One night, while driving home with his wife and daughter, Hatch (Jeff Goldblum) gets into a car accident which results in his temporary death. Enter Dr. Nyebern, who has developed a unique resuscitation technique that can revive the dead even after a prolonged period of time. After his revival, Hatch begins having visions of young girls being murdered. It turns out that he shares some sort of special link with the deranged killer (Jeremy Sisto), as they have both been to the other side. Unable to convince anyone of his warnings and knowledge, it's only up to Hatch to stop the killer, who may have a target in mind close to Hatch's heart.
This film wasn't particularly exciting, scary or suspenseful. In fact, I scoffed at it from time to time. It was quite ridiculous, cheap, trashy, conventional, predictable, and laughable. The special effects were subpar and murky. The best and most inspired scene was during the first five minutes when the killer journeyed in agony towards hell, after committing an atrocious act and then committing suicide. At least that was something I had not seen too often before. The rest of the movie was merely another slasher film in disguise, no matter how high-gloss it seemed.
By the end of the film, many questions and plot holes had arisen but were not addressed. Also, the science, law, and technicalities (e.g. maintaining a patient's confidentiality despite being a menace to others) brought up in the film were terribly erroneous.
Much of the film was in bad taste. From time to time, the filmmakers treaded on thin ice by depicting questionable, unsavory, and objectionable acts and images. I also thought the film was going to make some point about spirituality, religion, hell, or heaven, but no such luck.
Though some characters were not written well or underutilized of their full potentials, the acting was fine, especially Jeremy Sisto's risky performance as the despicable creep. However, I simply did not care for Goldblum's character and was not convinced of his suffering. Some of his actions, reactions, and dialogues were wayward and awkward. Sometimes he made mistakes when he should have known better and was slow to catch on with certain matters. His wife's role (Christine Lahti) was mostly limited and reduced to that of the long-suffering spouse. She was there mostly to lend support when needed, only becoming a more independent and stronger character near the end. Alicia Silverstone's daughter character was limited in scope as well; mainly serving as a plot gimmick for the killer to prey on.
There are far better and scarier horror films out there, Hideaway is not one of them. One film that comes to mind is Lord of Illusions, which is more grotesque, violent, gory, and over-the-top, but effective nonetheless. It goes all the way with its unique, nightmarish, and sensational imagery, and knows no boundaries. Unlike Hideaway, it establishes no pretensions of the divine and evil, and engages us with interesting characters whom we care about.
This film wasn't particularly exciting, scary or suspenseful. In fact, I scoffed at it from time to time. It was quite ridiculous, cheap, trashy, conventional, predictable, and laughable. The special effects were subpar and murky. The best and most inspired scene was during the first five minutes when the killer journeyed in agony towards hell, after committing an atrocious act and then committing suicide. At least that was something I had not seen too often before. The rest of the movie was merely another slasher film in disguise, no matter how high-gloss it seemed.
By the end of the film, many questions and plot holes had arisen but were not addressed. Also, the science, law, and technicalities (e.g. maintaining a patient's confidentiality despite being a menace to others) brought up in the film were terribly erroneous.
Much of the film was in bad taste. From time to time, the filmmakers treaded on thin ice by depicting questionable, unsavory, and objectionable acts and images. I also thought the film was going to make some point about spirituality, religion, hell, or heaven, but no such luck.
Though some characters were not written well or underutilized of their full potentials, the acting was fine, especially Jeremy Sisto's risky performance as the despicable creep. However, I simply did not care for Goldblum's character and was not convinced of his suffering. Some of his actions, reactions, and dialogues were wayward and awkward. Sometimes he made mistakes when he should have known better and was slow to catch on with certain matters. His wife's role (Christine Lahti) was mostly limited and reduced to that of the long-suffering spouse. She was there mostly to lend support when needed, only becoming a more independent and stronger character near the end. Alicia Silverstone's daughter character was limited in scope as well; mainly serving as a plot gimmick for the killer to prey on.
There are far better and scarier horror films out there, Hideaway is not one of them. One film that comes to mind is Lord of Illusions, which is more grotesque, violent, gory, and over-the-top, but effective nonetheless. It goes all the way with its unique, nightmarish, and sensational imagery, and knows no boundaries. Unlike Hideaway, it establishes no pretensions of the divine and evil, and engages us with interesting characters whom we care about.