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Monday, April 11, 2022

Hideout 2021 * * Stars

HIDE-AWAY

Hideout as a sort of goth thriller turned splatter fest, is my latest review. Its cast consists of mostly unknowns who could've easily been plucked by the CW Network (or the now defunct WB). Only supporting player Audrey Kovar has veritable acting chops here. Everyone else is acting badly or well, overacting. I mean I never thought I'd see the second coming of Jack Torrance's rude stepchild (Kyle Torrance, ha). 

Anyway, Hideout is the debut feature of one Kris Roselli (he's done mostly shorts). Roselli loves his close-ups, his weird camera angles, and his yearn for the OTT. Watching Hideout, I realized I'd seen the same swipe about three months ago. Oh yeah that was 2021's A House on the Bayou (sigh).

With Hideout, Kris Roselli borrows from the best (or some of the best). A little Jordan Peele here, a little Sam Raimi there, and some of The Shining just for kicks. Roselli is obviously a fan but gee, couldn't he have had a voice of his own?

Hideout does have a few creepy moments however. It just takes a while (at 114 minutes) to get to where it's actually going. The characters (and they are quite the characters) are wishy-washy, high-strung, and well, miserably unlikable. You want them to GET OUT of the house like Father Delaney but they don't seem to want to do so. I guess that'd have to be the case otherwise there'd be no movie to stand on. 

With a musical score that's equal parts foreboding/scattershot and special, gruesome effects that are um, "special" (that's not a compliment), Hideout is about four criminals who end up "hiding out" at a house inhabited by I guess, satanic cultists with black eyes (uh-oh, more voodoo that you do). It's low budget, it's B-movie, it's camp. Hideout sadly "dries out". 

Written by Jesse Burleson

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