Plot: What’s it about?
The Hidden is one of those movies that, I’m sure, has it’s audience. In fact, I’m definately sure it does seeing as how New Line would take the time to make a Special Edition out of a movie like this. Now when I say “a movie like this” don’t take that the wrong way. Like I said, I’m sure that this movie has it’s audience, it’s just not me. The long and short of it is that it’s a low budget sci-fi/horror movie that doesn’t know if it wants to be Alien or Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Both of the previous movies are, of course, legends in their own time. Where The Hidden falls short is that it’s just not that original. Aliens from another planet have come down to earth, we don’t know how are are just expected to believe that they’re just “there”; and have possessed certain humans. When possessed these people just kind of go crazy, they run people over and seem to only want to steal Ferrari’s (what do aliens have against a Ford). They have no real goal, other than to cause damage and kill other people. Some people like this sort of movie, I don’t. A bit of relief comes when a very young Kyle McClaughlin’s character is assigned to help find these possessed people and kill them. He, of course has a run in with the local tough-guy cop, but the two end up as pals in the long run. This may seem like a movie that you would see of USA at 5 in the morning, and you would probably be right, but (and I’ll say this for the last time…this movie has it’s audience). This movie is what we like to call a “cult classic”. I’m sure that there are fans of this that couldn’t stand movies like ‘Strange Brew’ or ‘Office Space’ two of my favorite “cult classic” movies. If you’re a fan of the movie, there’s nothing really new from the previous LD. There’s a nice new transfer and a remixed soundtrack. Enjoy!
Video: How does it look?
By looking at the picture, you can immediately tell that this movie was from the 80’s. I placed it around 85-88 and was pretty happy when I found out it was a 1987 release. Still, this looks good for a non-major-studio release of the 80’s. The 1.85:1 anamorphic image looks a lot better than previous versions, and fans of the movie should be more than happy.
Audio: How does it sound?
A Dolby Digital 5.1 remixed soundtrack is used an it suprised me at how good it sounded. There are very few films that sound this good that came from a mono track, but this is one of them. Some explosions sound a bit brittle, if that’s a good word, but overall it’s a good mix.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This, like In the Mouth of Madness, is a rehash of the LD release from a few years back, but the advent of 16:9 enhanement may give your a reason to buy this cult classic again. An audio commentary is full of information and the director’s hatred for a few actors in particular!
