15 Best Movie Thrillers From The 1980s
1. The Vanishing
There’s no violence in The Vanishing, no blood and guts, no jumps or big scary moments. But this Dutch classic is sure to give you nightmares. There can be few films more bone chillingly bleak than George Sluizer’s 1988 road movie turned descent into madness - and if that all sounds like good stuff, then it’s nothing short of a masterpiece.
Saskia and Rex are a Dutch couple holidaying in France. When Saskia disappears, Rex is staggered by grief, and by the unanswered question of her predicament. The mystery haunts him for years, until he meets Raymond, a French professor who might just be able to help.
The plot is pretty stark, but the film moves in ways you couldn’t possibly predict. It progresses ever deeper into darkness, with the viewer expecting the light at the end of the tunnel any minute, until they too are buried under the weight of the obsidian plot. It is a cruel and unflinching film distinctly European (as evidenced by the truly risible US remake).
The Vanishing will certainly not be everybody’s cup of tea, but if you like your thrillers free from cliche and relentlessly grim, there’s no better than this.