Be Kind, Rewind: The VHS Reviews ~ Hider in the House (1989)

"You Can't Lock Him Out. He's Already In."

Synopsis: Gary Busey stars as Tom Sykes, a psychopath who after being released from a mental institution, which he's been at since killing his abusive parents as a child, decides to move in with Julie & Phil Dryer (Mimi Rogers & Michael McKean). The only problem is they don't know he's there. As a child Tom would escape his parents abuse by hiding in the most remote areas of the house and now he seems to be back to his old tricks. This time building a secret hiding space in the attic where he can once again feel safe. While spying on the Dryer's, Tom becomes obsessed with Julie. He decides if he's ever gonna be a real part of the family he's gotta get Phil out of the picture.

My Thoughts: I'll be the first one to admit this movie is cheezy. The story is just ridiculous. I mean a 200 lb. dude walking around in your attic every night and they never go to check it out. They just blame it on the wind and later send an exterminator up there (who's never seen again, btw). Also, it's got a little of that Lifetime movie feel to it. There really is no reason why I should be telling anybody to watch this movie ...but I'm going to.

Gary Busey has got to be the only actor on Earth that could pull this shit off. It's actually a little sad, but I think this might be the role that he was born to play. The rest of the acting was pretty decent as well. Mimi Rogers is always the same (not great, not bad) and it was nice to see Michael McKean in a non-comedic role for once.

This movie reminded me a lot of 'The Stepfather'. The tone of the film, the kind of violence that was shown and especially the way the killer carried the entire movie. Don't get me wrong, 'The Stepfather' was a much better film and Terry O'Quinn did a better job as the deranged psycho, but then again they didn't have to work with this piece of shit script.

My Rating: 6.5 / 10






Gary Busey haters stay away from this one, otherwise it's worth seeing if you get the chance. So far it's only been released on region 2 DVD, but an old VHS copy will run you no more than $5 on amazon. I found one on ebay for a buck.

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