Dean Koontz chiller, starring Jeff Goldblum. Highly entertaining...suspenseful... even mesmerizing at times.

Jeff Goldblum pulls the veritable rabbit out of the proverbial hat in this one. His acting is intensely deep and highly professional in this Brett Leonard (director of the notoriously horrible adaptation of Stephen King's "Lawnmower Man," so bad it was, King SUED and WON, to have his name removed from the title and marketing!) adaptation of Dean Koontz's literary effort.

This adaptation is horrid, as well. Koontz, in my opinion, should also have sued. The "adaptation" isn't an adaptation, it's a complete rewriting of the story, dialog, setting and characters.

The only thing that remains the same is Hatch (Goldblum) and the circumstances which surround his amazing new "gift." Koontz's earlier works, as was the work upon which this movie was based, had little detail, although his characters are very well developed and his story lines/plots move along with little or no distraction at all. This leaves his earlier works easily adapted to film by any director with a capable imagination and even just a little talent. Unfortunately, Brett Leonard displays neither in this attempt. Someone should have told him the red sun ... wasn't SCARY!

As a movie, it is highly entertaining, fun, scary and has you literally on the edge of your seat several times during its viewing. There are a couple of really well done "scare you!" moments and many moments where you catch yourself holding your breath.

However good the movie itself may be (or may not, depending on your point of view),Jeff Goldblum's performance completely redeems the horrid rewrite and inept direction of this production.

Totally.

The scenery and props were very well done, and the scene in which Hatch visits the Tarot Reader is very authentic. The tarot cards she uses are quite unique and extremely well designed. I wouldn't mind having a deck like that myself.

The Alpine-styled architectures and wooden and glass designs are truly lovely and well designed. Even the slightest attention to scene settings and props make for a much more enjoyable finished product.

Christine Lahti is very convincing as Hatch's (Goldblum's) wife, Lindsey Harrison, and Alicia Silverstone is believable and fun to watch, in her portrayal of the Harrison's younger daughter. I'm not a fan of Ms. Silverstone's, but I must say her performance in this role is about the best I've ever seen from her.

The twists and turns in this movie are a bit predictable, but there are a few surprises which leave you saying, "Wow..."...but what saved this production was Jeff Goldblum's marvelous talent.

Jeremy Sisto was a nice bit of eye candy for those who are interested in that, but it was Goldblum's wonderful gift for acting that put this movie in my horror collection.

It was a good book, and is a good movie; it's just not enough like the book for me to feel comfortable with the adaptation, and the direction was completely lacking. However, the actors weren't walking around aimlessly, spouting drivel and worthless platitudes thanks to Walker's (he did BRAINSCAN!!!!) abilities, but his screen play/adaptation should really have been more faithful to Koontz's wonderful story. It would have made for a much more entertaining evening...and movie.

The ending is very satisfying; high tension, wonderful techno music playing not too loud, but loud enough in the background, and Hatch's wife saying over and over, "I'm so sorry," for doubting Hatch's visions were real. His gift takes him straight to his daughter's side...and into the clutches of the "demon" with which he has been granted psychic contact.

Who will win the ultimate battle? Hatch (the good guy),Vassago/Jeremy (the "demon") or another, unrevealed participant?

While the final battle takes place on this plane, the ethereal battle which rages in the background is every bit as important. This climaxial scene is the epitome of metaphorical synergy. It was the only scene in the movie which was well-directed; where the acting quality, the visual effects and the direction were in sync with one another. Before this scene, for the entire rest of the movie, the acting quality is the only thing which will keep you watching it.

All in all, it earns a 7.0/10 from...

the Fiend :.

Bland and boring in equal amounts, HIDEAWAY is a major disappoint all round. Although the skill involved is more than adequate in front of and behind the camera, the tepid plot and direction mean that the film is just too dull for its own good. Based on a Dean R Koontz novel (obviously not one of his best) and scripted by the screenwriter of SE7EN, Andrew Kevin Walker, the film at least had something going for it, but it totally lacks any of the disturbing force that SE7EN may have had.

The use of a psychic link to a serial killer is nothing new and goes back decades, it has been done much better in the past. The killer in this case is a boy. That's right, a little Goth kid with greasy hair. Where's the terror in that? There is none. It's laughable. Jeff Goldblum puts in a mediocre performance and looks like he's sleepwalking through the role as the man tormented by visions, I usually like this actor but in this case he leaves me cold. His wife isn't much better, displaying emoting which seems to have been picked up from countless made-for-television movies. Alicia Silverstone is supposed to add some glamour but fails, just turning out as another obnoxious teenager in peril (which we've seen countless times). Alfred Molina and Rae Dawn Chong appear in small roles and are not given much to do.

The thing I didn't like about this film was that it obviously thinks it's good, and it isn't. Major publicity was given to the 'original' special effects, computer effects nonetheless, which were supposed to be show-stopping. However they look just like they've come out of a computer game, with swirling tunnels and patterns which I could create on my PC if I wished to. Didn't THE LAWNMOWER MAN already do this? So what is there to recommend this film? A good horrible scene where Goldblum clutches a razor blade in his hand to make it bleed, and that's about it. Give HIDEAWAY a miss at all costs unless you want to be bored out of your brain.

Not long after losing one of his two daughters in a car accident, family man and antique store owner Jeff Goldblum suffers his own car trauma and literally dies momentarily; a doctor brings him back to life, but it seems Goldblum has brought good and evil powers back with him from the other side: he is now telepathically entwined with a psychopath who hunts young women. Based on a Dean Koontz novel, this low-grade thriller has one of the laziest screenplays I've ever come across. Writers Andrew Kevin Walker and Neal Jimenez don't seem to have a shred of verisimilitude when it comes to writing dialogue for their equally unreal characters--nobody behaves the way regular people would. Christine Lahti is Goldblum's ineffective wife, Alfred Molina is Goldblum's ineffective doctor, Kenneth Welsh is an ineffective detective. They're all walking contrivances in this half-cocked adaptation, which allegedly embarrassed best-selling author Koontz (if it didn't, it should have). Just back from the hospital, Goldblum begins having nightmares that look like bits and pieces of a heavy metal video; the viewer is cued up for the obligatory waking-up-with-a-jolt-from-a-nightmare close-up (and the movie doesn't disappoint). Turns out there's a killer in town (Jeremy Sisto) who gets around from place to place with effortless, alarming accuracy; when he's not hanging out at a sleazy motel--which isn't even listed with information--he's holed up at a derelict amusement park (seems he conveniently has the place all to himself). Of course, nobody takes note that Sisto's latest victim looks like Goldblum's other daughter (Alicia Silverstone, who does nothing but whine),nor does wife Lahti take into account that just maybe her husband knows what he's talking about when he says their kid is in danger. The movie makes absolutely no sense from a logical stand-point, though all of this is rendered inconsequential once Jeff and Christine arrive for a showdown with Sisto near the park's Big Slide ride. The results of this stillborn finale are so shameful, one can only hope Goldblum and company were well-paid for not looking outraged. NO STARS from ****