Hider in the House (1989)A deranged man hides in the attic of a new house and becomes obsessed with the unsuspecting family that moves in. Director:Matthew PatrickWriter:Lem Dobbs |
|
| 0Share... |
Hider in the House (1989)A deranged man hides in the attic of a new house and becomes obsessed with the unsuspecting family that moves in. Director:Matthew PatrickWriter:Lem Dobbs |
|
| 0Share... |
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Gary Busey | ... | ||
| Mimi Rogers | ... |
Julie Dreyer
|
|
| Michael McKean | ... |
Phil Dreyer
|
|
|
|
Kurt Christopher Kinder | ... |
Neil Dreyer
|
|
|
Candace Hutson | ... |
Holly Dreyer
|
|
|
Elizabeth Ruscio | ... |
Rita
|
|
|
Chuck Lafont | ... |
Dr. Gordon
|
| Bruce Glover | ... |
Gene Hufford
|
|
|
|
Leonard Termo | ... |
George /
Exterminator
|
|
|
Johnny Green | ... |
Bernard
(as John Green Jr.)
|
|
|
Bob Neill | ... |
Tom's Father's Voice
(voice)
|
| Carole King | ... |
Tom's Mother
(voice)
|
|
| Jake Busey | ... |
Teenage Tom
(voice)
|
|
|
|
Ryan Sheridan | ... |
Tom's Child's Voice
(voice)
|
|
|
Martin Goslins | ... |
Maitre d'
|
A deranged man, Tom Sykes, hides out in the attic while an unsuspecting couple (Rogers & McKean) and their family carry on their life in the house below. Once Tom stops just hiding out and becomes involved with the family and, in particular, the wife, the problems begin. An original USA made for cable movie. Written by Tim Kretschmann <Tim.K@VirComm.com>
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.