Hider in the House (1991)

Gary Busey is released from a mental institution and promptly finds himself a new family to replace the one he killed and set fire to. Hiding in an attic he observes the familial interactions playing out below him, and then proceeds to manipulate things in an attempt to get closer to the wife, Mimi Rogers. Busey's character is part psychopath, yet not without some compassion, as he secretly saves the three year old Daughter from drowning in the backyard swimming pool. There are definitely some tense moments, and a couple of murders, along the way towards Gary's goal. Really not a horror movie, "Hider in the House" is more of a bizarre thriller, and a good one at that. - MERK

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.

The first 4/5 of 'Hider in the House' was not either entertaining or well done, but the climax redeems part of that. It's just a shame that the rest of the movie couldn't have been that good.Gary Busey is actually very good (I'm not kidding) in portraying a psychopath, but the plotline is severely unrealistic, and not very interesting.Comparable to the hit 'Pacific Heights', so if you like this, you should see it, but stay clear if you didn't.5/10

I will agree that the premise of this movie - a man secretly hiding in a house without anyone detecting him - is a bit hard to swallow. But I found this movie strangely compelling. One reason is that the "bad guy" isn't without sympathy. We see that he is still insane, but that's no fault of his, and that he struggles very hard not to do anything bad. (Busey gives a great performance, by the way.) Some events in the movie, like when he starts to introduce himself incognito to the family, are unexpected and intriguing.However, starting about 20 minutes before the end, we see the movie start to fall apart, and the climax is way too familiar and expected - it's almost like the screenwriter refused to change from a typical cop-out ending.Otherwise, not bad.