This science-fiction action film was a surprise hit it the summer of 1987 box office. It was a big success for the little upstart studio then known as New Line. New Line made a name for themselves with the Freddy Kreuger franchise, and was looking to branch out into the sci-fi sweepstakes. New Line executives were looking for a low budget amalgamation of ALIENS and TERMINATOR, and though they didn’t quite hit those marks, the movie did quite well for itself. THE HIDDEN went to greater glory on VHS and Laserdisc, which cemented the movie’s reputation as a cult favorite. Recently, New Line Cinema released it to DVD in its most superior form yet. Fans of the film will be pleased.

New Line executives secured proven writer/director Jack Sholder to helm THE HIDDEN. Sholder also directed two other films for New Line: ALONE IN THE DARK and the underrated NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET PART 2: FREDDY’S REVENGE. THE HIDDEN also has a capable cast including Kyle (DUNE) MacLachlan as an extraterrestrial bounty hunter in human guise named Lloyd Gallagher. Michael Nouri stars as his human partner, Tom Beck. The luscious Claudia (BABYLON 5) Christian portrays a stripper who gets possessed by the alien. Perennial bad-guy Ed (RED HEAT) O’Ross plays good-guy police officer, Cliff Willis. Clu (RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD) Gulager is Lt. Flynn. And if you are attentive you’ll catch Danny (CON AIR) Trejo cameoing as a prisoner.

In downtown LA in broad daylight, a man robs a bank, shoots the guards, and escapes the scene in his red Ferrari while cranking heavy metal music. Police cars chase him through the city, as he plows into pedestrians and other motorists. He evades the police, until they finally manage to set up a road block to put a stop to this wild rampage. The entire police force rains ammunition into the Ferrari and it crashes into an embankment. The bullet-riden driver leaves the car as it explodes, and he laughs at the disbelieving police force as they pump him full of lead. So begins THE HIDDEN; with a scene that will live forever in the minds of movie-goers.

One of the cops on the scene is Tom Beck (Nouri), a no-nonsense LA cop, who can’t believe what he has just seen. The criminal is wracked with multiple bullet holes, but he still lives. The man is taken to a nearby hospital. There, unbeknownst to the authorities, an alien parasite relinquishes its hold on the individual and takes up with another patient in the room. The cops find the body abandoned by the parasite and they think he is dead. Meanwhile, the new host body (of an older gentleman) goes to a music store, kills the owner, lifts some heavy metal music, and leaves. Next stop: The Ferrari dealer.

At the LA police headquarters, Tom Beck’s superiors team him up with special FBI agent Lloyd Gallagher (MacLachlan). Beck reluctantly cooperates with Gallagher, but one thing is clear, the smooth talking FBI agent knows more than he is telling. Soon Beck and Gallagher are investigating M.O.’s that are identical to that body in the morgue. The film follows the exploits of the parasite inside the human body, learning what it means to be human. He also locates a hidden cache of weapons and ammo. Beck invites Gallagher home to meet his wife and daughter, and they question his origins and motivations. Gallagher informs them that the culprit is responsible for the deaths of his mate and offspring. All the while, Gallagher acts like he is not in touch with the times.

Meanwhile, the parasite host needs a new body. So he pulls his Ferrari up in front of a strip bar and goes inside. There he sees the sensual gyrations of a dancer named Brenda (Christian). After her routine, he corners her backstage, and possesses her body. The parasite then leaves the club in her new body, and is discovered by Beck and Gallagher. In the ensuing gun battle, Beck is nearly killed, but the parasite gets away while Gallagher saves Beck from falling off a building. Beck, having seen a fragile human woman withstand numerous rounds of ammunition at close range, finally realizes something strange is going on. Back at the station, Beck confronts Gallagher, who tells him the truth: A criminal alien entity who seeks refuge on Earth has the ability to jump from person to person. Furthermore, the parasite may only be killed with Gallagher’s alien weapon.

Beck thinks Gallagher is a madman and has him thrown into a holding cell. Suddenly, the parasite shows up in it’s newest host form, and begins shooting at police officers in the station. When Beck sees the parasite’s human host take multiple clips of ammunition and keeps walking, he guesses that Gallagher may not be crazy after all. Beck’s races to the cell to release Gallagher, who uses his weapon to stop the parasite. But again the creature avoids capture. It has taken possession of Beck’s fellow officer, Cliff Willis (O’Ross). The parasite host leaves the station and heads for the nearby public appearance of a political candidate. The parasite has decided he wants to go into politics. How will Beck and Gallagher finally stop this alien menace?

Director Jack Sholder fashions a film that is consistently imaginative, without showing too much (If THE HIDDEN was filmed today, it would have been CGI-ed to death, resulting in zero suspense). Sholder only shows the parasite jumping from one body to another once in the whole movie. Besides this one scene, and a few more seconds at the climax, the parasite is never really seen. Yet Sholder manages to extract suspense from every minute in the film. Sholder further contributes to the to the suspense by staging the incidents during the span of a single night; and this approach gives THE HIDDEN that ‘real-time’ feel.

Despite having a short running time, Sholder imbues the film with character development and emotion. Although the action takes center stage, the characters of Beck and good alien Gallagher are fully explored within the confines of the film. They are actually quite similar. They are both family men who work for justice in their own way. Especially interesting is how the two become fast friends in so little time of meeting each other. The alien parasite also has its share of character definition, as well. We discover the parasite has a thing for heavy metal music, though the music heard here is mostly awful. New Line probably could not afford to license any good metal music from the eighties (like Judas Priest or Iron Maiden), so instead bands like Concrete Blond are heard. The alien also enjoys women, red Ferraris, and firearms (and lots of them).

Sholder also includes perfectly placed black humor and social commentary about mankind’s excesses. The narrative unspools in an inventive and frenetic way, and features enough black humor to sustain several movies. For instance, there is a scene at a pretentious auto dealership where the parasite host threatens a shady car dealer and his coke-snorting customer, because he wants the red Ferrari this guy just bought! Though at first the film reeks of a brutal, low-budget action fare, first-time viewers should stick with it. Like James Cameron’s low budget THE TERMINATOR, THE HIDDEN handles the plot and subject matter with unexpected intelligence. The themes of identity and compassion are actually explored instead of just exploited.

The actors all turn in great performances, especially the brilliant underplaying by Kyle Maclachlan. Michael Nouri and MacLachlan play off each other perfectly. Nouri convinces you that he doesn’t know what is going on, and MacLachlan acts like he knows more than he is telling. Nouri takes what is considered a routine character and breathes some life into him. Claudia Christian doesn’t get much dialog, but she does a great job of projecting physicality and malevolence into her performance. And damn, she looks good too. Ed O’Ross also manages to impress, despite his supporting role.

THE HIDDEN was filmed before the days of digital effects, but the movie did not need them. There are a lot of makeup effects though none are of the gore-monger variety. Instead we get bloody bullet wounds, shriveling bodies, reanimated corpses, and a very convincing slimy space parasite. One of the film’s other strengths is the stuntwork. The credits read like a stuntman’s hall of fame, as we witness numerous car chases and crashes, people falling from buildings, and the endless exchange of gunfire. THE HIDDEN also has the distinction of having the third best police-station massacre scene (the other two being THE TERMINATOR and MANIAC COP 2, respectively) ever filmed.

THE HIDDEN may not have been as well done or timeless as THE TERMINATOR or ALIENS, but like those films, THE HIDDEN has influenced many others. Not counting the crappy sequel (in name only), ideas from THE HIDDEN were rehashed into films like ALIEN NATION (a human cop teaming up with an alien cop), THE FACULTY (parasitic aliens inhabiting humans), JASON GOES TO HELL: THE FINAL FRIDAY (killer takes over human bodies), THE PUPPET MASTERS (parasitic aliens inhabiting humans), FALLEN (killer takes over human bodies), and I COME IN PEACE (a human cop teaming up with an alien cop). Unfortunately, this was Jack Sholder best film, and he has been unable to match the caliber of this effort in the ensuing years. Though he is still working (he directed WISHMASTER 2), it’s sad to see that he came close to having James Cameron talent and success. But we all know how Hollywood can chew you up and spit you out. Anyway, listening to the commentary you can tell he was proud of his accomplishments, and I’m sure he is happy with the DVD treatment afforded to one of his films. New Line does another bang-up job; the only thing I have to complain about is the snap case.

 THE HIDDEN is available at DVDEmpire

- Darren Collette

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