1/5 OK
  by Carl A. Webber
I ORDERED 2 DVD'S I RECEIVED THIS ONE BUT NOT THE OTHER ONE SO YOU HAVE A 50% CHANCE OF RECEIVING YOUR MOVIE

2/5 Hideaway dissapoints
  by MericP (PA)

Fans of Dean Koontz will know what I mean when I say he has created some incredibly memorable antagonists over his many years an author. Think Edgler Forman Vess from Intensity or Enoch Cain in From the Corner of His Eye. I initially watched this DVD simply because Jeremy Neybern/Vassago is one of the best characters Dean Koontz has ever penned.

I was not surprisingly dissapointed in this film, knowing already that Mr. Koontz himself had not behind behind the endeavor.

The really frustrating thing is, this could have been a fabulous film, had they been faithful to the novel, which was amazing! The movie lacked two things; the focus on the religious aspect (heaven vs. hell) and development of Vassago's character (which was deeply dealt with in the novel). Unlike many antagonists, Vassago was different, and the movie simply never made it clear to the viewers that this was the case.

The movie stars Jeff Goldbloom and Christine Lahti as Hatch and Lindsey Harrison, and the way their lives change after Hatch dies in a car wreck and is brought back from the dead by a surgeon, Jonas Neybern (played by Alfred Molina). When hatch comes back, he has brought something with him; namely the connection between himself and a sociopathic Satanist who calls himself Vassago (Jeremy Sisto). Vassago becomes obsessed with Hatch's daughter, Regina (Alicia Silverstone) and through a series of visions and contrived coincidences, the four are brought together in a final showdown in Vassago's lair under the rollercoaster at an abandoned amusement park.

I can't describe with enough detail how painfully I wished this movie would have stayed true to the book. Where they have stupid special effects, connecting the living and other worlds, they could have focused on the development of Jeremy/Vassago's character, his past, to give the viewer at least just a hint of how insane and complicated he truly was.

Where there was Regina, the whiny sixteen year old who wasted screen time (minus the scene in the club between Silverstone and Sisto the character really fell flat), there could have been a precious and precosious ten year old from the book.

Where there were poorly put together and awkwardly acted murder scenes and a stupid metal sculpture that Vassago had built, there could have been more thorough reasons for killing the young women and at least a nod to the macabre collection that Vassago housed in the basement of his hideaway.

Where there were stupid and contrived (as I've said) coincidences that brought Harrison and Vassago together, there could have been solid visions and a purposeful movement towards the final showdown.

The true grit in this book came from the character of Vassago and how he came to be who he was and how he became focused on both Linsday and Regina Harrison. The shock and sometimes chills came from the way Vassago's mind worked and the things he did while in the world of the living, so he could reenter hell. The movie lacked in showing anything like this.

A long time fan of Jeremy Sisto, I feel that he was given so little to work with from a character that could have been so profoundly frightening and shocking. And if this movie's Vassago was not engaging, there was no hope for the rest of the characters.

I don't recommend seeing this more than once, and once if you enjoy watching Goldbloom or Sisto.

1/5 Read the novel instead
  by Graboidz (Westminster, Maryland)
Wow, this was bad. And not bad in a "Hard Rock Zombies" kind of way, but bad in a "wow...this is dull" kind of way. The cast, consisting of usually enjoyable performers, is given nothing to work with here. All of the best elements to the Koontz novel are changed or left out. Alicia Silverstone just kind of mumbles her way through the flick, Jeff Goldblum doesn't get to play his usually fun type of character, the usual humor he brings to his roles is sorely missed, Alfred Molina gets what is basically an extended cameo walking around looking upset during his total of 7 minutes of screentime, and Christine Lahti's character is so different from the character in the Koontz novel, you hate to see her wasted here. Jeremy Sisto is the only bright spot, but even he can't do much with what he is given in the lousy script.
The special effects are awful!! Who knew that when we enter the afterlife we are basically cigarette smoke with a face? The computer animation is laughable, Heaven & Hell never looked so boring! Just avoid this sucker, and read the (while not great, but at least enjoyable) Koontz novel instead.

5/5 Godflesh cameo:
  by qvimby (indy)
Once Earache merged with Sony (Columbia) Godflesh got the chance to do soundtracks. In 1995, they appeared on the soundtrack to the movie Hideaway. They also appear in the movie itself. During one of the club scenes, they are playing onstage in the background, performing the song Nihil. - Godflesh "Cold World" /Rare Import (CD single) *(not available in any other format).

4/5 Hey, there's much worse out there!
  by T. Steffes (South Dakota, USA)
This is not a great movie. However, if you can put up with some plot holes, cheesy special effects, and way too many "coincedences", then it can be enjoyable to watch. It's kinda campy, but it has a great cast and the first 20 minutes are amazing.