the order the hosts got to it. Open a row for the discussion.

15:31

Roger Ebert's review
In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:15:31Read transcript
  • The episode calls this the first one-star review covered after roughly 275 episodes. — Bill Simmons
  • Ebert is reported to have said the returning director savaged his own masterpiece as thoroughly as a hired hack. — Bill Simmons
  • His review is summarized as asking whether Americans were assumed to need a more elementary version than Europeans. — Bill Simmons
  • The quoted conclusion calls the original a masterpiece and the remake laughable, stupid, and crude. — Bill Simmons
  • The panel feels personally stung because both participants love the remake. — Chris Ryan
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35:29

Picking Nits

The coffin escape, whether Diane ditched Jeff, the missing family search, Rita’s job and sudden sobriety, failure to ...

The coffin escape, whether Diane ditched Jeff, the missing family search, Rita’s job and sudden sobriety, failure to call police, Barney’s exposure, family behavior, drug timing, grave logistics, and Jeff’s honesty with police

In the discussion (13)
Approx. transcript time · 00:35:29Read transcript
  • If death in the coffin is otherwise certain, the panel debates using the lighter to burn or loosen the lid, while acknowledging smoke inhalation. — Bill Simmons
  • Jeff never appears to treat Diane simply ditching him after their fight as a live possibility. — Chris Ryan
  • Diane’s parents, siblings, and friends are strangely absent from the three-year search. — Chris Ryan
  • Jeff remains on local television yet is treated as a laughing stock despite Diane leaving no financial trace. — Chris Ryan
  • The panel asks if Rita is still a waitress or works at the bar and says it has no idea how she makes money. — Bill Simmons
  • Jeff should call police immediately after Barney identifies himself and survives the beating. — Bill Simmons
  • Barney uses his real name and school, giving Jeff obvious ways to expose him even without a murder charge. — Chris Ryan
  • Rita goes from drinking heavily at the bar to sober police-station problem solving within about five minutes. — Bill Simmons
  • Barney’s daughter and wife do not react plausibly to his secretive cabin behavior. — Bill Simmons
  • The panel asks why the daughter wants her father to cheat on her mother so badly. — Bill Simmons
  • The chloroform would need to keep Jeff unconscious through a drive, transport, and burial that seem longer than shown. — Bill Simmons
  • An open grave near the cabin would be difficult to hide from visitors. — Bill Simmons
  • When police ask whether the vanished couple fought, the proposed answer is no so they can start looking. — Chris Ryan
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48:31

Casting What-Ifs

No historical casting what-if found

No historical casting what-if found

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:48:31Read transcript
  • Both participants report finding no casting what-if in the sparse material about the remake. — Bill Simmons
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49:34

Recasting Couch

Keep Sandra Bullock as the missing woman and Nancy Travis as the partner

Keep Sandra Bullock as the missing woman and Nancy Travis as the partner

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:49:34Read transcript
  • Switching the two female leads is proposed as the recasting question. — Chris Ryan
  • Bullock is kept as the vivid person the audience misses. — Bill Simmons
  • Travis is credited with selling a woman who realizes her partner never escaped his obsession. — Bill Simmons
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49:51

Half-Assed Internet Research

Seattle-area locations, the Ted Bundy arm-cast method, Kubrick’s praise for the original, and immediate missing-perso...

Seattle-area locations, the Ted Bundy arm-cast method, Kubrick’s praise for the original, and immediate missing-person reporting

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:49:51Read transcript
  • The cabin was filmed in Monroe, Washington, and the gas station was the Mountainside Shell in North Bend. — Bill Simmons
  • Barney’s fake arm cast is linked to a method used by Ted Bundy. — Bill Simmons
  • Stanley Kubrick reportedly called the 1988 original the most terrifying film he had seen. — Bill Simmons
  • The claim that police require a twenty-four-hour wait before a missing-person report is called a movie myth. — Chris Ryan
  • A former police officer is reported to have confirmed that a report can be taken immediately. — Chris Ryan
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1:01:12

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Extended universes; Barney’s family and death; Jeff’s recovery; police attention; Diane’s remains; the book; Rita’s c...

Extended universes; Barney’s family and death; Jeff’s recovery; police attention; Diane’s remains; the book; Rita’s contribution; a stranger ending

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 01:01:12Read transcript
  • The movie is tested as part of either the A Few Good Men or Singles extended universe. — Bill Simmons
  • A deliberately dark question about Barney’s daughter is raised and rejected through the Wuthering Heights explanation. — Bill Simmons
  • Jeff’s unexplained recovery from three years of obsession is called an unpredictable bounce-back. — Chris Ryan
  • The panel asks why police never intervene as Barney wanders public spaces asking women for directions. — Bill Simmons
  • Jeff and Rita’s explanation for Barney’s shovel death is missing before the book celebration. — Chris Ryan
  • Barney’s disappearance should trigger his family and expose Diane’s buried remains. — Bill Simmons
  • The content and commercial result of Jeff and Rita’s jointly written book are unclear. — Chris Ryan
  • Rita’s contribution beyond her diner work is questioned. — Chris Ryan
  • The panel asks where Rita got the black wig and considers a version where Barney’s wife is the mastermind. — Chris Ryan
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1:03:03

Best Double Feature

The original Vanishing and Jagged Edge
The Vanishing
The Vanishing (1988)
Jagged Edge
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:03Read transcript
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1:06:43

Producer review

The producer watched the wrong similarly titled movie first, then liked the remake, its premise, Bridges, Bullock, an...

The producer watched the wrong similarly titled movie first, then liked the remake, its premise, Bridges, Bullock, and the final expansion of the thriller idea.

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:06:43Read transcript
  • The producer initially watched a 2018 Gerard Butler movie with a similar Vanishing title. — Chris Ryan
  • The difficulty of locating the correct movie across streaming libraries becomes an additional aged-worst point. — Chris Ryan
  • After watching the right film, the producer says the premise is perfect and the movie is surprisingly complex. — Chris Ryan
  • Jeff Bridges is praised as very good and Sandra Bullock as funny and excellent. — Chris Ryan
  • Rita discovering events through an answering machine and putting on Diane’s clothes is highlighted as an effective turn. — Chris Ryan
  • The closing argues that star-led “from hell” thrillers have largely migrated into horror or television. — Chris Ryan
  • The film’s 105-minute length is praised as ideal for the premise. — Chris Ryan
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