It is based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Dean Koontz, and stars Jeff Goldblum, Christine Lahti, Alicia Silverstone, Jeremy Sisto, Alfred Molina and Rae Dawn Chong.

In the film, Goldblum plays a man who survives a near death experience due to a traffic accident and afterwards finds himself psychically connected to a serial killer.

Meanwhile, antiques dealer Hatch Harrison is driving home from his family's lakeside cabin with his wife Lindsey and daughter Regina.

While he is on the operating table, Hatch experiences visions of the same tunnels of light as the killer, but upon arriving for judgment is slowly floated into a surreal heavenly scene, where he sees his young daughter Samantha who died years earlier.

Hatch begins to experience disturbing visions while he sleeps which involve him seemingly murdering young women, when in fact he is actually seeing through the eyes of the real killer.

He confronts Dr. Nyebern, who explains that Jeremy is psychotic and that after murdering his mother and sister and attempting suicide, was revived by his resuscitation team.

Jeremy kidnaps Regina and takes her to his hideaway beneath an abandoned amusement park where he has been building a "monument to hell".

An angelic spirit resembling Hatch's daughter Samantha then emerges from him and collides with Vassago in a battle of good vs evil.

"[citation needed] Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a rare positive review, 3 stars out of a possible 4.

He characterized it as a standard fare horror film that accomplishes its modest goals via good performances by a talented cast.

According to Rita Kempley of The Washington Post, "Koontz hates the movie so much he tried to force TriStar to remove his name from the credits.

Koontz ultimately resorted to legal means to get his name removed from the title of the film and from major advertising, but was unsuccessful.