The Hidden

The 1980s was a surprisingly good decade for low-budget, high-concept films that merged and mixed genres. The Hidden, a 1987 mix of body-snatcher sci-fi, crime thriller, and offbeat buddy cop drama, is one of the better films to come out of this cinematic culture. Kyle MacLachlan is a touch odd and socially out of step as Seattle FBI agent Lloyd Gallagher, who teams up with Los Angeles homicide cop Tom Beck (Michael Nouri) to stop a sociopathic thief and impulse killer who has a thing for fast cars and hard rock. When their suspect dies (it takes a high-speed wreck and dozens of gunshots just to knock him down), the spree is taken up by another guy with no previous criminal record. And then another. It turns out that both the criminal and the strange, obsessive agent are actually aliens inhabiting human bodies. MacLachlan has some comic moments but also exudes compassion and emotional pain under his well-played awkwardness, while a series of actors (including Chris Mulkey, Claudia Christian, Ed O'Ross, and even a dog) deliver a terrific collective performance as the id-driven villain through shared body language. Director Jack Sholder brings action punch to the careening car chases and escalating gunfights, and there is warmth in Nouri's family scenes and MacLachlan's concern for and connection with his human partner. Extras include audio commentary by Sholder, and a short reel of special effects test footage with commentary by Sholder. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)