The Hidden (4 Stars)

This is the last Weird Wednesday event in my cinema for this year. It's a cult film that deserves to be called weird.

Thomas Beck has been a homicide detective for 13 years. He thinks he's seen it all. Then he's confronted with a strange case. A formerly law abiding citizen suddenly turns into a crazed killer. He dies in hospital after a car chase, but the man lying next to him in hospital stands up and also becomes a killer. An FBI agent, Lloyd Gallagher, arrives to help him with the case. The two men don't get along, because Agent Gallagher is keeping secrets.

This is where the weird comes in. The killer is an alien being who jumps from body to body. Agent Gallagher has been pursuing him for years.

The film isn't perfect. It's given away in an early scene that we're dealing with an alien. It would have been better to keep this secret until later in the film. More suspense. More of an ah ha effect.

I've never considered Kyle McLachlan a good actor, but he's perfect for roles like these. He walks around with a smug grin which is infuriating for everyone around him. He'd probably annoy me as well.

Fire Walk With Me (4½ Stars)

This is the September selection for the monthly "Best Of Cinema" It's a film I own on DVD, but I haven't watched it for a long time. It was made in 1992, and it's a prequel to the television series "Twin Peaks". I first watched "Twin Peaks" in 2004 (according to my Amazon purchase history), and I watched "Fire Walk With Me" immediately afterwards. I re-watched "Twin Peaks" in 2014, but I didn't watch "Fire Walk With Me" again. I'm not sure why.

Let me start by saying that I don't think "Fire Walk With Me" is a well made film. It makes no concessions for the viewer. The characters appear randomly in the film, some named, some not, and anyone who hasn't seen the series probably has no idea what's happening.

But it's a David Lynch film, so is it necessary to understand it? The psychedelic imagery is compelling and drew me in, and I'm sure it would have had the same effect if I'd never watched the series.

The film is made up of two parts. In the first part we see an investigation of the murder of Teresa Banks. The murder isn't solved, and one of the detectives mysteriously disappears. The second part, which takes place a year later, shows the last seven days of Laura Palmer. In the series special agent Cooper spent weeks painfully researching clues to figure out what happened. Many of the clues pointed in the wrong direction. In the film we see exactly what happened.

After watching the film I checked the availability of "Fire Walk With Me" on 4K, and I found that the release date is November this year, alongside a 4K release of "Lost Highway". Wow! While reading up on it I found rumours on social media that "Twin Peaks" will be released on 4K. I've only watched my Blu-ray box set once, but that wouldn't stop me buying it yet again.

"Fire Walk With Me" is a film that overwhelms me. I've only deducted half a star because there's too much smoking.

Success Rate:  - 2.4

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