From the far reaches of the Milky Way Galaxy, It's Retro Nerd Girl with a film review for you.
Today I'll be reviewing the movie The Hidden released in 1987.
Starring:
Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Nouri, and Claudia Christian
Directed by:
Jack Sholder
Genre:
Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) Rating:
R
Budget:
$5,000,000 (estimated)
Current IMDb Rating When Reviewed:
7.0
The Synopsis is:
An alien policeman posing as FBI agent Llyod Gallagher and is actively pursuing a violent criminal alien, who possesses various human hosts while leaving a trail of destruction wherever he goes. Only with the help of human police officer Tom Beck can he find the culprit.
Story:
American screenwriter and director, Jim Kouf wrote the screenplay influenced by the news reporting of random acts of violence by otherwise law-abiding people. He was most famous for writing the screenplays for Class (with David Greenwalt) (1983),
Stakeout (1987), and much later in 1998 Rush Hour (with Ross LaManna).
This was when he was getting into writing more crime action films with a buddy cop theme which was growing in popularity at the time.
This concept of an alien inhabiting a human body had been a subject of many properties before, such as Hal Clement's novel "Needle" (also known as "From Outer Space") published in 1950. The Puppet Masters published in 1951 by Robert A. Heinlein is another book in which secret agents battle parasitic invaders from outer space. And we can’t forget Life Force 1985, which had a few memorable moments of alien possession.
I don’t want to forget about mentioning The Invasion of the Body Snatchers, book by Jack Finney in 1955, film in 1956, and remake in 1978. There, the aliens didn’t live inside the humans, but they did consume them and pretended to be them.
There is a legacy that we have here of creepy stories, that you or someone you care about could suddenly turn into one of these creatures. The loss of self identity and everything that is special about being human is gone in an instant, and it terrifies us.
With such a juicy concept, naturally, Jim wanted to direct the film, but the studios that picked up the screenplay, Heron Communications, Mega Entertainment, and New Line Cinema had other plans. Jim moved on to his next project and director Jack Sholder was chosen to assume the position Right after he finished Nightmare on Elm Street part 2.
His pitch for the project won them over. Jack said that he was attracted to the project because of the script’s potential to be more than an action film as it was originally intended. He added more nuances surrounding the theme that he wanted to add such as, what does it mean to be human.
It is that theme that allows the audience to find some grounding in spite of the film’s cyclone of action and surprising dark comedy. Within, is a story with heart and legs to grow with the imagination.
Pacing:
At an hour and 37 minutes, it’s great. Short and sweet. How did these films of the 1980’s do it? It's a cohesive story with lots of action and detail stuffed to the gills and given some time to breathe in between. The pacing is as good as it gets for a story like this.
Challenge:
There is a lot of information that is in this movie, but I've gone a little beyond and above by watching the second installment of the story provided by the sequel the Hidden 2 1995 that had a release on the Sci fi channel and went direct to video. You could say, I suffered so you don’t have to.
According to the Canon of this particular storyline, the alien menace is called Routhus. Yes, he has a name, so that is what I will be calling him from here on out.
The other alien that's hunting him down is not really given an origin name. He inhabits the body of Robert Stone and steals the identity of his friend, FBI agent Lloyd Gallagher. At one point of the story Routhus refers to him as Al Hauge which many people assumed was his name, but it is actually just the name of his heritage because he is from the star Ras Al Hauge.
It turns out that the two aliens evolved from the same species. Gallager is from the species that evolved into light energy which seems to have a higher morality than their counterparts. The other species are hideous spider octopus slugs that are immature, immoral, murderous and revel greatly in selfish physical indulgence.
And one other tidbit is that Eventually, the light beings will turn into the insectoid aliens if they stay on Earth for too long.
The first time we see the evil alien, Routhus he has taken over the body of Jack DeVries, an upstanding stock broker who’s been possessed for 2 weeks. Prior to the start of the film’s events, he murdered 12 people, six with a butcher knife, 2 of those were children. He wounded 23 people, stole 6 cars, robbed 8 banks, 6 supermarkets, 4 jewelry stores and a candy shop.
If he sees something he likes, he takes it. If there is any resistance, he kills. There is no rhyme or reason to it or master plan. He just randomly wants something and he doesn’t care who he hurts to get it. It could be something shiny, something red, music, food, cars, whatever… it doesn’t matter. Once he decides he’s going after something, the audience get glimpses of a Terminator vibe, one of a relentless destructive force aggressively pursuing what it wants.
This film’s opening visually displays this character’s cold blooded demeanor toward the human race. When I saw this the first time I thought Routhus was just randomly shooting people at the bank he was robbing. However, after rewatching, I could see that he clearly knows the procedure of the bank and only shoots the security employees transferring money to another location. It was a very thought-out well-planned bank robbery and this shows that he knows how money works on Earth. And knowing that, why does he still commit petty theft?
It makes this character so rotten because he’s robbing the bank for the thrill of it. The money is still a part of it, but the thrill is much stronger and he is incredibly tied into the thrill of the moment.
He’s not a smart sophisticated evil character that hides, lays low and plays the game just right to sneak away and enjoy the spoils of his efforts. He’s a brute primal creature that has very little forethought, if at all any. Once he steals the money from the bank, he drives wildly down the street and is easily spotted by the police.
He’s not too worried though. Human police are not a threat to Routhus. While inside a host, he can withstand multiple gun shots and a considerable amount of damage. When the host’s body is used up, Routhus must find a new host and that ability really makes him able to escape capture.
I think this is brilliant from a writing perspective, because you have a character that can change their appearance and potentially never get caught.
The damaged body of Jack DeVries is taken by the cops to the hospital where he is placed next to a dying patient, Jonathan Miller. This is where the audience learns about this insectoid alien inhabiting DeVries as it enters Jonathan Miller, who dies during the process. So the transfer automatically kills the host. It’s important that I am telling you this now, because it comes into play later.
So from the police’s point of view DeVries is dead and Jonathan Miller goes missing. But since Jonathan Miller is a law abiding citizen, they don’t acknowledge any connection. Finding him for questioning is not even a consideration.
What really blows my mind is that Routhus doesn't use this to his best advantage because minutes later, he is drawn into a record store, violently kills the man minding the store with a bat, steals a handful of cassette tapes, a boom box and steals some cash from the register.
He has no chill at all… just ready to kill and steal immediately. It’s actually comical how he just doesn’t care. This is where we get the film’s black comedy. Everything he does is so ridiculous that it is funny.
I sometimes feel a little guilty for finding it funny but it is a movie after all and I’m so glad that this is make-believe.
It was as if this alien was living out very dark human fantasies that have been compared to GTA games (Grand Theft Auto, a series of action-adventure games featuring driving and shooting, with occasional role-playing and stealth elements).
All along I was hoping that the cops would easily find him after that, but it seemed as if he was always two steps ahead of the cops and a step ahead of Gallagher.
The odds were working for Routhus at this point and time. He uses up Jonathan’s body and goes into a stripper by the name of Brenda Lee Van Buren. He barely spends time inside her before he blows his cover again. He then goes into a dog out of desperation, then the dog’s owner, the police Lt. John Masterson. He goes into officer Cliff Willis and then into Senator Holt, announcing his plans to become the president of the country.
It’s a scary progression that Routhus could dance up the ranks of society until he becomes president or reaches the president’s body. That would be a total disaster, because he would be protected at all cost and in the position to cause so much more damage on a larger scale.
Even Though Routhus is not intelligent, he puts together the fact that the Senator is “the one everyone applauds”. He pursues the Senator because his stature in society is something he now wants. Then the presidency is just another thing he decides he wants when he is asked.
I love the fact that the film gives us that scare and it sticks with you long after the film is over. What if Routhus had been successful?
Empathy:
The empathy is something that many viewers could have a hard time with because I think that multiple viewings have helped my empathy for the protagonists.
The story plays itself out as a thriller more than anything else as cops are trying so desperately to stop Routhus in DeVries’ body. Once they corner him, they don't try to book him or check his black Ferrari 308 GTB for evidence. They straight up went murder death kill mode on him. These guys were savage!
And they had good reason to because they’ve been following his disgusting tirade of crime for two weeks and they are over it. When they hear that DeVries will die from his injuries, they pretty much, “say good riddens”.
I have to say that this movie really highlights the police squad in this film. I mean they are amazing. I just love how we get to spend time with them and experience them in their own space. It's warm with comradery. There is humor in their conversations and you root for the whole team right away.
The star detective on the case is Thomas Beck. Immediately, he’s really likable. He’s a loving family man who’s a little grumpy because he is overworked and is honestly doing the best that he can do to keep the streets safe. Just as the DeVries case wraps up, Gallagher is assigned to work on the case with him. Beck is trying to wrap his mind around why. DeVries is about to die, so that means the case is over.
In order to pull him back into the case without confessing that Miller is possessed by an alien, Gallagher lies to him and tells him that DeVries and Miller were working together in some kind of organized crime conspiracy.
From a story perspective, I thought it was such a wise choice to make Gallagher an FBI agent because it was the perfect cover for him to get around undetected and undeterred. Once Gallagher is added to the story it really feels like a buddy cop movie as the characters play off of each other's opposite personalities. We've seen it so many other times before like in 48 hours and Lethal Weapon.
Gallagher is not immediately exposed as an alien so the film takes it’s time to reveal his secret and I really liked that. However we do get clues along the way.
His demeanor is very stiff and robotic, but there is also a childlike innocence to him that is subtly woven in because he is still adjusting to existing inside the human life form. I think also, by choosing this young body to portray the real Gallagher was a tactic to play upon the natural human instincts to sympathize with the young.
I thought it was interesting how Gallagher’s story mirrors both Routhus and Beck. He is like an intermediary between humans and this alien species.
One of his attributes happens to be his confidence and almost fearlessness which is a lot like Routhus. There is a certain directness about his approach to certain things, but not all. However, you can see some behavioral similarities between the two. They even share the trait of stealing expensive cars and driving them really fast all of the time. By the way, these aliens are excellent drivers. Gallagher drives a sleek beige Porche 928. I theorized that maybe on their planets, the vehicles there resemble Ferraris and Porches and that is why they select them.
Routhus and Gallagher are also fascinated by their human bodies and spend some time trying to observe them. The only real indication that they are different is that Gallagher is a lot sneakier about the way he does things and he’s not a raving lunatic killing every chance he gets.
It is when Gallagher is invited to Beck’s home the audience gets a better sense of his alien nature as he explains that the man they are chasing has killed his wife and young daughter. This strikes a cord because Beck also has a wife and daughter.
Originally Beck’s family was not going to be of any focus in the film but Jack Sholder added that as well as Gallagher's child being killed by Routhus for more drama and it worked excellently. Immediately you identify with Gallagher a little more and you understand how important getting Routhus is to him.
This new information seems to form a genuine bond between Beck and Gallagher. They still bicker like a married couple, but it’s cute. I really wish that we had more time with them together, similar to the movie Alien Nation which came out a year later. Something where they are actively tracking down criminals that are using human hosts as a cover. That could be very interesting because Gallagher has displayed that he only has to look at the subject to know that they are an alien.
Gallagher shows that he eventually cares for Beck and his family and you get to see that when unfortunately Beck is fatally shot. Gallagher tends to Beck immediately and even lies to him saying that they “got” the bad guy, just to ease his last few moments.
Tragically, Beck doesn’t recover.
The ending was very controversial because there are two ideas of what may have happened.
One half of the audience believed that Beck actually died as the life signs monitor flat lines, meaning that Gallagher took his place. The other half of the audience accurately surmised that Beck was brought back to life and Gallagher sacrificed himself in the process. This was confirmed in the sequel.
This was such a great ending for this friendship and there was a feeling of hope that this family was still a loving nucleus. It was as if Gallagher preserved the family he lost by giving Beck a second chance.
For those who thought that Gallagher took Beck’s body, it was a little dissatisfying because it seemed a little unfair and dishonest. But the ambiguity leaves you wondering what will happen next. You can feel the tension when Beck’s daughter looks at him strangely. When she grabs his hand, it means that she accepts him whether he is Beck or Gallagher.
Technical:
A lot of people who see this movie are somehow under the impression that this movie was a big budget movie and yes a budget of $5,000,000 is a lot of money, but The Hidden was rather low budget when you consider similar movies of the time that were blockbusters such as a budget of $15,000,000 (estimated) for Lethal Weapon released in 1987 as well and $25,000,000 (estimated) for The Golden Child released the year before, with comparable special effects.
For all of the amazing cinematography, set design, incredible actors, special effects and action scenes in this film; the budget was utilized brilliantly with amazing quality and attention to detail.
A big help to the budget was the fact that Nightmare on Elm Street part 2 was filmed just before and had the same director; some of the set pieces were used in this film.
For the whole look and flavor of the police precinct, Jack Sholder said he was inspired by Sidney Lumet, famous for movies like Dog Day Afternoon (1975) and Prince of the City (1981). There was a certain feeling when observing the precinct and the relationship between the characters that makes it a special highlight of the film that I enjoyed so very much.
Another highlight were the cars used in the film, many of which were in wild high speed chases, crashes, and explosions. It was wonderful! 4 Ferraris were wrecked on the film to achieve all of this excitement.
The presentation of the very disgusting gross spider alien with nasty slimy tentacles was actually well designed and is visually shocking. This was a physical representation of how awful this creature was inside and out.
One big aspect of the movie was the body horror that was displayed throughout the film. The transfer of the slimy alien creature from DeVries into Jonathan Miller was a moment in the film that is both gross and shocking. The actor playing Miller, William Boyett, was so disturbed upon being shown the scene that he couldn’t watch it.
It was done with a combination of using stop-motion photography and replicas of the actor’s faces made out of latex which was degrading fast. The shot was captured in the nick of time because, as they finished the scene, the mouth ripped just after the last frame we see.
The look of this film is quite striking, utilizing wonderful angles threading in the color green to translate that something odd was going on. Many rooms were painted that particular kind of institutional green or the typical color used for alien skin tones. It was a great mixture of cinematography, lighting and set design in a wonderful marriage.
There were so many amazing explosions and ballistics that was so excellently done with lots of practical squibs. In case you don’t know, squibs are tiny bags of blood that explode to look like gunshot wounds. They look so realistic and believable.
To help with the sound, the movie features sound FX from The Thing (1982) for some brief scenes, when tentacles are bursting through the arm of Johnathan Miller.
I have heard many people refer to this movie as the poor man's Terminator, and part of the reason why is because of the score by Michael Convertino. It has a very abstract metallic rhythm which is so unsettling and creepy. I actually enjoyed it because I like that sound. It does remind me of Terminator, but I don’t mind that so much.
The soundtrack was another highlight of the movie. The songs weren’t famous tracks, but they embodied the flavor of much more popular music of the time that the production could not afford due to the budget. You can get the gist of what they were aiming for. This was not a movie with a lot of money behind it to get top tier billboard music.
"Hidden" – The Truth
"Black Girl White Girl" – The Lords of the New Church
"Is There Anybody In There?" – Hunters & Collectors
"Say Good Bye" – Hunters & Collectors
"On Your Feet" – Shok Paris
"Going Down Fighting" – Shok Paris
"Weapons of Love" – The Truth
"Still in Hollywood" – Concrete Blonde
"Your Haunted Head" – Concrete Blonde
"While the Going's Good" – Twin Set & the Pearls
"You Make Me Feel So Young" – Brian Gunboty
"Out of Control (In My Car)" – ULI
"Bad Girl" – Mendy Lee
"Over Your Shoulder" – Concrete Blonde
Performances:
The performances are definitely where the film shines the most brightly. The actors were all incredible and I can’t help but feel that the direction has to be praised for keeping the actors playing the alien’s hosts in continuity with Routhus’ behavior.
Chris Mulkey as Jack DeVries introduces us to the alien with a series of facial emotions. William Boyett as Jonathan Miller plays the alien with curiosity behind a cold gaze.
Claudia Christian most famous from her run as Susan Ivanova in Babylon 5 (TV Series) from 1994 to 1998, plays Brenda Lee Van Buren. She was my favorite alien host. Though she wasn’t on screen for very long, she had some of the best, most iconic scenes in the film with humor and lots of ballistics.
Roy the Dog was played by Jake who appeared in 5 movies including A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. How were they able to direct the dog to act on cue? I just don’t know, but he was amazing.
Clarence Felder as Lt. John Masterson played the alien with an arrogant stiffness. Through him, we get a bit of dialogue that gives us some insight into the aliens and their background.
Ed O'Ross was endearing as Cliff Willis as the gruff cop who was trying to get back in good favor after messing up a few months earlier. He was an integral part of the team trying to hunt down the alien. It broke my heart when Willis gets body snatched by the alien and O’Ross played the part a lot like the Terminator, marching through bullets to get to Senator Holt. It actually felt more like the T1000, which hadn’t been created yet from Terminator 2 in 1991.
John McCann as Senator Holt had a short run as the alien, but his body language and tilt of his head was just the tip off the audience needed. The performance was simple but effective.
One through line for all of the actors playing Routhus was the licking of the lips. They even got the dog to do it and it’s a wonderful little visual to help the continuity.
The production had a hard time casting the film. Nearly every available leading man was considered for the role of Tom Beck.
Michael Nouri won the role, turning down the part of Martin Riggs in Lethal Weapon (1987). It was very much assumed that Michael had not worked since his role in the hit movie Flashdance in 1983, but on the contrary. He had about 12 acting credits on film and TV from the time between 1983 and 1987, more than some people have in their whole careers. And he has a total of 135 acting credits with 3 of them for upcoming projects as of this review.
Up until this movie I had never seen Nori play a role like this before and it really opened my eyes to what he was capable of as an actor. The way he plays this role, you get the sense that he wants to prove that. Beck displays exhaustion from being overworked and he’s bitter because it never seems to end. There is something so relatable about his portrayal and the audience gets to connect with him in a special way. I particularly love, love, love the reaction he had to Gallagher’s confession that there are aliens. He’s like, “Say what?” It’s how I would react.
The part of Agent Gallagher was especially difficult to cast and auditions with Michael Nouri were used to acquire Kyle MacLachlan in the role. Both actors liked the script and only agreed to do the film if the other was involved. MacLachlan was hired only days before filming and Jack shoulder praised Kyle as the best actor he's ever worked with.
Kyle said that he played the role as if he was wearing a mask and I love that analogy, because essentially that is what his character is doing. His performance was subtle and understated, but there was so much complexity in his facial expressions and actions. It seems very robotic and stiff which makes sense for an alien who is uncomfortable wearing his human mask. I loved it.
These were excellent performances all around.
Enjoyment:
The original ending had the alien getting away in Senator Holt’s body, which was a very dark ending. In only a few hours I could see news reports of Senator Holt going on a killing spree. Routhus just can’t help himself.
The ending was changed for something more optimistic. With all of the changes to the story, the screenwriter, Jim Kouf didn’t want his name on the project and asked that he be credited as Bob Hunt.
It was released with little fanfare, but managed to profit $4 million worldwide. I don’t remember seeing any promotion for the film, but I did catch it on late night television. My mind was totally blown from that first viewing because it was so wild and just like nothing I had ever seen. It was marvelous in a terrifying way. I’ve never been so happy that this was only a movie.
Since then, there have been a lot of wild sci-fi action movies adopting similar concepts and more spectacular storylines.
A movie like Men in Black released in 1997 come to mind where the alien is wearing the skin of the first man he encounters and The Faculty also released in 1998 where a school is being taken over by parasitic alien water creatures.
Does it hold up? Yes and no. It’s very much a time capsule movie, giving the audience a heaping dose of 1987, with the clothes, the set design, and even the way people spoke in the 1980’s. And yes, when watching this film we have to remember that speech patterns change just a little in each decade.
Usually I don't like the idea of remakes, because usually they go darker than the original concepts. You can see this in remakes like Battlestar Galactica, Teen Wolf and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. I think this would be a great candidate for a remake as a series with modern technology because it’s already dark and the origins of the aliens could be expanded upon in great detail. Imagine actually seeing how the evolution of these alien species split and why they need hosts. Prior to being on Earth, the pair of aliens were on another planet where they inhabited the Alterians, a nod to Forbidden Planet (1956). That is another set of events a series could dive deeper into. As well, it could explore in more detail the question that Jack Sholder wanted to set up in the film, “What does it mean to be human?”
Within the story are lots of wonderfully disturbing ideas. How many times have you read the news and read that a seemingly normal person with no criminal record has done something that just doesn’t have any rhyme or reason, so heinous and vile, that it baffles the mind. That is what makes this so creepy.
It’s a bombastic action thriller big on physical indulgence, loud music, sexy cars and hot girls with big guns.
My Rating:
8.8
That sums up my review. I hope you liked it. If you did, I’ve got over 100 of these videos, so go on and browse the channel to see more reviews from me like this. Subscribe if you haven’t done so already and hit the bell icon to be the first to be notified of my next video. This is Retro Nerd Girl signing off!
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