{"id":2600,"date":"2016-10-31T15:17:03","date_gmt":"2016-10-31T19:17:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bandsiusetalike.com\/biul\/?p=2600"},"modified":"2016-11-03T15:22:03","modified_gmt":"2016-11-03T19:22:03","slug":"the-hidden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bandsiusetalike.com\/biul\/the-hidden\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hidden<\/i>"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of my favorite movies of all time is\u00a0The Hidden,<\/em> from 1987.<\/p>\n

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This is the movie that got Kyle MacLachlan cast in Twin Peaks<\/em>. It was made by the same crew that did\u00a0Nightmare on Elm Street<\/em>. If, by some fluke, you’ve never experienced it, allow me to make a case for why it’s probably the greatest film ever made.<\/p>\n

Kyle MacLachlan is mysterious FBI agent Lloyd Gallagher. Michael Nouri is the L.A.P.D. detective stuck working with him, investigating a weird string of robberies and murders. You see, an extraterrestrial entity is taking over people’s bodies, and making them kill. This alien also enjoys heavy metal, Ferraris, and high-powered assault weapons.<\/p>\n

Yes, while the alien is controlling a human body, it kills for fun, boosts expensive sportscars, and head-bangs. It plays real-life GTA<\/em> until the host body is too shot up and damaged, at which point it has to corral another one. It can only be destroyed when it’s between bodies. When it is, your girlfriend will bolt from the room. It’s fucking terrifying.<\/p>\n

The opening sequence is a marvel. First we see security camera footage of a violent bank robbery. Once your eyes have adjusted to the grainy video, the robber smiles and shoots the camera. The shock cut to outside is disturbingly vivid in its sudden clarity. And oh, what a sweeping crane shot as the robber speeds off in a black Ferrari, cuing a percolating herd of extras to flag down police.<\/p>\n

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The musical score is\u00a0totally excellent.\u00a0<\/em>Michael Convertino knocks himself out on the instrumentals, using warm synth gardens for the home scenes, and harsh percussive stabs for the action. It sounds like a one-up on Brad Fiedel’s work for\u00a0The Terminator<\/em>, from 1984. Classic scenes like the old man taping up his arm to hold in the alien, and the final conclusion in the hospital, wouldn’t have half the emotional and visceral impact without Convertino’s score.<\/p>\n

The soundtrack of songs is equally terrific; it was even available on I.R.S. Records, founded by Miles Copeland III, brother of Stewart. I myself was an I.R.S. fanatic, thanks to their series of\u00a0No Speak<\/em> LPs. These were albums spotlighting instrumental music, which I’ve always preferred to vocal. This was where Stewart Copeland’s\u00a0The Equalizer and Other Cliffhangers<\/em> appeared, as well as William Orbit and Wishbone Ash. For\u00a0The Hidden<\/em>, I.R.S. provided great glam-metal like Shok Paris, whose “On Your Feet” is played by the robber (on cassette!) as he makes his high-speed escape.<\/p>\n