11 Scariest Final Shots In Thriller Movie History

9. The Vanishing

The Vanishing (the original one anyway, not the American remake starring Kiefer Sutherland) is one of the most underrated, unnerving thrillers of the 1980s, and something that could actually spill over into straight horror territory.

The story is about Rex, whose girlfriend suddenly vanishes without a trace at a gas station. Three years later he receives a message from the supposed kidnapper, Raymond, and the two meet, with Rex demanding answers. He's told the only way for him to properly know what happened to his girlfriend is to experience it for himself. After foolishly taking a swig of spiked coffee, he wakes up some time later in the final scene - trapped underground and buried alive.

The final shot follows Raymond sitting happily in his garden with his family, before moving to a car with a newspaper headline documenting the double disappearance of Rex and his lover, leaving the viewer left to think about the pair's slow, agonising demise.