The Hidden (1987) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

The alien is a parasitic life-form that enters a host through the mouth, typically when the host is in a vulnerable state, like being comatose or unconscious. It then takes control of the host's body and mind, using it to commit violent crimes. The alien can transfer between hosts when it ejects itself from one body and enters another, which happens multiple times throughout the film.

• alien
• body snatching
• possession
• parasite
• host

Jack DeVries was not acting out of character by choice, he was already possessed by the alien parasite when he committed the bank robbery and murders. The alien used DeVries as its first host to carry out violent acts, including the heist and the deadly escape. DeVries' neighbors described him as a gentle man before the alien took him over, which explains the stark contrast in his behavior.

Foreshadowing: Early in the film, DeVries' neighbor describes him as a seemingly gentle individual, foreshadowing that his violent rampage was not his true nature.

• Jack DeVries
• alien possession
• violent behavior
• bank robbery

FBI Special Agent Lloyd Gallagher had been tracking Jack DeVries for over a month, following a trail of similar violent crimes that occurred in Seattle before DeVries arrived in Los Angeles. Gallagher understood that these crimes were connected by the same alien entity, which is why he partnered with Detective Beck to stop the parasitic creature before it could continue its rampage.

• FBI
• Gallagher
• Seattle
• investigation
• tracking

After being shot multiple times at the police blockade, DeVries was taken to the hospital where he was expected to die. Instead, he briefly woke up, disconnected himself from life support, and approached a comatose patient named Jonathan P. Miller. DeVries expelled the alien from his own body into Miller's, transferring the parasitic entity before collapsing dead. Miller then awoke as the alien's new host.

Foreshadowing: The hospital scene shows DeVries hovering over Miller's bed just before the transfer, revealing the alien's ability to seek out vulnerable hosts.

• alien transfer
• DeVries
• Miller
• hospital
• body snatching

The alien appears to prefer hosts who are physically vulnerable or unconscious. Jonathan P. Miller was in a coma at the hospital, making him an easy target for the alien to enter without resistance. The alien's method of possession requires entering through the mouth of an unconscious or vulnerable person, which is why DeVries was able to transfer the parasite into Miller while he was in his hospital bed.

• Jonathan Miller
• host
• coma
• alien
• possession

In the final act, a press conference attended by Detective Beck turns deadly when the alien, now in a new host, initiates a confrontation with law enforcement. The scene escalates into gunfire and chaos, revealing the alien's true intentions, not just to commit crimes, but to ultimately dominate humanity. The confrontation forces Beck to face the alien threat head-on while grappling with questions of identity and morality.

Foreshadowing: The film builds toward this confrontation as Beck and Gallagher race against time to stop the alien before it can transfer to another host.

• press conference
• climax
• confrontation
• alien
• Beck

The alien takes at least three major hosts throughout the film: first Jack DeVries (who commits the bank robbery and murders), then Jonathan P. Miller (who continues the crime spree), and finally a stripper named Brenda Lee Van Buren at the strip club. Each transfer allows the alien to continue its violent rampage while evading capture.

• hosts
• Brenda Lee Van Buren
• transfers
• alien

Miller committed similar violent crimes because he was controlled by the same alien entity that previously inhabited DeVries. The alien, not Miller, orchestrated the pattern of bank robberies, car thefts, and murders. This is why Detective Beck and FBI Agent Gallagher noticed the connection, they were actually hunting one alien parasite moving from body to body, using each host to carry out its violent objectives.

Foreshadowing: The investigation reveals that Miller's actions closely mirror DeVries' initial crime spree, showing the alien's consistent modus operandi.

• Miller
• crimes
• pattern
• alien
• connection

Detective Beck survives the climactic confrontation at the press conference, but the ending leaves his fate ambiguous. The film concludes with Beck facing a life-altering encounter that challenges his sense of identity and morality. While he lives through the final battle, the aftermath leaves him profoundly changed by his experience battling the alien entity.

• Beck
• survival
• finale
• ending
• alive

The alien's true intention was not just to commit random crimes, it sought to dominate humanity by taking over bodies and using them as vehicles for violence and chaos. The creature's goal was to spread across human hosts, ultimately threatening the survival of the human race. The film reveals that the alien was far more than a criminal; it was an invasive parasitic force intent on subjugating humanity.

Foreshadowing: The final act reveals that the alien's ambitions extend beyond individual crimes to a larger plan of domination.

• alien intentions
• dominate
• humanity
• threat
• invasion