The Gary Busey Horror Movie That’s Equally Ridiculous And Terrifying

Hider in the House follows Tom Sykes (Gary Busey) after he is discharged from a mental institution. Sykes had been a patient there for the last 20 years after being committed for setting fire to the house and killing his abusive family members. With nowhere to go, Sykes discovers an unoccupied home where he sets up residence undetected in the attic.

But the house that Sykes is squatting in doesn’t stay empty for too long. The Dreyer family moves in, bringing husband Phil (Michael McKean), mother Julie (Mimi Rogers), and son Neal (Kurt Christopher Kinder) under the roof and high on Sykes’ radar. Sykes taps into the Dreyer’s intercom system to eavesdrop and installs hidden surveillance equipment to monitor his unknowing hosts.

Hider in the House sees Sykes get to know the Dreyer family outside of their home, where he uses his charm to win over Neal and begin to work on Julie. Inside his secret attic lair, Sykes uses the information he sees and overhears to drive a giant wedge between Julie and Phil, leading to Phil eventually moving out of the home.

Whenever anyone gets too close to discovering his place inside the family home, Sykes kills. The family dog meets his end pretty quickly, as does a hired exterminator. Hider in the House sees Julie come around and see through Sykes’ lies, causing her to reject him altogether.

As you can imagine, this doesn’t go over well with the recently released mental patient. Part 70s low-budget Bad Ronald, part Fatal Attraction, Hider in the House is a well-paced thriller from start to finish. Sadly, the film was the victim of the distributor, Vestron Pictures, experiencing horrendous financial problems that wound up getting the production shelved.

Hider in the House was created with the intention of a modest theatrical run. But after Vestron’s financial situation erected a giant roadblock, the movie was only shown at film festivals before being released direct to video. In 1991, the movie was released on VHS and laserdisc, but to date, there have been no DVD or Blu-ray versions released in the United States.

REVIEW SCORE

Hider in the House is Gary Busey at his absolute best since the release of Silver Bullet. As Sykes, Busey goes from zero to creepy in a matter of seconds before going full throttle and turning into an absolute lunatic on camera. His solid performance overshadowed those of his co-stars, though both Mimi Rogers and Michael McKean play the couple whose marriage is on the rocks with a high level of praise.

Hider in the House could have been a gory film, but director Matthew Patrick was able to make a creepy movie without high levels of violence. His established shots of Busey spying on the family were enough to raise the hairs on viewers’ arms.

You can stream Hider in the House for free with the Roku Channel.