In this episode of Good Bad Flicks I discuss the sci-fi horror film The Hidden. A great look into the consumer wasteland of the 80s, the film mixes gore and humor in this action fest.
Great flick and I totally agree it does an excellent job preserving the 1980’s. Doing lines and buying a Ferrari, even the movie “Blow” can’t reach that level of excess. Do you think this film was conscious of or was making a point of where the country was in 1986/87 or was it simply caught up in it let the rest of everyone else?
According to the director they were reveling in the excess of the 80s. The alien was able to blend in so well because the 80s was all about over the top.
That’s cool, I wasn’t really aware of life until maybe 1989 and while the 90’s had excess, it always seem to come with an apology. It’s very interesting to watch the mid 80’s, the values of the 70’s were pretty much gone (sans a Grateful Dead concert) and the 90’s were yet to be determined.
The “take take take” attitude is just so different than the “give give and maybe take a little” attitude that society wants today, it almost seems like 80’s took place on a completely different planet. Some modern movie try and take the 80’s value and incorporate them into a modern setting but the cast of character are always unlikeable douche bags or just privileged rich kids. The Hidden so effortlessly gets away with it because the cast of character are doing what everyone else was doing or at least what everyone else was trying to do.
I’m glad that I grew up in the 80’s. It was a great time to be a kid. I agree that recent attempts to capture the 80’s are sad. I actually feel bad for kids today, because society has removed fun from everything it seems. I don’t think that the 80’s can be captured in a modern film, I think the 80’s can only be captured in movies from that era.
Agreed. Instead of trying to make a film in the style of the 80s, they have a tendency to overdo it or make to many winks towards the audience. “Look at my cell phone, its huge but I’m talking on a phone!” etc, etc.
I loved that film and still think it’s better than most of what I get to see nowadays. It’s been a long time since I last saw, I always thought at the end Gallagher transferred into Beck’s body, like a “good” parasite, because Beck was dead, he couldn’t have healed him but “replace” him. He had lost his own family tragically, saved earth and other potential worlds by destroying the parasite, so the hunt was over, and he’s at a dead end. What better reason to go on than to spare the girl and mother the same tragedy and have a second chance to have a family himself, one he had already grown fond of, and observed their closeness. Possibly he couldn’t return to his home world either (and if, only to the memories of his murdered family). Of course there is no substitute for his loss, and he would be living a lie, but this was a golden opportunity I gathered he took not only out of selfish motivation.
BTW glad to have found your link on a comment at Spill 🙂
As with a lot of great movies, the ending is open for interpretation. I love a movie that actually makes you think. These are the ones that are discussed long after they are over and tend to live on because of it.
Someone linked me in a comment at Spill? Cool! Was it for this movie?
Chris Mulkey shall always be to me Hawk from the Wing Commander games. Him and Dallas were my favourites in Prophecy (which I played before IV), so of course they both had storyline deaths. Bummer.
follow:
Philly in the house!
Hell yeah! Pat’s steaks win!
Great flick and I totally agree it does an excellent job preserving the 1980’s. Doing lines and buying a Ferrari, even the movie “Blow” can’t reach that level of excess. Do you think this film was conscious of or was making a point of where the country was in 1986/87 or was it simply caught up in it let the rest of everyone else?
According to the director they were reveling in the excess of the 80s. The alien was able to blend in so well because the 80s was all about over the top.
That’s cool, I wasn’t really aware of life until maybe 1989 and while the 90’s had excess, it always seem to come with an apology. It’s very interesting to watch the mid 80’s, the values of the 70’s were pretty much gone (sans a Grateful Dead concert) and the 90’s were yet to be determined.
The “take take take” attitude is just so different than the “give give and maybe take a little” attitude that society wants today, it almost seems like 80’s took place on a completely different planet. Some modern movie try and take the 80’s value and incorporate them into a modern setting but the cast of character are always unlikeable douche bags or just privileged rich kids. The Hidden so effortlessly gets away with it because the cast of character are doing what everyone else was doing or at least what everyone else was trying to do.
I’m glad that I grew up in the 80’s. It was a great time to be a kid. I agree that recent attempts to capture the 80’s are sad. I actually feel bad for kids today, because society has removed fun from everything it seems. I don’t think that the 80’s can be captured in a modern film, I think the 80’s can only be captured in movies from that era.
Agreed. Instead of trying to make a film in the style of the 80s, they have a tendency to overdo it or make to many winks towards the audience. “Look at my cell phone, its huge but I’m talking on a phone!” etc, etc.
I loved that film and still think it’s better than most of what I get to see nowadays. It’s been a long time since I last saw, I always thought at the end Gallagher transferred into Beck’s body, like a “good” parasite, because Beck was dead, he couldn’t have healed him but “replace” him. He had lost his own family tragically, saved earth and other potential worlds by destroying the parasite, so the hunt was over, and he’s at a dead end. What better reason to go on than to spare the girl and mother the same tragedy and have a second chance to have a family himself, one he had already grown fond of, and observed their closeness. Possibly he couldn’t return to his home world either (and if, only to the memories of his murdered family). Of course there is no substitute for his loss, and he would be living a lie, but this was a golden opportunity I gathered he took not only out of selfish motivation.
BTW glad to have found your link on a comment at Spill 🙂
As with a lot of great movies, the ending is open for interpretation. I love a movie that actually makes you think. These are the ones that are discussed long after they are over and tend to live on because of it.
Someone linked me in a comment at Spill? Cool! Was it for this movie?
God I loved the hell out of this movie. You just enjoy everybody’s character and whew Claudia Christian is my new fav crush.
Chris Mulkey shall always be to me Hawk from the Wing Commander games. Him and Dallas were my favourites in Prophecy (which I played before IV), so of course they both had storyline deaths. Bummer.
Bummer indeed. I was lucky enough to have the build up in the series so when I got to 3, I was blown away.