Hideaway (1995)

Dean Koontz reportedly asked to have his name taken off HIDEAWAY and
it's easy to see why.  The author's voice is nowhere to be found in this
absurd adaptation of his 1993 bestseller.  Koontz writes about men with
mysteries-- mysteries that take half the novel to unravel.  His stories
work because the author never tips his hand too soon.  Here, the secrets
are revealed at the very beginning.

The first scenes explain the psychic relationship between two strangers:
the loving husband Hatch (Jeff Goldblum) and a teenage serial killer
(Jeremy Sisto).  With the big mystery solved so early, the plot has
nowhere to go.  The story can only devolve into simple scare tactics.

Sure, cheap thrills are fine for some.  HIDEAWAY can certainly hold its
own against any slasher pic.  The plot is only mildly awful, and the
actors actually can.  There is a slight problem with the bad guy,
though-- he's about as threatening as a member of Spinal Tap.  Maybe if
he wore a hockey mask..

Grade: D+

Copyright 1995 Michael J. Legeros
Movie Hell is a trademark of Michael J. Legeros