Hideaway

Based on a book by Dean Koontz, Hideaway follows Jeff Goldblum’s Hatch as he discovers, in the wake of a near-death experience, that he possesses a psychic connection with a serial killer (Jeremy Sisto’s Vassago). It’s a decent premise that’s employed to pervasively (and perpetually) erratic effect by filmmaker Brett Leonard, as the movie, which admittedly does benefit substantially from Goldblum’s engaging performance, suffers from a meandering midsection that isn’t, for the most part, able to establish any real sense of momentum. It’s equally clear, however, that the film improves somewhat as it progresses into its comparatively gripping third act, as scripters Andrew Kevin Walker and Neal Jimenez begin to play up the aforementioned psychic connection and Hatch’s increasingly frantic efforts at tracking down and stopping Sisto’s menacing antagonist (ie there’s finally something at stake, it feels like). The better-than-expected vibe persists right up until the special-effects heavy climax rolls around, with the almost disastrously over-the-top nature of this stretch ensuring that the picture ends on as underwhelming a note as one could envision – which ultimately does cement Hideaway‘s place as a rather misbegotten adaptation of a decent novel.

** out of ****