Review of The Hidden (1987) by Edith N — 30 Jun 2010

A Twist Ending So Predictable You Wonder Why the Characters Didn't See It.

Oh, it's not a bad movie. Parts of it don't, in so many words, make a whole lot of sense, and it certainly never quite works up to being as suspenseful as it thinks it is. Certainly it isn't the high point of Kyle MacLachlan's career--it's his first non-David Lynch movie!--but Lord knows it isn't the low point, either. I think, however, that it is destined to be one of those movies that his fans, or those of Claudia Christian, share amongst themselves in a delight of knowing something others don't about their idol's career. Still, I don't know about you, but I've watched much worse things in the name of fandom. This one seems kind of like one of those movies my mother would be renting about this time of year to watch when it's simply too hot to think. There's a little more action than you would normally get with those, but it still works.

The previously unexceptional Jack DeVries (Chris Mulkey) has gone on a crime spree, involving lots of killing and bank robbing and so forth. LA detective Tom Beck (Michael Nouri) is put on the case, which is made easy by the fact that DeVries is fatally wounded in his latest bank robbery and is slowly dying in a hospital. Only FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper--er, Lloyd Gallagher (MacLachlan)--shows up and claims that DeVries has a partner, and that the men killed Gallagher's family and partner. More crimes are committed; more bodies are discovered. We know, though Beck doesn't, that DeVries, and then Jonathan Miller (William Boyett), and then Brenda Lee Van Buren (Christian), are possessed by an Alien Entity. That, combined with the fact that there's something Not Quite Right about Gallagher, leads the audience to one inevitable conclusion, but the characters in the movie go blithely along, unable to process exactly how weird events are.

Oh, I'm not saying you should automatically leap to the assumption of "alien body-snatchers." That, of course, would be silly. But really, it takes Beck a lot longer than it ought to for him to decide that there's more to this than a simple crime spree. He sees the wounds, you see, and that alone is suspicious to anyone with the intelligence of a gopher. However, there are certain conventions we must follow. It goes without saying, for example, that Our Heroes will have Plot Armour until and unless there's a good dramatic reason for it. Extras will be plowed down in their dozens, but Beck, Gallagher, and Beck's family are safe. I suppose the appearance of scantily-clad women is pretty well inevitable, too, though the red dress Brenda wears at one point is a little extreme even for this kind of movie. (Few strippers dress like that offstage.) I mean, we're not exactly talking High Art, here. There are certain details to the genre, and we have to go through all of them sooner or later.

I will say, though, that MacLachlan is wonderfully cast. Especially when he was young, there was something vaguely otherworldly about him. He nails the performance, too. He's almost out of phase with everyone around him. It kind of goes beyond out of touch and certainly beyond out of step. It's the reason he worked so well with Lynch, I think. Netflix describes his character as a "mysterious FBI agent," a description we can all recognize. His ways are not our ways, and he knows strange and mysterious tricks of bringing this particular evildoer to justice. There is also, interestingly enough, a Wise Little Girl, Juliet Beck (Kristen Clayton), who is able to see what's really going on. MacLachlan is able to regard the girl with a wary respect which seems realistic, a relief given how dreadfully a lot of actors perform with children. Her performance isn't great when she talks, but it's not bad when she's silent.

The movie seemed almost to be setting itself up for a sequel, given the events of the last few minutes, but its dismal box office--under ten million dollars--doomed it. Doubtless we could play the game of "worse movies which came out in 1987 but grossed many times what this did," but I don't really see the point. The fact is, this movie seemed pretty well destined for obscurity. Movies like it come and go, and they have pretty much since the invention of linear story-telling through film. Sometimes, they become hits and spark sequels, and sometimes, they just sort of fade. Mostly, they just sort of fade. The only reason I watched this one was that Netflix brought it to my attention--I think because I liked [i]Brother From Another Planet[/i]--and it has Kyle MacLachlan in it. That's another thing movies like this are good for--being obscure movies starring people you come to know and like from other, better things.