source: Hider in the House

Hider in the House is the story of a disturbed man (played by Gary Busey) who is desperate to be a part of a functional and "normal" family. Tom Sykes (Busey) was verbally and physically abused by his parents growing up. He took action into his own hands and burned their house down with them in it. Committed to a psychiatric facility his whole life, the hospital board felt it was time to release him into society. Boy, were they wrong. We quickly find out he is still very disturbed from the events that took place in his childhood. Meanwhile, we meet the Dreyer family who is moving into a new house. Tom sneaks up to the attic of that house and builds some sort of a room sheltering him from the family. They have no clue he's hiding out in there. While up there, he overhears pretty much every conversation that takes place. The ironic thing about "Hider in the Hoiuse" is that the family he so desperately wants to be a part of is FAR from "normal". The man of the house is cheating on his wife (Mimi Rogers), the young son is having pretty serious emotional issues involving bullies, etc. Tom overhears all of it. He eventually becomes infatuated with Julie Dreyer (Rogers) and worms his way into her life. All this leads up to a satisfying conclusion. Hider in the House is a pretty good suspense/thriller. Gary Busey puts in a good performance as does Mimi Rogers. There are a few murders in the film, but that's not what this is about. The true point of the movie is the back story involving Tom and his childhood. It's interesting to see him looking at the Dreyer family like they are the perfect thing in the world. Of course, the viewers see them as a very dysfunctional group. There are some slow parts that drag on, and the idea of him hiding out in the attic without anyone knowing is VERY unbelievable. But it's good enough for a viewing. 6/10

What's that creaking coming from the roof? Might just be rats or mice… Might be? "Hider in the House" is all Busey, although Mimi Rogers (who's looking great) is affably strong and classy as lady at the centre of his growing affection. It's the lead performances that go a long way to lifting this old-hat concept out of the average mould, as the direction while competently polished remains routine in its story progression, tension building and visual aspect. Gary Busey playing slightly disturbed… well at least you know you won't be let down. But I might be understating it by stating slightly --- it's unpredictably intense and gleeful, as his psychological torment is perfectly etched out. Bruce Glover also amusingly shows up as a pervert neighbour. Julie and Phi Dryer along with their two young kids have moved into a new house, but unknowingly to them an ex-patient of a mental asylum Tom Sykes has made himself at home in their attic by constructing a secret room. He spies on them, as he sees them as the ideal suburban family he was never apart of it --- due to a terrible past which was the reason for being an intuition. However his obsession for Julie soon sees him wanting to be the husband of the household, as he goes about trying to make this happen while discarding of any threats which could expose him. Busey's character builds somewhat a nest, where he feels secure and protected, where he simply watches (peering into windows while wandering around the house at night) and listens (through a voice com) but when he catches details on how this family isn't all that perfect he gets involved by orchestrating actions which could see him move right in. The initial build-up is where it's at its strongest; at it's compact, gripping and at times atmospheric --- but this seems to fall by the wayside during the second half when he makes himself known to the family. Now it loses its unsettling edge and becomes predictable and silly.

Irented this movie because I find Busey a certain type of actor who doesnt get too many leading roles, also he is scary. And one of the most scary concepts has to be Busey hiding in your house, wearing your bath robe and so on. The part where Tom Sykes introduces himself to the family was good, I only wish the ending was better. It was typically Hollywood, and that is not a compliment. Had Sykes told the family who he were, and then possibly gotten help from them to start his own life, then this movie would have been very good. The most scary thing about this movie is how tight Buseys jeans were, and the fact that below the belt he looked much like David Hasselhoff.

This movie steals the main premise from "Bad Ronald" (1974) and some elements from "Black Christmas" (1974 also) but mixes them in a boring manner. Gary Busey delivers a good, believable performance as a psycho. He was abused as a kid so he has some really messed up ideas. This psycho sets in the attic of a new house and spies the family. Soon after he falls in love with the wife and even tries to make "a move" on her. By the way, Mimi Rogers was damn hot in those days. The premise is pretty good but is not correctly used in the movie. In my opinion, the best thing about "Hider In The House" is it's title and Busey's performance. Don't bother looking for this one, it surely will disappoint you. Watch it only if it airs on cable. Don't spend money on this.

The setup of the plot is very original, but it becomes excruciating to watch Tom Sykes since they reduce his behavior to this one dimensional Jason. To me, the point of the movie was going in the direction of "someone is living in the house, without authorization, lets explore the psychological dimensions of this guys behavior, perhaps there can be some interesting message about human behavior" then they decided to end the whole thing in this lame gun battle, which i felt was a cheap ending to something that could have been more fascinating. Overall, interesting, but no payoff.

Of all the people who could be hiding in a secret compartment in one's house, Gary Busey has got to be one of the most unsettling possibilities. In fact, rather than having Busey portray a fictional character--the mentally disturbed Tom Sykes--the director should simply have let Gary Busey portray the mentally disturbed Gary Busey. Now THAT would have added an extra layer of creepiness to the film! Yes, the movie was predictable at many points. And yes, the ending was unimaginative and even disappointing. But there's something so sinister, so psychologically tumultuous about the prospect of that clunkhead, Gary Busey, sneaking around an unsuspecting family's house, that I found the film bordering on the horrific. (I visualize him right now, crouched in my attic, strumming his guitar and singing "Peggy Sue.")What's that noise I hear?! Could it be....GARY BUSEY???!!!AAAAHHHH!!!

Gary Busey is superb in this role as a misunderstood and lonely man who lost his family and feels the need to " inherit" someone elses . His little evil giggles whilst he is hiding in the attic will crack you up. He's as Nutty as a fruitcake and makes the movie all the more fun, even though, its actually a thriller. His Character is believable and you actually feel sorry for him. Busey fans as well as fans of Mimi Rogers will not be disappointed. Mimi is great to look at ( I mean , wouldn't take a fancy to her) Gary just oozes an evil, but sensitive quality in this film . The ending is climactic too , once the plot is revealed and you'll be hard pushed not to grip the arms of your sofa !

Forget the inanity (no thats NOT a typo!) of the plot...a fruitloop living soundlessly in an attic, in a tiny room he built there - EQUALLY soundlessly!......this is a tour-de-force performance from Busey. The most realistic nutter put on screen since Norman Bates! As someone commented, a similar premise to THE STEPFATHER, being the story of a lone weirdo psychotically disposed towards creating the "perfect" family! Busey's deranged Tom Sykes, complete with nervous dysfunctionality is awesome. There are several scenes you feel for the guy and really ache for his solitude and inherent decency! I believe it was his best role and despite the fact the wheels tended to fall off towards the end, as it entered the standard formula "where-do-we-go-from-here" scriptwriters' block, ENOUGH professional work had been witnessed to term this a way better than average thriller! Mimi Rogers always has dignity, class and resolve (well OK she struck-out marrying Tom Cruise arguably) Here, she puts across a sympathetic woman who finds herself in a seriously unwanted position through no fault of her own. Ultimately you'd have to wonder, if despite his mental disturbances, Sykes wouldn't have made a better husband than Phil (McKean) who proves himself the wimpiest womaniser on the block! I was rooting for Busy to take him out big-time! Flawed thriller that should by rights, be rating 6.8 here!

Besides being pretty dull, I don't see how any of this could have happened. No way could this lunkhead hole up in the attic without being found out on day one. Why didn't someone notice the wall with a door in it? Three windows were showing from the outside and only 2 inside. Doesn't that give somebody a clue? The wall was such an obvious add-on that a ten year old could have spotted it. What a dumb film.