HIDDEN 3D

Only last month I had the pleasure of reviewing an entertaining romp whereby the concept of ‘addiction’ was pivotal to the narrative in the hilarious GEORGE: A ZOMBIE INTERVENTION. Well I’ll be darned if another addiction based tale of terror didn’t land on my doorstep a week later!

HIDDEN 3D, as the title suggests, utilizes the in vogue multidimensional special effect gimmick of having the scares appear to jump literally off the screen!

The story starts with a brief history of the recently deceased Dr Susan Carter, whose controversial life’s work is centred on the unique use of insect toxins from fireflies. Through years of experiments, Dr Carter has devised a machine called the VENTRIS, which is a tool designed to inject this toxin into the brain of a human addict.

Regardless of the subjects vice, the addiction then physically manifests as a cyst which can then be physically removed via surgery. The desired result is, of course, entirely curing the patient of their compulsions. But like all crazed doctors endeavours, there is an inevitable side effect. Just before her death, it leads Dr Carter to pose the question, "Can an addiction have a life of its own...?"

One notable absentee from the maverick surgeon’s funeral is her son, Brian, a failed med school student who, himself, is swimming in a sea of liquor, so to speak. But one typically murky hung over morning, he is delivered a letter by his delectable sister Kimberly and her ambitious boyfriend Simon. It reveals Brian has actually inherited his mothers ‘rehab centre’ – The Divine Sanctuary of Hope. Having been present at the beginning of his mother’s work, he instinctively wants the place ripped down. But Simon, who has $$$’s on the brain, has other ideas. If he could just get Brian to agree, the colossal ex-Monastery could be redeveloped into a luxurious and unique hotel. So off they trot to the remote location, isolated in snow bound Canadian outback along with Chester, the handyman and also an architect (who just happens to be Brian’s ex-flame) named Vicky. Lucas and Rita are also brought along for fodder... oops I mean for company! They are met by Dr Susan’s long-time assistant Haley, who leads them into the ancient yet beautiful building. The monastery was abandoned for centuries after some monks basically ‘got the horn’ and had their wicked ways with the local town folk. The monks were then duly wiped out by the Vatican’s secret police! (I just KNEW they had one!)

Of course it’s not too long before the group slowly get split up while they investigate the mysterious history of Dr Susan’s crazed venture within the confines of the eerie monastery. One by one the group find out the hideous answer to her surreal question... "Can addictions REALLY exist as separate living organisms...?"

I get the feeling this is a movie that is really going to divide people in a Marmite kind of way! The idea of curing people from their addictions by surgery was original, if not wholly plausible, and at the very least provided a good enough base for this entertaining flick.

A movie made for 3D with a run time under 80 minutes was never going to be an epic, let’s face it. BUT, that is not necessarily a bad thing. With the majority of 3D pictures about, the subjects tend to be larger than life creatures. In Hidden though, it is tiny insects that are the enemy – and lots of them! An abundance of sequences whereby swarms of insects fly toward the camera exploit the 3 dimensional aesthetic with aplomb. At this point a word of warning: The DVD, as far as I can gather, only supplies the ‘pancake’ version of the movie. To enjoy the 3d experience, you will need to purchase the Blu-Ray, whose 2 disc package contains both 3 and 2d versions. Even in 2d, the movie has its fair share of jumps and a few shocks as the vile results of Dr Susan’s experiments start to manifest. The claustrophobic intricacies of the Monastery’s tunnels added another layer to the predicament of our protagonists.

A small attempt at character development was made to raise them above the usual clichéd group and, personally, I have seen a lot worse. But this is popcorn Horror that was surely designed to titillate the senses more than psychologically terrify.

All in all, due to the movies lack of gore and subsequent reliance on the visuals leaping off the screen, I would suggest The Blu-Ray obviously provides the ultimate viewing experience. One final mention of why you may wish to acquire the Blu-Ray is for Bjanka Murgel who plays Kimberly. Her magnificent canyon like cleavage was anything but ‘hidden’ and even without 3D glasses provided some scrum-diddly-umptious eye popping moments of gorgeousness!

Review by Marc Lissenburg