13 Totally WTF Horror Movie Plot Twists

10. Rex Gets Buried Alive - The Vanishing

High Tension
Argos Films

The original 1988 Dutch version of The Vanishing is inarguably one of the most unsettling horror films of all time, enough that even Stanley Kubrick deemed it the most terrifying film he'd ever seen.

The plot revolves around Rex (Gene Bervoets), who becomes obsessed with tracking down his lost girlfriend Saskia (Johanna ter Steege) after she disappears from a rest stop while they're on holiday.

George Sluizer's film is a masterful depiction of ill-fated obsession, as Rex finds himself unable to move on with his life without knowing what happened to Saskia.

And in the film's chilling finale, he's contacted by the man responsible, Raymond (Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu), who agrees to show Rex what happened to Saskia on the condition he drinks a drug-laced coffee and goes through the same experience she did.

Consumed by his curiosity, Rex agrees, only to wake up buried alive underground, doomed to die a terrifying death like his late girlfriend. Meanwhile, Raymond returns to his family life without even a hint that he might be caught.

Forget the 1993 Hollywood remake, though, which switches out this haunting coda for a more crowd-pleasing, action-packed climax.

Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.