A cop discovers that there's something unusual about his new partner in this unusual sci-fi thriller. A seemingly well-mannered stock broker one day snaps, robbing a bank, stealing a Ferrari, and driving straight into a police barricade without any thought for his own safety, and he's mowed down by a hail of bullets. The detective assigned to the case, Tom Beck (Michael Nouri), thinks that he notices a strange look in the eye of the thief, but when FBI agent Lloyd Gallagher (Kyle MacLachlan)
informs Tom that he's also been assigned to the case, he thinks that he sees the same curious look in Lloyd's eyes as well. Lloyd also has an odd way of carrying himself, as if he's not entirely in control of his own body, and in time, Tom discovers what the two men have in common -- both are actually aliens from another planet. They are creatures from another world capable of entering a human (or animal) body at will and using it as a vessel as long as they need. When the stockbroker died, the rogue alien simply crept into another body to begin his crime spree all over again. Lloyd has been sent to Earth to bring the thief's reign of terror to a halt and has taken over the body of an FBI agent with that in mind. A major cult favorite, The Hidden also features Clu Gulager, Ed O'Ross, and Claudia Christian. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Its virtues are ones that you almost never encounter in movies of this sort; it's really a unique little item -- if there's such a thing as punk soulfulness, then this movie has it.
Full of great car chases . . . gleefully violent antisocial behavior, and enough bullet-fests to qualify for an honorable mention from the John Woo appreciation society
A police detective puzzled by a rash of crimes in which seemingly ordinary, law abiding citizens suddenly become Ferrari stealing, bank robbing psychopaths comes to realize that the real perpetrator is not of this world. The Hidden could probably best be described as The Terminator meets David Cronenberg. The
interesting concept is that an alien criminal comes to Earth and physically possesses its victims (with the help of some gruesome special effects that have stood the test of time surprisingly well), moving from body to body when the host becomes too damaged. This provides the perfect set up for some outrageous action sequences featuring machine gun toting strippers, police station shoot outs and high speed car chases punctuated with just the right amount of dry, tongue in cheek humour. Not only that, but the script is far more inventive than that of the average space monster B-movie and features a cast of faces that will be familiar to fans of cult TV series Twin Peaks as well as a blink-and-you'll-miss-it bit part for Danny Trejo. The resulting cocktail is a fast paced, funny and hugely entertaining sci-fi shoot 'em up that's something of a forgotten gem.
March 9, 2007
xGary Xx
Super Reviewer
The Hidden, a Jack Sholder-directed 80's sci-fi fest, is about as entertaining as one would hope it to be. The film can be quite disgusting at times with the marvelous special effects put to good use in it... not to mention the very fine cast on display. The ending is a bit too soft, but the journey there is well worth
taking. Basically, a body-switching alien runs amock in Los Angeles, killing everyone in it's way, and the cops are hot on his trail. Unfortunately, the softer aspects of the story keep it from being a real masterpiece. It gets too mushy at times without really caring about what it's being mushy about. Regardless, if you enjoyed Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2's subtleties and performances, then there's a good chance you'll enjoy this one, as well.
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