[TCM Underground] This week on TCM Underground: The Hidden, The Terminal Man

Ubiquitous

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Jan 21, 2017, 8:00:51 PM1/21/17

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The Hidden (1987)
An alien parasite drives those that it infects to commit violent crimes.

The Terminal Man (1974)
A scientist decides to undergo an experimental surgery in the hopes that
it will control his violent tendencies. Surgeons implant a miniature
computer in his head, but the mechanism malfunctions, and his condition
worsens, turning him into a vicious killer

--
Do you have your excuse ready as to why Hillary won yet? I don't think
it'll top your last one, but I'n hopeful it'll be equally as
entertaining.

Not anywhere as entertaining as winning of course... but you'll just
have to take my word for it, I'm afraid.
I don't see you having that experience any time in the foreseeable
future.
-- "FPP"

william ahearn

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Jan 21, 2017, 10:09:18 PM1/21/17

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On Saturday, January 21, 2017 at 8:00:51 PM UTC-5, Ubiquitous wrote:

> The Hidden (1987)
> An alien parasite drives those that it infects to commit violent crimes.
>

A fun little "cult" film.

TT

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Jan 22, 2017, 2:56:29 AM1/22/17

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Guess so. I've rated it a 7 a decade ago which is very good but have
almost no recollection of the film - even after watching the trailer...

Thus it should be good, but not very memorable!

Gregory Alfred Wilson

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Jan 23, 2017, 4:54:03 AM1/23/17

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web...@polaris.net wrote:

>The Hidden (1987)
>An alien parasite drives those that it infects to commit violent crimes.

Great little gem.low budget but very smart, well acted, and a good
script.been waiting for tv showing. hard to get.

Adolfo

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Jan 23, 2017, 4:56:17 AM1/23/17

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Ubiquitous said:

>The Terminal Man (1974)
>A scientist decides to undergo an experimental surgery in the hopes that
>it will control his violent tendencies. Surgeons implant a miniature
>computer in his head, but the mechanism malfunctions, and his condition
>worsens, turning him into a vicious killer

This is an extremely cerebral sc-fi entry from the annals of seventies
cinema when the genre was beginning to be taken seriously by the studios
after the success of such films as Planet of the Apes and 2001: A Space
Odyssey. It is also one of the earliest efforts of writer Michael
Crichton who made his name in the movie business as a writer of science
fiction. If properly viewed as a critique of the power and misuse of
medical science by unscrupulous doctors, this film is devastatingly
effective. The hapless hero, played by George Segal, normally cast in
light comic roles during his peak years in the seventies, is used
effectively to arouse audience sympathy, as a normal Joe who (before the
movie starts), has had an auto accident that affects the normal workings
of his brain. When he seeks and receives help from the medical
profession, his condition becomes catastrophically worse. He becomes a
psychotic murderer, unrecognisable to his doctors or loved ones. This is
for fans of the genre and also has crossover appeal as it is These days,
cynicism about the medical profession and their motives is commonplace,
and the plot may seem a bit old hat, but in this respect the film to
modern eyes may seem extremely prophetic. The film is directed by Mike
Hodges, best known for the English film Get Carter, and the most notable
supporting players are Donald Moffat and Joan Hackett, the former an
unscrupulous and uncaring doctor, and the latter a character with more
depth who possesses an unerring sense of dread at the Frankenstein
monster she has helped to create.This film is recommended to not only to
fans of the genre, as it also has a cross over appeal. It is an
intelligent and adult experience as opposed to the more juvenile and
unbelievable entries of some science fiction titles.

Ubiquitous

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Jan 25, 2017, 4:38:39 AM1/25/17

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wlah...@gmail.com wrote:
>On Saturday, January 21, 2017 at 8:00:51 PM UTC-5, Ubiquitous wrote:

>> The Hidden (1987)
>> An alien parasite drives those that it infects to commit violent
>> crimes.
>

>A fun little "cult" film.

I remember a bunch of us watching it one night while in college, but I
remember it being different. Was there another movie with Kyle MacLachlan
about a man who harvested penial glands to see a coterminous parallel
Lovecraftian dimension?

--
For the first time in 8 years, the presidential schedule is full and
doesn't start with "Private Lunch".

tomcervo

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Jan 25, 2017, 11:15:41 PM1/25/17

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The "lost" episode of the "X-Files"; the one that really explains Mulder.
And every election cycle I think of this scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2JD5h82-fo