Hideout:
Synopsis:
4 criminals rob a liqour store and make their way to an isolated house where things are not as they seem.
Review:
The home invasion thriller genre is well worn territory for horror movies. Sometimes they can prove to be exercises in tension or they can come across as boring and generic. “Hideout” starts out looking like the latter, but by the end, it manages to really differentiate itself.
The movie blends home invasion thriller with what appears to be supernatural elements. I say appears, because there is a twist that I absolutely refuse to spoil.
Admittedly I was kind of yawning for about the first hour of the 1hr and 52 minute runtime of “Hideout.” But after the first hour, the movie really shifts into gear and starts firing on all cylinders in some interesting ways. The movie for sure is a slow burn.
Sara (Katie Lyons), along with her brother Kyle (Bryan Enright) and two of their friends, Reed (Chris Wolfe) and Rick (Eric Francis Melaragni) must survive a police manhunt by hiding out in a house with two innocent people (or are they) as their hostages.
However, the four criminals do not have it easy. They start experiencing things that are out of place, possibly indicating that the stress is getting to them.
“Hideout”, wastes no time getting down to buisness with its plot and then slowly develops the characters over time, which was definitely appreciated. The movie basically takes place in one location the whole time. This allows the suspense and claustrophobia to build up. The way I’ve described this movie so far must sound very riveting. However, the movie does start out rough. The performances come across as very stilted and the line delivery is somewhat sub-par. The plot also takes quite a bit of time to come into focus. However the latter half does manage to save the film with a tense, bonkers, and gory climax. There are two moments during the climax where the film shows off its truly spectacular and practical gore effects.
As “Hideout” closes in on its final twist, it will either truly shock viewers or probably piss them off and make them scratch their heads. I was almost scratching my head and going “what just happened?” However, the more I thought about the twist, the more I remembered the subtle clues that are presented, which made me really enjoy the final twist.
The movie certainly has a low budget feel, but the film makes use of its limited resources as best it can. Depending on the viewer’s perspective, all the things that might be off-putting about the film, might actually aid the film’s truly unsettling atmosphere.
I saw this movie had mixed user reviews on sites like IMDB and its not hard to see why. This film is almost certainly only going to appeal to a small group of people.
It I’d a good thing this movie exists, because for all its rough edges, it is still a unique diamond in the sea of home invasion horror films. It’s blending of genres and the climax do make it stand out.
With all of that in mind, “Hideout” offers a decently fun late night horror movie experience. It has elements that are off-putting, but if viewers stay with it, they will definitely have a fun time by the end.
Independent horror movies like this should continue to be made because major film studios would definitely not finance films like “Hideout.” It’s nice to see a horror movie that doesn’t follow the studio formula.
Miles Tepatti
Bio:
My name is Miles James Tepatti. I have been a life long lover of film. As a kid I used to only watch animated and action films. As I’ve grown older, I have seen a wider variety of films that show me just how inspiring the artform is.
My top 5 favorite films are, Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of The Sith, Kingdom of Heaven, E.T., The Iron Giant, and A Monster Calls.
My favorite directors are Steven Spielberg and Ridley Scott.