MartinHafer I am NOT a major fan of action films, so the fact that I liked "The Hidden" is unusual. The movie is jam-packed full of explosions, gun fire, deaths and mayhem. But it also works as an inventive sci-fi movie...one that pretty much went under the radar back in 1987 when it debuted.The film has an incredibly simple plot...when the film begins, a maniac is running amok in LA...killing and stealing as if there's no tomorrow. Soon, however, you realize this killer is NOT a typical killer...he's practically indestructible. And, when he's about to die, a disgusting alien pops out of his mouth and inhabits the next person...and begins the murder spree all over again!! However, an oddball who claims to be an FBI agent (Kyle McLaughlen) arrives to assist the lead detective on the case (Michael Nouri) and they are the Earth's best bet to stop this menace.Despite relying heavily on action and wholesale slaughter, the film is intelligently written and original. It's also an interesting time capsule of the late 1980s...in all its awfulness and excess. Well worth your time.

kapelusznik18 ****SPOILERS*** Far out movie involving a thing from outer space causing havoc in the city of Las Angles by using the bodies of humans and in once case a cute and lovable dogie to do its dirty or deadly work. It's up to l.A Det. Thomas Beck, Michael Nouri, to get to the bottom of all this as well as catch the crazed killer who by the time he got on it had already killed some two dozen people. Getting FBI Agent Lloyd Gallagher,Kyle Maclachian, as a partner Beck soon realizes that the guy, who instead of dissolving an aka Seltzer tablet in water eats it whole, is some kind of weirdo as It soon becomes apparent that Gallagher isn't who he says he is and has something personal against the killer or killers that he's keeping from his partner.Much like the 1956 movie classic "The Invasion of the Body Snatchers" the film "The Hidden" has an hidden surprise for its audience that becomes very apparent as the what seems like indestructible killer starts to rejuvenate him or herself throughout the movie. It takes a while for Det. Beck to realize that his partner FBI Agent Gallaher is on to something far more dangerous then anything that he had to face in his 13 years on the LAPD. That becomes very apparent towards the end of the movie when Det. Beck teams up with him, against LAPD regulation's, against this slimy creature before he or it destroys the entire city and everyone in it.***SPOILERS**** After some dozen reincarnations from man to woman and to animal the slimy looking things takes over the body of US Senator Holt, John McCann, who's planning to run, on the "Save the Whales Lobsters & Squids ticket", for president of the United States. With his partner Det. Beck shot and on life support during all the action in the movie FBI Agent Gallagher makes it to the news conference where Sen. Holt is to make his long awaited announcement and engages him-who pulls out a gum and peppers the audience with bullets-in a fire fight roasting Sen. Holt alive with a US Army issue. With he smoke cleared and in a last act of self sacrifice Gallagher saves Det. Becks life by giving up his own so he, with his job now done, can go back home in spirit if not body from wherever he originally came from.

TheMarwood Not even five minutes pass before a man in a wheelchair is run over for laughs and the next hour or so becomes an unhinged series of violent comedic escapades. An odd FBI agent played by Kyle MacLachlan teams up with a detective played with cheesy earnestness by Michael Nouri, who are after an alien who takes over the human bodies he invades - and goes on murder, theft and mayhem causing rampages. This is a B movie and proud of it and the sight of a scantily clad alien controlled stripper who's heavily armed and a geezer with a boom box who's out of control, are a few highlights in this absurd film. Jack Sholder directs with energy to spare and it's a shame his big screen career sputtered out after his '89 film Renegades and spent the next two decades directing TV movies - before briefly resurfacing in studio filmmaking by directing some of the reshoots for the doomed big budget fiasco Supernova.

LeonLouisRicci Ignored, Dismissed, even at Times Ridiculed and at the NY Times Panned (Canby). The Movie has Steadily Gained a Reputation as one of the Best B-Movie, Sci-fi, Action, Black Comedy Combinations Ever.It is one of those "All the stars in alignment" kind of Thing that is Spontaneous and just Emerges as a Fully Formed "Lightning Strike" that cannot be Predicted or Contrived. Anyone "Hip and Cool" that saw the Film Immediately knew that this was Something Special.Everything comes Together with such Ease and Charm that the Process Looks Effortless. Nothing is Pretentious or Over the Top, it just Reaches for the Top and Peaks at the Summit of Delightful Entertainment. it Satisfies with just the Right Ingredients, Never Adding too Much or too Little. Just the Required Measure.The Film has a Dry Wit and is quite Funny at Times with Throwaway Lines and Laugh Out Loud Monologues. The Shoot em Up Violence is Visceral and the Alien is Horrific both its Appearance and Attitude. The Good Alien is Determined, draws Sympathy, and is Almost Aloof but Never Waivers. Its Humility is Directly Opposite of the Bad Alien's Hubris.The Casting is Spot On from Kyle Mclaughlin to Michael Nouri and the Supporting Cast is also Worthy of Mention. The Ending is Inspired and Touching after such a Brutal and Confrontational Film and is just One More Reason why this One Rises Above Many Others as a B-Movie Classic.