El reino de las tinieblas

I haven't read Dean Koontz's novel, but most of this movie's faults can be traced back to predictable and simplistic script, which bears a strong resemblance to "The Eyes Of Laura Mars". Otherwise, this is an entertaining horror thriller, with trippy "tunnel vision" (literally) sequences, flashes of dark humor and the usual good performance by Jeff Goldblum. The "good vs. evil" climax does come off a bit cheesy, but that doesn't happen because the effects are not good; it happens because of the way in which they are employed. (**1/2)

I've always loved this movie since I first saw it with my friends in theaters back in 95. I thought it was such a unique, original idea executed with solid performances and inspired visuals as well as s kick ass score and soundtrack. The movie tells the story of a sexy ass Jeff Goldblum as Hatch a man who dies in a car accident and is resurrected by an experimental procedure. A few days after awakening he begins to horrific visions of murders through the eyes of a disturbingly sexy Jeremy Sisto. He tries to solve the crimes blaming his self along the way and becomes even more intent when the killer targets his daughter it girl at the time Alicia Silverstone. Christine Lahti also stars as her mother and she is one tough bad ass. The movie is do fun and imaginative I'm surprised it never really took off.

Budget: $15M Box Office: $12.2M

A well-to-do couple in the Seattle area (Jeff Goldblum & Christine Lahti) is struggling with grief and the challenges of parenting a beautiful teenager (Alicia Silverstone). When the man seems to die in an accident he is resuscitated by a revolutionary doctor (Alfred Molina). Yet coming back from the afterlife has a peculiar effect as he starts to have visions of a local serial killer (Jeremy Sisto).

"Hideaway" (1995) is a psychological crime thriller with mystery/horror elements based on Dean R. Koontz' 1992 novel. Dean hated the end results and wanted his name removed from the credits, but the gist of his story is intact (I guess the devil is in the details, as they say). True, the movie changes Regina from a cool orphan into a typical spoiled teenager and omits elaboration on how Vassago (Sisto) becomes what he is, but so what? You can only fit so much of a book into 1 hour and 45 minutes; besides, enough detail is there if you read in between the lines.

The movie reminds me of a meshing of the future "Kiss the Girls" (1997) and "Bless the Child" (2000). It shares the tone and general locations of "Disturbing Behavior" (1998) with the story being influenced by flicks like "Body Parts" (1991) and "Eyes of Laura Mars" (1978). Obviously if you favor these kinds of flicks you'll probably like this one despite complaints by Koontz and fans of the book.

The storytelling is a little confusing in certain ways (for instance, if the killer dies in the opening sequence, how can he be alive & murdering people?). Yet everything is explained by the last act. Meanwhile the colorful CGI depicting the afterlife is quaint (being done in 1994) and reminiscent of the dubious effects in "Bless the Child," but that's okay because the afterlife should appear amorphous anyway.

Silverstone was about 18 during shooting and quite fetching, but she's not the focus; Goldblum and Sisto are. Speaking of Sisto, he looks & acts like Jim Morrison would if he was a psycho serial murderer. Meanwhile Lahti was 44 at the time and looks great.

The ending at the titular hideaway (in a defunct amusement park) is thoroughly comic booky, but the flick has effective atmosphere and delivers the goods if you can roll with it rather than against it.

The film was shot in Britannia Beach, British Columbia, which is 20 miles north of Vancouver. Vassago's hideaway was constructed in the abandoned Britannia Mine.

GRADE: B-/C+

Jeff...Goldblum...speaks like..this...in much of his movies which is as fascinating as it is irritating. Jeff's quirky speech patterns have been the saviour of many a dull movie over the years - here, it almost takes second place to Brett Leonard's jaw dropping visual effects. By now, you know the story. Hatch (Goldblum) brought back from the dead by nice doctor Alfred Molina; except he has brought back a part of a creepy serial killer. Both men can see each other's visions and can feel one another's pain. Naturally, both are drawn toward an inexorable conclusion. An okay script, partly by Andrew Kevin Walker of Se7en fame and solid direction by Leonard make this a stylish diversion that should keep first time viewers hooked to the end. Good photography by Gale Tattersall and the Trevor Jones soundtrack punctuates all the right, familiar scenes with bags of style. Not as bad as Neil Jordan's similar offering, In Dreams, but a rather obvious thriller which offers few revelations.

It's true, Hideaway was absolutely slaughtered on release and is still systematically torn apart in the listings every time it's on TV, but - hey! - it's not that bad. Jeff Goldblum is always, er, 'interesting' to watch, and the same goes for Brett Leonard films (try as he might to cripple them with whatever bottom-of-the-barrel SFX company he keeps hiring - the effects here are practically carbon copies of those in The Lawnmower Man, and seeing as they're supposed to represent ethereal spiritual journeys rather than clunky virtual reality environments, it doesn't exactly work wonders). So yeah, for what it was, I enjoyed it. But of course I haven't read the book, so I don't have any outraged fanboy zeal to contend with...