If you’re a fan of Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” you’ll be well aware of brothers Matt and Ross Duffer. The twin creators pulled one of the most impressive stunts in streaming television history: building a show out of ’80s nostalgia and classic horror themes around a terrific cast full of kids, teens, and accomplished character actors who have become television superstars by now. What you may not know is that the Duffers only had a single credit to their name before they blew up Netflix in 2016.
Their sole feature film, 2015’s “Hidden,” is an underseen wonder of a flick that undeniably showed traces of their talent (even if it was unpolished at the time). For the majority of its brisk 84-minute runtime, “Hidden” feels like an adroitly crafted bottle episode — an approach that seems both an intentional choice for a concise set-up as well as a disguise to save the story’s finest twist until its due arrival (a twist that we shall leave the viewer to fully discover on their own).
Before we get into the weeds of the plot, it’s worth mentioning that it’s somewhat surprising the Duffers managed to get two terrific and accomplished actors in the lead roles (Alexander Skarsgård and Andrea Riseborough) despite having no recognition at the time. They both delivered strong performances, yet the film dropped to a lukewarm reception with no fanfare. This was odd, given that “Hidden” was a more-than-decent and promising feature debut.
Untangling an ominous mystery underground
“Hidden” starts out as a pretty generic post-apocalyptic virus movie following a small family of three. Ray (Alexander Skarsgård), Claire (Riseborough), and their young daughter, Zoe (Emily Alyn Lind), hide in an underground shelter from something that lurks on the streets above. Their key rules to survive are: Never be loud. Never lose control. Never open the door. Never talk about the “breathers.” We don’t know who the breathers are, just that they still roam around in the abandoned town and search for prey. Through meticulously placed flashbacks, we slowly learn that there was some kind of virus that got out of control and turned people into rabid, flesh-eating monsters. That said, beyond the occasional odd noises coming from outside, there’s no sign of them.
The Duffers use most of the runtime on developing flesh-and-blood characters we quickly relate to and feel for under the circumstances. Skarsgård’s charming and cool dad steals the early scenes with ease, but Riseborough’s strict and constantly alert mom is an apt counterpart, too. The duo is immediately convincing and appealing, providing the emotional core in a film that will gain most of its strength from their smooth chemistry and intimate interactions. Lind’s Zoe varies between cute and obnoxious — mostly because of her age — but she fits the family bill here nevertheless.
Yet all that wouldn’t work to such a high degree without the Duffers permeating every tiny corner of this bleak shelter with dread and desolation. Fusing the shadows, rattles, and patches of light with an ominous suspense is what accelerates this forgotten genre exercise beyond similar, more mediocre titles. Although “Hidden” saves most of the action for its final act, the careful and studious build-up to it is what makes it pop louder than you might expect.
A reverse horror that requires patience but pays off in the end
The fact that “Stranger Things” still hasn’t run out of gas and just embarked on its fifth and final season speaks volumes to the Duffer brothers’ talent as sharp students of comprehensive plot orchestration. It’s on a much smaller scale, but “Hidden” benefits from that richly, in a way that almost entirely makes up for its slow-moving first half. The multiple turns the screenplay takes bring the tiniest of plot points together neatly to unload an explosive finale on the viewer. Culminating in the only set piece of the film (which still feels low-key — partly, it can be assumed, due to financial limitations), the final revelation makes for a satisfying conclusion. Sure, there are moments that may verge on overexplaining, but the joy of figuring it out and putting every puzzle piece in place remains rewarding.
There’s one con, though: In 2025, such a twist (even if it’s well-constructed and expertly delivered) may not hit as hard or feel as novel as it did a decade ago. Of course, it would be silly and unreasonable to criticize a movie that came out ten years ago for that. Still, it’s worth highlighting, because, since the film’s release, several features have pulled something similarly twisty to shock the viewer. So, if you’re planning on seeing “Hidden” the first time now, you should consider its age in the right manner. Apart from that factor, it’s a clever, skilfully controlled, and inspired feature debut from a duo whose greatest move in Hollywood was yet to come.