I had this mate when I
was a teen who had a knowledge of movies that could put me to shame.
Seriously! In the very early days of film piracy, known as “Dubbing”,
this mate would get his hands on videos from the store, copy them
onto tape and bring them to school for me. Or, I would go to his
place and we’d watch a barrage of movies for hours on end. Around
the time “Clueless” came out in 1995, its rising star Alicia
Silverstone was in another film that year. Little known and little
seen, it went in and out of Australian theatres in a matter of weeks.
Not praised critically or even a commercial hit, “Hideaway”
somehow found it’s way into the viewing list of my mate who
introduced me to it one weekend at his house.
Based on the novel by
Dean Koontz, who comes in second to Stephen King in the horror story
department, the film deals with the concept of life after death, in
its own twisted and surreal way. I’ve never read a Dean Koontz
novel in my life, and only a select few of his titles have made the
leap from page to screen. I think this may have been the first. I do
have a few of the authors books sitting on my shelf waiting to be
read, but for now I’ll watch this little seen but very underrated
thriller that deserves a look in.
Starring Jeff Goldblum,
who was everywhere in the 90’s off the success of Jurassic Park,
this preceded Independence Day and The Lost World, so aside from
those blockbusters the quirky actor made smaller scale fare. He does
well here as Hatch Harrison, a committed family man with a teenager
daughter (Silverstone). Recovering from the tragic death of their
youngest daughter the year before, Hatch and his family quietly go
about their life; that is until a wrong turn on a dark road changes
all of that. As their car hits a truck, spinning out of control and
stopping near a steep drop, Regina (Silverstone) manages to get out.
But just as she does and the car door closes, Hatch and his wife
Lindsey (Christine Lathi) are still in the car as it rolls down the
hill and plunges into a raging river. Both knocked unconscious from
the impact of hitting the water, Lindsey wakes first to see Hatch
still passed out. As the car fills with water, his head goes under.
Desperately trying to pull him out, Lindsey gets her husband to land
and they are rescued. But Hatch has died, and we the viewer journey
with him to the other side.
The film has some
pretty unique special effects. From Hatch’s point of view, we fly
down a tunnel of light; spiralling, radiating and shifting in size
and shape. It’s unlike anything you’ve seen before or will ever
see in a movie again. Surely the brainchild of the author visualised
by the director to give us an unusual interpretation of what the
journey to the afterlife might look like. As Hatch makes his journey,
he is resuscitated in hospital, a full two hours after dying.
Rejoining his wife and daughter, Hatch has a second chance at life
and starts to enjoy himself.
Unaware that when he
was brought back from the dead, Hatch didn’t come back alone, he
starts having strange visions. Appearing to him like a nightmare
while he is awake, Hatch sees the faces of teenage girls; frightened
and begging for their life. He sees hands, his hands, take a
knife and kill them. After these visions, he regains some control but
can’t remember how he got where he was. He does remember the
visions, and they continue, in length and intensity.
After visiting the
doctor that brought him back, who has no explanation for the tricks
he’s mind is playing on him, Hatch tries to decipher the meaning of
his visions on his own. As they get clearer, he realises he is seeing
things as they happen through the eyes of a killer. A killer that is
connected to him somehow and preying on teenage girls with long
blonde hair. This killer also meets Hatch’s daughter Regina in a
nightclub, but as he misses the chance to show her his Hideaway, he
is left frustrated and continues to pursue her. Hatch realises the
killers next target is his daughter and tries to stop him while the
killer also sees through Hatch’s eyes, starting to move in closer
for the kill.
Hideaway is a well
thought-out, creatively made and often suspenseful thriller. It has
several twists in it which I cannot reveal here. The opening scene,
although disturbing and hard to watch, is integral to the rest of the
film. It also shows what happens when a character dies and travels to
the other side of the afterlife; Hell. And it’s not pretty.
The films is a perfect
example of it’s time. The mid 90’s were populated with horror and
thriller films, focusing on youth, and portrayed in a grungy and
artistic way. Alternative rock music and guys with long hair were all
the rage and can been seen in the film at various points. Despite
being a victim of the 90’s, Hideaway still works well as a thriller
and hasn’t aged very much. The special effects are still fairly
decent, offering a different take on the after life, and cleverly
establishes its own rules about being brought back to life; the power
that gives you, but also the pitfalls.
Hideaway might be hard
to find on DVD, but I just rented it on YouTube for $3.99, so give it
a go. You might be pleasantly surprised. And be sure to stay through
the closing credits for a little bonus scene at the end which is a
nice tease at what might have been after the films climatic finale.
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