The Hidden II (1993) User Reviews

Watch the first film again.

[mod_boy · 2/10 · 6 November 2003]

The first ten minutes of this film are great ... but most people who are watching this sequel will quickly notice that it's just footage from the first film which starred Kyle MacLachlan.

Kyle's character, a good alien, kills off one of the bad aliens but not before it spawns. Time passes and another good alien teams up with the daughter of the star from the first flic.

What results is a film with little intrigue and no new concepts. They could have provided more insights into the alien races or maybe showcased some cooler alien powers or forms. The anticlamatic ending will leave many wondering why?

2/10 -- no Kyle, no story, no suspense

Crap on top of Crap.

[Logic404 · 3/10 · 14 May 2006]

Why? The first film I gave an 8 but this movie is just appalling. Using footage from the original - stupid. It just shows how bad the rest of the film is. Acting goes from completely dismal to barely OK. The effects (while there is more than the first) are mostly cheesy and crappy.

This film is one of the worst sequels I've ever seen. Nothing new, nothing unique, nothing is what it all amounts to. Watch the first one or most sci-fi in general before this pile.

I gave it a 2 because there was some merit in certain scenes (even though I'd be hard pressed to point them out).

I try to be open minded and forgiving when I review but this movie forced me to be negative. Avoid.

Don't look for it...

[Coventry · 2/10 · 20 February 2005]

This is another example of a lousy and uninspired 90's sequel that totally ruins the unscrupulous premise of a great 80's classic. "The Hidden" is one of the most entertaining SF thrillers I ever saw while this part two is just...crap! The high action and suspense level of the first has entirely vanished and all we get in return is annoyance and boredom. The film opens with footage of the original, added with a simplistic and repetitive excuse to make the extraterrestrial danger start again. Repetitive, because it's a dog that serves as a temporary host for the alien parasite and that trick already featured in the original. Supposedly fifteen years have gone by since then and the initial hero's daughter now teams up with an outer space nerd who's searching for naughty aliens here on earth. The main problem with this flick is that it takes itself far too serious! No slick black humor or cool gimmicks this time, while the cast wrongfully believes they're part of something fundamental or something. It's almost embarrassing to witness how hard they attempt to make a sequence in which the alien discovers the art of a toothbrush convincing. The Hidden II is a pathetic film that never should have been made. Do yourself a favor and watch the original twice in a row, instead.

Hidden in the dark

[bigar-4 · 1/10 · 9 August 2000]

This movie starts out fine because the first 10 minutes just replays the final of the original movie. But then all of a sudden the acting becomes really bad, so this must be the movie proper. Just to really let you know that this is going to be a very different movie they kill off everyone who survived the original in the next ten minutes. Then they don't know where to take the viewer and decide to just have the actors read out the script without any acting involved. To make it more easy for them everything is set in dark surroundings, so you can't see there not acting involved

Please stay clear of this movie, because this is a real stinker..

Unmake this movie, oh Movie Gods!

[bwallace-2 · 1/10 · 15 May 2000]

This just may be the worst movie I've ever seen. Sequels usually don't live up to the original movies, but I sure didn't expect this. I can't think of enough words to describe it--awful, ghastly, horrible, hideous, monstrous. It has nothing to recommend it "The Hidden" was a stylish and intelligent thriller. Somebody should find a way to retro-abort this thing.

Respect your time and your life and avoid this turkey!

[filmbuff1974 · 1/10 · 27 May 2007]

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!

The Hidden II a sloppy sequel

[roy-nicholas33 · 1/10 · 6 November 2006]

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!!!!!

Tacky sequel

[Wizard-8 · 25 January 2014]

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.

Hide It Somewhere!

[AaronCapenBanner · 1/10 · 5 September 2013]

Sequel to the first film begins by repeating the climax from Part I(best footage in this movie!) before telling its own story about how, after the first aliens destruction, it left behind eggs in the unfortunate dog, which emerge 15 years later to wreck the same kind of havoc as the first. Cop Tom Beck from the first(who is really the good cop alien, after events in Part I), has a now grown daughter, also a cop, so she teams with the good alien cop to stop this new menace.

Something like that, since none of the cast from the first return here, and who can blame them? Perfectly awful film is badly directed and written, not to mention dreary and pointless, and accomplishes nothing more than trashing the memory of the original.

Only saw it because it was released on a double-feature DVD with the first.

Watch an alien procrastinate for an hour and a half.

[unakaczynski · 4/10 · 25 April 2006]

The Hidden II, Science Fiction Horror

The 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: 3/10

Cheesiness: 6/10 , Crappiness: 5/10

Overall: 4/10

Well, 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

Needless sequel is just a low-budget rehash

[gridoon2024 · 4/10 · 7 May 2021]

"Hidden II" gets off on the wrong foot by beginning with a 15-minute (!) recap of the ending of the first film, and never really finds it footing after that. This time the evil alien organism can survive and move around even without a host, and in human form it is outfitted with Freddy Krueger-type one-liners (not good ones, though). The film is so visually murky that it's often a struggle to see who is even in a scene, never mind what they are doing. Kate Hodge's beauty (she's underrated) and a few slimy special effects are its only assets. *1/2 out of 4.

This is a good, involving, scary sequel... I give it two thumbs up.

[movie-fan1 · 9/10 · 13 December 2002]

This is a very involving sequel, and was much better than I was expecting. It's a scary rollercoaster ride with involving characters, and an inventive plot. The acting was good. The characters and situations were quirky, scary, and surprising in its twists and turns. I generally don't like sequels, but this one was the exception to the rule... I give it two thumbs up.

A hidden film in more obscurity of story

[videorama-759-859391 · 6/10 · 1 August 2022]

HIDDEN 2 does have it fair share of problems. It takes straight on from what we left off, so we got 'pulls no punches action', but then we got two many levels of story, really trying to work the whole thing. Although it really does have a good and much more complex story, we get muddled in it's complexity. To simplify it, we have a really good looking guy, inside good alien, who was once in Nouri's body, but had aged Nouri, and drained him of former energy from Maclachlan's character. In this fresh trashy chapter, we have a few little alien slugs about. Good looking guy, a lead who has great presence, is the only one who can stop it, and teams up with Nouri's daughter, (Hodge) to kick some alien arse. Yes, there's a lot of noisy action, and some comic scenes, reminiscent of the original, this time involving an alien filled bum. Of course, not matching the exciting original, this is a darker film, with a lot of night scenes, and our alien human falls in love too. Worth a lot, despite many angry watches out there.

A Unusual Sequel that no one asked for

[DavidB0325 · 4/10 · 20 January 2021]

I am a huge fan of the original The Hidden (1987) it's a gem of a 80s film and it ended things nicely with a possibility of a sequel in a way. 5 Years later we have one and well there no denying its lazy, silly, dumb and changes the lore and rules of the original. So much it can make it questionable but I do think theirs. Fun to be have for the film There some querky humor you have a giggle at and its one those. So bad its good moments in film. But there is good things in the film one is Raphael Sbarge you can tell he tried his best to what he has to working with for the fans and honestly think his performance is actually good and very likeable and is the music is good also there few cool moments in the film. But overall good performance by Raphael Sbarge but definitely not a worthy sequel.

Bad.

[bombersflyup · 2/10 · 15 March 2021]

The Hidden II is unimaginative and repetitive, not doing the original any justice.

It literally starts replaying the end of the first film and then uses a dog again to repeat the process. The cast quality diminishing significantly, with odd romance. There's no suspense and it's void of fun, has the mood of "Alien3," the music however is suffice.

Awful is too good a description.

[onhardy-835-888852 · 1/10 · 13 July 2016]

Without a doubt this is the absolutely worst movie I have ever sat thru. Why they had to make a sequel to The Hidden I will never know. the only thing I can say good about this movie, is that it gave the actors an income for a short time. The jacket calls it "a sci-fi thriller bursting with mind-blowing special effects", I'm pretty sure whoever wrote that, never saw the movie. If you have a hour and a half to use, watch the first movie again, you wont be as disappointed as you will be if you watch this one. The best part of The Hidden II, is the first 15 minutes of the film, which is the last 15 minutes of the first movie without the good soundtrack the first one had.

The sequel better than the original film and has more special-effects.

[Vivekmaru45 · 10/10 · 20 April 2011]

It seems obvious these reviewers are biased and haven't seen the film before they dare to criticize it.

The story continues from The Hidden 1987 film.

The alien criminal from the first movie is dead, but he left a few eggs which are hatching now. The good alien (Lloyd Gallagher), who still inhabits Tom Beck's Michael Welden body, has been waiting just in case this happened. Unfortunately, his presence in the body has taken a terrible toll on it, draining it of life energy. Additionally relations with Beck's daughter Juliet (Kate Hodge) (now a cop) have deteriorated (possibly due to his bizarre behavior caused by the alien inhabiting inside his father). But when the killing starts again, they will need to work together to stop the new generation of aliens.

Seth Pinsker directs this film competently. The actors do their jobs well. The script which is also written by both Jim Kouf and Seth Pinsker is well done. The background music score is also good.

All in all: a worth addition and excellent sequel. Buy both The Hidden and The Hidden 2 for your collection.

OK sequel if you are a fan of The Hidden

[steve-696-199676 · 6/10 · 3 February 2024]

Despite its flaws, if you like The Hidden then you must watch The Hidden II, if you expect it to be terrible (as most of the reviews say) then you will enjoy it, not love it.

Sure the first 10 minutes I skipped, having recently watched The Hidden, its the exact same footage, not even a directors cut with some differing shots thrown in. This part is really really lazy cinematography, and I can understand some people slating the film for this. I suggest skipping forwards until you see a dog, skip back a little and forget that the first 10 minutes existed.

You're left with just over an hour of sequel, on balance I'd say watching this adds to the total story of The Hidden, and its therefore a worthwhile watch.

If you did not like the original for sure skip this film, go in with low expectation and you will like it.

A dark and scary sequel that exceeded all expectations.

[sethp818 · 10/10 · 27 August 2001]

This is a scary sequel that exceeded all my expectations. It's a scary romp. The acting is good, as are the special effects. The story is unusual and the frights are balanced out by some good tongue in cheek humor.