The Hidden

A fast-paced, blackly comic sci-fi thriller about a power-hungry alien organism which invades the bodies of law-abiding citizens and transforms them into deranged criminals with a penchant for fast cars, blasting rock music, and violent anti-social behaviour. When a respectable businessman robs a bank, guns down the security guards, and crashes into a road block, LA cop Nouri thinks it's all over. But at the hospital, the inciting organism slips into a neighbouring patient, who then continues the previous host's crime spree. Forced to team up with FBI cop MacLachlan, Nouri's frustration is exacerbated by his new partner's quirky behaviour and air of debauched stillness. Created by ace SFX man Kevin Yagher, the organism is a classic (mostly kept hidden); the developing relationship between the two cops is nicely handled; and there's a neat twist concerning the origins of MacLachlan's vendetta against the organism. Powered by a driving rock score, this is by turns sleek, reckless, and smoothly effective, like a Ferrari with a psycho killer at the wheel.