Hidey-ho, party people and welcome to another WTFHM!
So, this week, the movie on the table is what I define as a “Oh...okay” kind of movie.
What does I mean by that? Well, one of the most wonderful things about seeing a movie without any previous context to go on is sometimes a pretty great thing happens. As someone who has seen almost every plot device under the sun, I can confidently say that actually completely getting me with a surprise ending is fairly difficult. With very few exceptions, I usually figure it out anywhere from the very beginning to midway through depending on the writing.
Hey! I’m not trying to toot my own horn here, really! It comes with having watched SO many movies and read SO many mysteries and suspense and horror. I mean...Shakespeare was right when he said there is nothing new under the sun.
All of that being said, this week’s movie managed to get me. A feat that I do not take lightly. Needless to say, this review contains a MAJOR spoiler alert. If you don’t want to know, don’t get mad at me for telling you. You’ve been warned.
So...
All of that being said, this week’s movie managed to get me. A feat that I do not take lightly. Needless to say, this review contains a MAJOR spoiler alert. If you don’t want to know, don’t get mad at me for telling you. You’ve been warned.
So...
The Hidden starring True Blood Boo, Alexander Skarsgard, Andrea Riseborough, and Emily Alyn Lind.
The story begins with little Zoe(Lind) waking up from a nightmare of the “Breathers” coming to get her. You see, little Zoe lives in an underground bunker with her mother Claire(Riseborough) and her father Ray(Skarsgard). Something pretty bad has happened that’s driven the family underground for a little less than a year’s time.
Now, Zoe, who has had this bad dream won’t go back to sleep. Claire takes her to see Ray, who’s guarding the entrance to the shelter. Ray reassures Zoe by telling her that they were safe and the lid to their shelter was chained and locked tight. He even lets her climb up to make sure the locks hold.
So, here is where we learn that the three of them live by four very important rules.
1. Never be loud
2. Never lose control
3. Never open the door
4. Never talk about “The Breathers”
Okay, so, Zoe’s reassured that the locks are tight and Ray goes about fixing her worn out shoes. When she asks why they just don’t go barefoot, he tells her because they’re not animals and she should always remember that...which is important for later.
So, they check off the days (day 301) and go through their normal routine. Claire and Zoe discuss what they’re having to eat (she says beans, Zoe says peaches, Ray says they vote, it’s a big old can of peaches). While Zoe tries to open the can, Ray works their homemade well to get water. Everything’s okay until…
Zoe discovers the can of peaches is empty. Ray and Claire look through their shelves and find that twelve cans have large holes in them from something gnawing through them. Claire deduces a rat, Zoe thinks it’s a monster, AND realizes there’s no frickin’ peaches. She panics.
Ray tells her that the rat probably got in through a vent, but it’s too small for a Breather, so there’s nothing to worry about. In the meantime, Ray and Claire have to find out where the rat is so that it doesn’t eat the remaining food.
Stay with me, now, we’re going somewhere with all this seemingly mundane stuff.
Okay, so, some more seemingly meaningless things happen. They eat the little bit of food they have, Zoe throws a fit and Ray whips out some patented child hypnosis to chill her out, Claire lets Zoe see what’s above them through a homemade periscope, more reassurance, et cetera and so forth. From all this, we also learn that Ray and Claire have made a pact. To protect Zoe at all costs.
So, with the first act all set up, we enter the beginning of their problems. They end up seeing the rat on the shelf where the food is. Ray goes after it, misses. Claire picks up the slack and kills it, but not before they’ve knocked over a bunch of stuff, including the lantern they keep on their nice wooden table...you see where I’m going with this.
And so they have a fire to deal with. Ray and Claire manage to put the fire out, but Zoe notices that all the fire has create a ton of smoke that goes right up through the vent the rat got into and to the surface. She starts to freak and Ray calms her by telling her the smoke will almost certainly be gone before any Breather sees it.
The story begins with little Zoe(Lind) waking up from a nightmare of the “Breathers” coming to get her. You see, little Zoe lives in an underground bunker with her mother Claire(Riseborough) and her father Ray(Skarsgard). Something pretty bad has happened that’s driven the family underground for a little less than a year’s time.
Now, Zoe, who has had this bad dream won’t go back to sleep. Claire takes her to see Ray, who’s guarding the entrance to the shelter. Ray reassures Zoe by telling her that they were safe and the lid to their shelter was chained and locked tight. He even lets her climb up to make sure the locks hold.
So, here is where we learn that the three of them live by four very important rules.
1. Never be loud
2. Never lose control
3. Never open the door
4. Never talk about “The Breathers”
Okay, so, Zoe’s reassured that the locks are tight and Ray goes about fixing her worn out shoes. When she asks why they just don’t go barefoot, he tells her because they’re not animals and she should always remember that...which is important for later.
So, they check off the days (day 301) and go through their normal routine. Claire and Zoe discuss what they’re having to eat (she says beans, Zoe says peaches, Ray says they vote, it’s a big old can of peaches). While Zoe tries to open the can, Ray works their homemade well to get water. Everything’s okay until…
Zoe discovers the can of peaches is empty. Ray and Claire look through their shelves and find that twelve cans have large holes in them from something gnawing through them. Claire deduces a rat, Zoe thinks it’s a monster, AND realizes there’s no frickin’ peaches. She panics.
Ray tells her that the rat probably got in through a vent, but it’s too small for a Breather, so there’s nothing to worry about. In the meantime, Ray and Claire have to find out where the rat is so that it doesn’t eat the remaining food.
Stay with me, now, we’re going somewhere with all this seemingly mundane stuff.
Okay, so, some more seemingly meaningless things happen. They eat the little bit of food they have, Zoe throws a fit and Ray whips out some patented child hypnosis to chill her out, Claire lets Zoe see what’s above them through a homemade periscope, more reassurance, et cetera and so forth. From all this, we also learn that Ray and Claire have made a pact. To protect Zoe at all costs.
So, with the first act all set up, we enter the beginning of their problems. They end up seeing the rat on the shelf where the food is. Ray goes after it, misses. Claire picks up the slack and kills it, but not before they’ve knocked over a bunch of stuff, including the lantern they keep on their nice wooden table...you see where I’m going with this.
And so they have a fire to deal with. Ray and Claire manage to put the fire out, but Zoe notices that all the fire has create a ton of smoke that goes right up through the vent the rat got into and to the surface. She starts to freak and Ray calms her by telling her the smoke will almost certainly be gone before any Breather sees it.
Only Claire realizes that where there is smoke, there is ash and ash rises and settles on things...surface things...that could be found and tracked back to them.
Ray and Claire make the executive decision to go above ground and get the ashes. They remind Zoe of Rule Number Three (Never open the door) and make their way outside.
Ray and Claire make the executive decision to go above ground and get the ashes. They remind Zoe of Rule Number Three (Never open the door) and make their way outside.
Left alone, Zoe panics and paces. She finally decides to look through the periscope and she sees something moving in the trees behind her parents. Zoe freaks out and opens the hatch to warn them and she does so by running and screaming through the night like:
She finds them and their fine. What Zoe saw was actually a pack of deer running...away from something.
Claire puts it together and they run back to the shelter and lock the door tight just as the “Breathers” come after them. Claire, Zoe, and Ray manage to maintain Rule Number one until Zoe drops her doll...which makes noise. This makes the “Breathers” start to break in. The three of them make a run for it and set a whole shelf on fire to block the door from their intruders.
Well, given that the breathers are still breaking through the barrier and everything is on fire, things look pretty bleak for the family. Then Zoe remembers the vent that the rat came through and they run to climb out that way. Mom gets through, Zoe gets through, but it’s too small for Ray.
Ray, realizing that he’s going to be trapped in the basement tells Claire to remember to protect Zoe and faces his doom. The Breathers break in and through the smoke, all we hear is screaming, bones breaking, so forth and so on.
Zoe flips the freak out, but her mother manages to get her to focus on the fact that the Breathers will be after them next and they run. They run until they make it to the road (that we see in an earlier flashback - I forgot to mention, there are a lot of flashbacks. Mostly of them trying to escape town before it was quarantined off because of a virus).
So, they make it to the road and a giant net is cast over them from a helicopter. Unable to get free, Claire and Zoe are trapped as the Breathers surround them…
Now...here’s where the cabin starts to lose pressure.
It’s revealed that the “Breathers” aren’t zombie undead monsters at all, but rather, they are military men with gas masks that kind of make their eyes glow and make a weird breathing noise. Hence the name "Breathers".
Confused? Wait, it gets better.
She finds them and their fine. What Zoe saw was actually a pack of deer running...away from something.
Claire puts it together and they run back to the shelter and lock the door tight just as the “Breathers” come after them. Claire, Zoe, and Ray manage to maintain Rule Number one until Zoe drops her doll...which makes noise. This makes the “Breathers” start to break in. The three of them make a run for it and set a whole shelf on fire to block the door from their intruders.
Well, given that the breathers are still breaking through the barrier and everything is on fire, things look pretty bleak for the family. Then Zoe remembers the vent that the rat came through and they run to climb out that way. Mom gets through, Zoe gets through, but it’s too small for Ray.
Ray, realizing that he’s going to be trapped in the basement tells Claire to remember to protect Zoe and faces his doom. The Breathers break in and through the smoke, all we hear is screaming, bones breaking, so forth and so on.
Zoe flips the freak out, but her mother manages to get her to focus on the fact that the Breathers will be after them next and they run. They run until they make it to the road (that we see in an earlier flashback - I forgot to mention, there are a lot of flashbacks. Mostly of them trying to escape town before it was quarantined off because of a virus).
So, they make it to the road and a giant net is cast over them from a helicopter. Unable to get free, Claire and Zoe are trapped as the Breathers surround them…
Now...here’s where the cabin starts to lose pressure.
It’s revealed that the “Breathers” aren’t zombie undead monsters at all, but rather, they are military men with gas masks that kind of make their eyes glow and make a weird breathing noise. Hence the name "Breathers".
Confused? Wait, it gets better.
So, they surround Claire and Zoe and one of them takes Zoe’s blood to “test” her for the virus. When it becomes apparent that she has it, Claire (who’s been a sea of calm throughout this entire ordeal) flips the freak out...and very quickly, we realize what’s really going on.
Claire turns into a scary, bloodthirsty, maniac. Think “The Crazies” kind of infected undead monster. As she’s getting out of the net and laying waste to people, Ray shows up all crazy zombified and starts slicing and dicing the military men too.
When it’s all done and over with, Zoe starts freaking out and then she becomes a monster as well. She attacks Claire, but Claire manages to calm her down and the virus subsides.
When the smoke clears, we find that Ray has been killed during all the fighting and Claire and Zoe have to run and hide from the men.
All right. Now. Claire and Zoe are living underground. They run into a little boy that used to be their neighbor and he leads them to more of the infected where they all live happily ever after.
So, yeah, this is a pretty great movie. Big, old Jewel for this one.
And the big, big Spoiler?? This is a Duffer Brothers joint.
I know you know who the Duffer Brothers are, but in case you’ve been living in a cave for the past five years, they are the guys responsible for everybody’s favorite Stephen King tribute tv show Stranger Things. So, yeah. Of course this is a good movie.
Claire turns into a scary, bloodthirsty, maniac. Think “The Crazies” kind of infected undead monster. As she’s getting out of the net and laying waste to people, Ray shows up all crazy zombified and starts slicing and dicing the military men too.
When it’s all done and over with, Zoe starts freaking out and then she becomes a monster as well. She attacks Claire, but Claire manages to calm her down and the virus subsides.
When the smoke clears, we find that Ray has been killed during all the fighting and Claire and Zoe have to run and hide from the men.
All right. Now. Claire and Zoe are living underground. They run into a little boy that used to be their neighbor and he leads them to more of the infected where they all live happily ever after.
So, yeah, this is a pretty great movie. Big, old Jewel for this one.
And the big, big Spoiler?? This is a Duffer Brothers joint.
I know you know who the Duffer Brothers are, but in case you’ve been living in a cave for the past five years, they are the guys responsible for everybody’s favorite Stephen King tribute tv show Stranger Things. So, yeah. Of course this is a good movie.
All right, so next week is Death House and it's billed as being the "expendables" of horror movies. I am all a twitter. See you next time! O~ *
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