The Hidden II (1993)

Powerful

How sad is this?

Good movie but grossly overrated

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

I'm often very forgiving of shortcomings in made for video movies, but the shortcomings in "The Hidden 2" are so numerous and bad that even I couldn't build any enthusiasm for it. It's a really cheap production, for one thing; it's shot with numerous close-ups, and with technical goofs like the reflections of boom mikes and cameramen clearly visible. The cheapness is really evident with the depiction of the evil alien (which looks nothing like how it did in the original movie for some reason.) There is very little alien mayhem both with the alien in human bodies and the alien outside of human bodies. This may explain why the tone of the movie is totally wrong. There's no feeling of tension; the tone is constantly flat and bored. It's no wonder why New Line paired this sequel on the same DVD as the original movie, since I don't think there's anyone who would buy this sequel as a standalone disc.

I really don't know where to begin. I saw The Hidden in the movie theater when it was released in 1987 and loved it. I was in the public library and saw it on DVD with The Hidden II as a second feature so I went and borrowed it. I loved seeing The Hidden again and was pleasantly surprised it actually got better with age! The Hidden is really an amazing film.Then it was time to watch The Hidden II. I sensed there was going to be a problem when fifteen minutes of the original was edited into the opening of this feature. I just knew it but held my breath anyway and hoped it would get better. It didn't. The Hidden II is a paint-by-the-numbers quickie probably made to create some quick cash revenue before anyone got word of how bad this film was. New Line Cinema should be ashamed of them selves. There is no one in the executive positions at New Line Cinema who saw this could not not know that this was an inferior product and yet they released this excrement on loyal fans of the original The Hidden anyway. Shame on New Line Cinema.Do yourself a favor and forget this was made. Enjoy the original and pretend this turkey was never made. Trust me you are not missing anything!

I commented on how the Hidden was a fantastic movie for the B-genre and i waited in anticipation to see the next instalment as i found an original video from ebay. How disappointed was i? Not one sport car,not much goo or gore a crap story and a S**t ending. As you can see from my other reviews i love the B movies of the 80's and early 90's and where most people call a movie bad,for me and people who truly respect the Horror movies of our era would shout from the rooftops to close your mind and watch as these movies give birth to the future of Horror or of the classic horror movies we have today! However i have to agree that compared to its predecessor this is total pants. I waisted about £4.50 on this and i am so ashamed to have it as part of my collection! I made amends though by shouting hail Marys and bought the full collection of Hellraiser in the original format box and tape! Sorry but avoid!!!!!

The Hidden II, Science Fiction HorrorThe Hidden 2 picks up right where the first left off--and quickly disintegrates into a much worse movie. This film follows a "chunk" of the original bad-ass alien as it infests a dog, then spawns several other tiny evil alien, um, larva. Well, eventually, someone is infested again and the reign of violence almost starts again. I say almost because the alien spends most of his time screwing around accomplishing nothing. Much like the heroes--who are completely forgettable while they forge an awkward love affair and make repeatedly poor decisions hunting the "evil" aliens.Here's the breakdown:The Good:--Well, more shots of the alien and gore than the first film.--Slightly better atmosphere than Hidden 1.Didn't Hurt It, Didn't Help:--The acting is nothing special, but it doesn't hurt the film too badly.--Passable music and cinematography.--Extensive yammering which attempts to explain every little detail about the aliens.The Bad:--Very little chemistry between our heroes.--Main hero guy is pretty nerdy.--Sure, the alien is shown more, but for f*ck sakes! The special effects should have improved in quality! They still feel like they're mid-80's puppets, here. We have a six-legged alien "thing" that we get to see moving around and what does it look like? A shaved, partially mutilated dead rat in rigor mortis. The legs barely move!--Insipid love story.--Clumsey, infantile hero.--The evil alien spends very little time doing anything. Mostly walking around talking like an idiot.The Ugly:--Several story problems--for one: There are several evil alien larva sitting unprotected which are just not killed--they're deliberately ignored or the search for them is just done immensely poorly. This alien good guy travelled all through space to do a half-assed job, did he? Well, that's what he's doing. It'll take literally a minute or two to kill the remaining sleeping larva after he kills just one. So what does he do? "I'm tired, let's go," basically. And he leaves! Three times he does this! This is the most procrastinating alien I've ever seen!--Most of the "we're lovers now" dialog.--At least 2 sex scenes with zero nudity. An R-rated horror film with sex and no nudity? What the hell?Memorable Scene:--Seeing the credits start.Acting: 5/10 , Story: 6/10 , Atmosphere: 7/10 , Cinematography: 5/10 , Character Development: 4/10 , Special Effects/Make-up: 6/10 , Nudity/Sexuality: 1/10 , Violence/Gore: 6/10 (less violence, more gore than the first film) , Sets/Backgrounds: 4/10 , Dialogue: 5/10 , Music: 6/10 , Writing: 3/10 , Direction: 3/10Cheesiness: 6/10 , Crappiness: 5/10Overall: 4/10Well, there you have it. The first Hidden is a pretty good film, just light on the gore and a pretty weak overall atmosphere. This one, however, is weak in everything except atmosphere and gore--and those are only slightly better. If you can get the first movie alone, go for it. Classic 80's science fiction horror--with a touch of cop drama. The second is forgettable--best to just avoid this one.www.ResidentHazard.com