The HiddenPsychopaths are sometimes credited for claiming that they aren't responsible for the evil they do...that something inside of them made them do it. What if they were right, and that something was not of this world? That is the basic premise of The Hidden, a science fiction/horror movie about two very different law enforcers--LAPD Detective Thomas Beck (Michael Nouri) and FBI Agent Lloyd Gallagher (Kyle MacLachlan)--who are chasing after a vicious killer run amok in the streets of Los Angeles. But just when they think they've cornered one, another unlikely person goes on a rampage...the new host for an alien with a penchant for carnage and mayhem.
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The Hidden is part of a trend of films from the 1980s which concern itself with the incursion of an alien force into our society, one which masks its diabolical intentions by posing as one of us. This makes The Hidden fit snugly alongside films like The Thing or They Live--coincidentally both of those were directed by John Carpenter--stories which capitalize on the fear that comes from not knowing who you can trust. The Hidden deliberately starts out to look like a traditional cop movie, albeit one with an explosive amount of ultra-violence from go. Detective Beck--and the rest of the LAPD--are finally catching up to a rash of crimes committed by the seemingly nice Jack DeVries (Chris Mulkey), who is finally hospitalized in critical condition following a wild chase through the streets in his purloined Ferrari, with dozens of shots fired and explosions. When Agent Gallagher shows in search of DeVries, it seems like the definition of anti-climactic. But when DeVries' hospital mate, Jonathan Miller (William Boyett), goes missing and then begins his own crime wave with a identical modus operandi as DeVries, Gallagher clumsily credits this to them being "accomplices". All of this might appear like a sloppily executed or rearranged plot of some other shoot-em-up flick, save for the crucial scene we get when we see the horribly burned DeVries unhinge his jaw over the comatose Miller, followed by a thoroughly disgusting alien life form emerge and slurk its way down Miller's throat. It's evident from here on that Gallagher is withholding this unsettling detail from Beck, and for reasons which should appear obvious. Gallagher keeps other information from Beck, which he trickles out in time or when cornered--less out of a lack of trust than an understanding that the thing which is propelling these corpses to perform these evils is something inscrutable--both literally and metaphorically alien.
In a way, the alien is like a "dybbuk", a spirit from Jewish mythology known for "clinging" to the souls of its victims, possessing them into performing actions they would not otherwise do. The alien can only possess the dead, and does not appear to share an iota of its predecessor's mental characteristics. The alien thrives in our civilization, because as The Hidden often subtly observes, human beings (especially adults) take things at face, although a gifted few--like Beck's daughter--are more astute at recognizing the deception. The alien is itself a psychopath; but even as is the case in our society, a psychopath is not immediately recognizable--it is only once its outed can it be identified, and by then it's usually too late. The alien is intentionally made as ugly as possible--in appearance and in behavior--resembling a cross between a translucent sea slug and a spider, flicking it tongue out while in human form like a reptile to survey its surroundings. It appears to relish all of the most detestable vices, and shows no remorse in its depravity, exhibiting greed, violence, and a total lack of empathy. In a sense, the alien also is a metaphor for the most extreme and harmful excesses of consumerism. Consider its obsession with material goods as a whole, such as when it storms the seedy Ferrari dealership lousy with scumbags, and hijacks one without restraint--Gallagher comments that it likes Ferraris. Certainly they are fast cars, but moreover, they are a status symbol, and apparently the alien has learned that status gets it more of what it wants--and what it wants is always more. Even at a further level, the alien is in constant search for more and more bodies to acquire, and it enjoys the unique qualities that come with each one it tries out, like the buxom stripper, Brenda (Claudia Christian), or even the police chief's dog. When the alien watches on television that people all around applaud a senator who has come to Los Angeles and is likely to announce his candidacy for the presidency, it is clear that the alien has its sights set on acquiring this powerful vessel, which leads to a climactic confrontation that recalls David Cronenberg's adaptation of The Dead Zone.
The soul of The Hidden is not in the excessive violence exhibited by the alien and the carcass it employs to that end, but in the pairing of Beck and Gallagher. Kyle MacLachlan's casting as the mysterious, somewhat faraway FBI agent foreshadows his popular role as Agent Dale Cooper in the cult classic TV show, "Twin Peaks". Beck's hard-bitten attitude doesn't gel at first with Gallagher's aloof, even ephemeral presence, and things start off rocky. Gallagher begrudgingly acknowledges that the pursuit of his quarry is personal--that it killed his partner and, as Gallagher later reveals, also his wife and child. Beck sympathizes with his ally by necessity, commenting that he had a partner who got it in the line of duty, and recognizes how important his own wife and daughter are in his world. To a point, their relationship is like that of a "buddy cop" movie, about two men who have different perceptions about how to enforce the law but both learning to understand the other as they pursue their mutual goal--a bit like Riggs and Murtaugh in Lethal Weapon...Beck even invites Gallagher over to his house to meet his family and for dinner. At another level, Beck and Gallagher represent two different schools of thought about crime. Beck is prepared to deal with traditional crime--violent though it may be--and sees men like DeVries and Miller as having no real connection. He is forced to tolerate Gallagher's assertions to the contrary due to their assignment together, but his frustration with Gallagher is also in his frustration to make sense of the seemingly random chaos afflicting the city and his world. Gallagher represents an evolution of sorts in his way to approach the real root cause of the epidemic of murder by having a sympathetic understanding of the real source of it, something Gallagher acknowledges that Beck's police training couldn't have prepared him to truly handle. It has been argued that a predominance of violent Eighties-era action films were a result of audiences being desensitized to violence or unable to comprehend the rapid changes in the world around them. Although this is a sentiment that persists in every decade, The Hidden channels that subtle paranoia and reflects on the the deeper message of preparing one's mind to accept the possibility of hidden threats, be they alien or otherwise.
Recommended for: Fans of an intense and violent scifi/action movie, filled with body-stealing aliens, fast car chases, and lots of shoot-outs. It is a film filled with several surprises throughout, and deals with managing trust in the face of dishonesty and more insidious monsters.
In a way, the alien is like a "dybbuk", a spirit from Jewish mythology known for "clinging" to the souls of its victims, possessing them into performing actions they would not otherwise do. The alien can only possess the dead, and does not appear to share an iota of its predecessor's mental characteristics. The alien thrives in our civilization, because as The Hidden often subtly observes, human beings (especially adults) take things at face, although a gifted few--like Beck's daughter--are more astute at recognizing the deception. The alien is itself a psychopath; but even as is the case in our society, a psychopath is not immediately recognizable--it is only once its outed can it be identified, and by then it's usually too late. The alien is intentionally made as ugly as possible--in appearance and in behavior--resembling a cross between a translucent sea slug and a spider, flicking it tongue out while in human form like a reptile to survey its surroundings. It appears to relish all of the most detestable vices, and shows no remorse in its depravity, exhibiting greed, violence, and a total lack of empathy. In a sense, the alien also is a metaphor for the most extreme and harmful excesses of consumerism. Consider its obsession with material goods as a whole, such as when it storms the seedy Ferrari dealership lousy with scumbags, and hijacks one without restraint--Gallagher comments that it likes Ferraris. Certainly they are fast cars, but moreover, they are a status symbol, and apparently the alien has learned that status gets it more of what it wants--and what it wants is always more. Even at a further level, the alien is in constant search for more and more bodies to acquire, and it enjoys the unique qualities that come with each one it tries out, like the buxom stripper, Brenda (Claudia Christian), or even the police chief's dog. When the alien watches on television that people all around applaud a senator who has come to Los Angeles and is likely to announce his candidacy for the presidency, it is clear that the alien has its sights set on acquiring this powerful vessel, which leads to a climactic confrontation that recalls David Cronenberg's adaptation of The Dead Zone.
The soul of The Hidden is not in the excessive violence exhibited by the alien and the carcass it employs to that end, but in the pairing of Beck and Gallagher. Kyle MacLachlan's casting as the mysterious, somewhat faraway FBI agent foreshadows his popular role as Agent Dale Cooper in the cult classic TV show, "Twin Peaks". Beck's hard-bitten attitude doesn't gel at first with Gallagher's aloof, even ephemeral presence, and things start off rocky. Gallagher begrudgingly acknowledges that the pursuit of his quarry is personal--that it killed his partner and, as Gallagher later reveals, also his wife and child. Beck sympathizes with his ally by necessity, commenting that he had a partner who got it in the line of duty, and recognizes how important his own wife and daughter are in his world. To a point, their relationship is like that of a "buddy cop" movie, about two men who have different perceptions about how to enforce the law but both learning to understand the other as they pursue their mutual goal--a bit like Riggs and Murtaugh in Lethal Weapon...Beck even invites Gallagher over to his house to meet his family and for dinner. At another level, Beck and Gallagher represent two different schools of thought about crime. Beck is prepared to deal with traditional crime--violent though it may be--and sees men like DeVries and Miller as having no real connection. He is forced to tolerate Gallagher's assertions to the contrary due to their assignment together, but his frustration with Gallagher is also in his frustration to make sense of the seemingly random chaos afflicting the city and his world. Gallagher represents an evolution of sorts in his way to approach the real root cause of the epidemic of murder by having a sympathetic understanding of the real source of it, something Gallagher acknowledges that Beck's police training couldn't have prepared him to truly handle. It has been argued that a predominance of violent Eighties-era action films were a result of audiences being desensitized to violence or unable to comprehend the rapid changes in the world around them. Although this is a sentiment that persists in every decade, The Hidden channels that subtle paranoia and reflects on the the deeper message of preparing one's mind to accept the possibility of hidden threats, be they alien or otherwise.
Recommended for: Fans of an intense and violent scifi/action movie, filled with body-stealing aliens, fast car chases, and lots of shoot-outs. It is a film filled with several surprises throughout, and deals with managing trust in the face of dishonesty and more insidious monsters.