If Only This Film Stayed. . . Hidden

Yes this is a Norwegian suspense film, and, no, it doesn’t have Nazi zombies. What did you think everything that came out of Norway had snow zombies?

It's a little odd that Hidden has ended up in the After Dark Horrorfest 4 lineup. The film has some elements of horror, but it’s really a psychological suspense movie disguised as horror by a deceptive poster and a rapid edited trailer.

What we do have here is a slow burn, drawn out psychological drama that is amped with so many clichés it could be labeled “GENERIC SUSPENSE FILM” by the Dharma Initiative. After Dark is famous for adding these types of films to its lineup and passing them off as “international horror”. Sigh.

Kai Koss is our main character, who after 19 years heads to his childhood home after his mother dies. It seems he had a rough childhood and now suffers from painful memories. He meets up with a local cop and the townspeople who believe he is guilty from past events.

KK investigates a rash of murders that have occurred at the same time of his arrival. Many of the scenes feature dark, flash-lit jump scares that are not as jumpy as they'd like to be. We also get that reliable mirror scare trick, as well as a few “something is in the woods” visuals that have KK imaging things that aren’t there.

Sure, the photographic quality of Norway’s mountains and waterfalls are impressive but the movie isn’t. It is predictable, internationally clichéd by European standards and is outright confusing if you are not paying attention. Let’s just say if your itching for a Norwegian horror movie, you best pick the one up with the Nazi zombies than this deceptively packaged “horror” film.