"The Hidden" is an irrepressible, high-spirited genre flick full of screeching car chases, sprays of bullets and shattering glass that leaves more than a few casualties in its wake. It has a lot of fun with the body-switching premise and maintains a strong sense of humor throughout. Kyle MacLachlan's performance as the unearthly FBI agent offers another great reason to watch. Body switching sci-fi/horror fun from director Jack (Nightmare On Elm Street 2) Sholder, this can't quite keep up the breakneck pace or promise of the first half throughout but it manages to throw out an entertaining story that's loaded with a pleasing amount of action, some alright effects, and solid acting from its two leads Michael Nouri and Kyle MacLachlan. Scripter Jim Kouf (using the name Bob Hunt on the credits) even throws in a few jabs at 80's excess - like having a car salesman giving a potential customer cocaine when they're signing the papers and the Alien villain steals a huge stereo and plays some punk music.Jack Sholder's direction is extremely good, not just in the excellent action scenes but in small character touches that add a lot and elevate it above the straight-to-video fodder of the day - it's a real movie movie, so much so that it's surprising he never broke into the mainstream. There's nothing much to say about it because it's just so much fun. If you like horror, action, or sci-fi, then you really should see this film. It has all of those elements, wrapped up in a simple plot with simple special effects and simplistic performances from its actors.Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

Apparently impressed with movies like ALIEN and THE TERMINATOR, the producers of THE HIDDEN hit upon the novel notion of having an alien parasite turn ordinary humans into unstoppable killing machines. (I'm not going to go into my usual screed about ALIEN's origins, nor those of THE TERMINATOR; suffice it to say that BOTH "borrowed liberally" from movies that had come before.) One of the more interesting aspects (so to speak) of the Critter in THE HIDDEN is that it gets in touch with its Feminine Side, giving cache to the term "transgender." (It helps a great deal that it TRANSforms into Claudia Christian...) Kyle McLachlan is good as the Starman in pursuit of The Hidden One, and the movie overall is light but Entertaining.

Here was something fresh and original for it's time, which starred a few actors you saw a lot around this 87-90 phase. We have an alien parasite slipping into innocent folk's mouths, turning them into killing machines, with two cops, (Nouri) one of those cool lone types, we all love, and his new assigned partner, one mysterious and intriguing cookie, played beautifully by Kyle Maclachlan. The result is one exciting action fare, a slick thriller that has you from page one, especially the first half hour which is so much fun. Nouri, an underrated actor, and Maclachlan, work wonderfully off each other, where again Maclachlan must be praised. It's fun too watching the alien bug enter a new body, claiming it, where just the low scenario and our cops, makes this film, which does show a bit of style, and would make a lot of other filmmakers, out there, envious. With a reputation as being a cult pic, The Hidden is a hidden gem from 88, which is well worth the view, especially for science fiction horror fans.

Hugely enjoyable film predating MIB by 10 years and with a similar theme.However this film is deeper - 'The Hidden' at one level is just a body hoping alien but at another the alien possession is symbolic of our continuing lust for more and better things - plus the urge to do just as we want when we want that probably resides in most of us.Of course we do our best to keep these urges 'hidden' away but like the alien they sometimes claw their way to the surface.Perhaps a slight weak point is when we discover that the alien is an Altairan (like something out of a 50's SciFi film). In this respect - with reference to what 'The Hidden' really represents - sometimes it's better not to know!