the hidden

You'd be hard pressed to find a more exciting opening scene in any movie from the '80s than The Hidden (1987). And, yes, that includes The Terminator, a film which was quite obviously the inspiration for director Jack Sholder's sci-fi / action hybrid about two aliens hunting each other amidst the teased hair, synthesized tunes and neon-soaked landscape of Los Angeles. From the creepy security camera footage under the opening credits to the ultraviolent car chase that follows, this is a film fueled by burnt rubber and latex monsters, a combination never executed so successfully before... or after!

Kyle MacLachlan stars as FBI agent Lloyd Gallagher (three years before taking on the same job description in Twin Peaks) who recruits reluctant L.A. cop Tom Beck (Michael Nouri) to help him put a stop to a deadly crime spree that kicks off the film. But Beck suspects Gallagher knows more than he lets on, particularly when a new suspect seems to pop up every time they take the old one down.

Turns out the culprit is actually a body-swapping space worm with a taste for fast food and Ferraris who can hop into a new host at will, squeezing down the victim's throat in one of the film's signature icky scenes. As Gallagher and Beck try to keep pace, the alien runs rampant through the city, mowing down pedestrians and leaving behind a trail of used bodies as it attempts to "trade up" to a more suitable host.

Written under a pseudonym by Jim Kouf (Stakeout, Rush Hour and creator of TV's Grimm), the screenplay manages to cram one big-budget action scene after another into a low-budget package, side-stepping the need for expensive special effects by covering its aliens in human disguises. The amusing back and forth between Gallagher and Beck is as good or better than anything in '80s buddy cop genre; but MacLachlan takes things up a notch as a space cop uncomfortable in his new skin. It's a performance full of endearingly quirky mannerisms and a tragic back-story that would feel right at home in the David Lynch universe.

But it's the film's commitment to non-stop destruction, directed with peak-career panache by Jack Sholder, that makes the biggest impression. From well-choreographed car chases to a full-on police station massacre, The Hidden takes things right to the edge of bad taste...and maybe beyond considering our country's current wave of mass shootings. Despite it's sci-fi roots, the film comes uncomfortably close to reality now and then. But from a perspective of pure escapism, one can't help but marvel at the film's pulp sensibility and narrative ingenuity.

Finally released on Blu-ray from Warner Archive, the movie has never looked better outside of a theater. Extras include an entertainingly candid commentary track from director Jack Sholder and Tim Hunter along with some additional special effects production footage and the original theatrical trailer.