The Hidden

When more than one mild mannered person turns up on a wild rampage of stolen sports cars, indulgence and murder, cop Michael Nouri can barely keep up. But his low-affect new partner Kyle MacLachlan seems to know exactly what is going on. They're perfectly cast in a totally unexpected movie that unfolds with relentless action, surprises, and oddly believable absurdities. Claudia Christian is perfect too, as a stripper who won't take no for an answer.

It's hard to do this movie justice without spoiling surprises, but once you tune in to it, the mix - violence strongly serving character and story, oddball humor, and tantalizing science fiction - is uniquely addictive. There's no other movie like it. Have fun!

One of the coolest and most intense sci-fi movies I've ever seen. True, the body count is high, but it's kind of tongue-in-cheek if you actually pay attention to the movie. After watching it a number of times, I discovered that there appears to be a visual body count tally included on the screen. Five kills in the first killing scene - camera shows it took place on fifth street. There's an elevator scene in which the floor selected indicates the latest current count. Some are pretty subtle, you have to notice the time on the clock or maybe a hospital room number or something like that, but look for a number to appear after each killing or series of killings, and you'll find it. There are quite a few correlating numbers that are just too obvious and too frequent to be coincidental. Check it out.

This movie is extremely well-made for what it is. Fascinating, thought-provoking, it surprised the Hell out of me when I first saw it. This could have been a "gimmick" sci-fi movie, but it's handled deftly by the director, who I had never heard of, and by MacLachlan, who gives a terrific, sensitive, multi-layered performance.

For that matter, most of characters have real dimension to them. This movie transcends a rather bland, run-of-the-mill science fiction story with the chemistry between its characters and the snappy pacing. I like the way the themes of identity and compassion are actually explored instead of just exploited.

This movie is best seen without knowing much about the plot. It starts off as standard action movie where you follow a policeman who is investigating some strange event of a seemingly normal person kind of going crazy and suddenly committing thefts, violence, escaping the police. As the story develops, the story turns in unexpected but very fascinating directions.

The pace is kept high, never does ones attention wander. The acting is good and the story comes over as very real. I won't reveal too much here of what happens later as there are many elements of surprise which adds to the whole experience.

This is one of the movies that I have enjoyed watching several times. My vote is a 9.

What is "the Hidden"? Exactly what the name implies. It's like searching for a diamond in a pile of coal. There are a lot of stupid, inane sci-fi action pics out there with some boring spin on the alien possession story, but this movie has something that those lack. Compelling characters. What, you say? A character study in sci-fi? Well, yes and no. It is as far away from a after-school TV drama, but the characters do have depth and they aren't cookie board cut-outs. Kyle MacLachlan, before his dark days of "showgirls", and Michael Nouri(Flashdance) star in this buddy-cop film, on the track of a killing-spree that seems to change with different humans. This film is a taught, well acted story. Sometimes creepy, sometimes genuinely funny. The score, although definitively 80s, complements the film with subtle overtones that enhance the viewing experience. A very good film that has a fair amount of blood and gore, but does not revolve around those genre staples. Overall, it's a safe bet for a good time. Watch it with someone you love.