O Estranho

Well it's a well-off middle class family with a sleazy Dad, oh and Gary Busey in the attic. Not something that would give you a good nights sleep. I liked this movie. It has enough twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat and Busey is great. I would have liked to have seen more of the creepy neighbour as his similar looks to Busey could have caused some confusion for the family and police.

I really like Busey when he portrayef Buddy Holly. I was so disappointed in the later Busey, who ruined his looks and his brain.

The acting isn't that great, except Busey and you can see why I would have liked him so much when he played nice guy Holly. Busey, who probably had hidden psycho in his makeup even before cracking his head open, does crazy really well.

Not for nothing the premise of someone living in your house unbeknownst to you is actually has happened in the past. There's a famous case of a woman having her lover living in the attic of her home while she lived downstairs with her husband for something like a decade or 15 years, so it's not impossible for someone to be living in your house and you're unaware of them.

At any rate, this isn't going to win any Oscars but it kept me entertained even though you know where it's going.

It was nice to see Busey young and good looking before the crap hit the fan in his life.

Not outstanding, but far from the worst of its kind. It's true that the "shock" ending is cliched, and most of the plot developments are predictable, but the film gets a great big boost from Gary Busey's three-dimensional character and intense performance. In some ways, "Hider in the House" is quite similar to "The Stepfather", another film in which a mentally unbalanced man wants to create the "perfect family", and although it has a much lower reputation, it is actually better. (**)

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!

A great psychological thriller, hider in the house exemplifies childhood trauma and its effect on a a man's life. Tom Sykes (Gary Busey) undergoes the transformation from child to head of the household of Mimi Rogers's family. Mimi Rogers sexes up the role of a woman going through marital problems. Michael McKean (best known for his character Gibby from dream on) plays an arrogant adulterer who gets a good beating from the buse. This movie was worth the three dollars for its rental, just to see Gary Busey beat a man to death with a flash-light. Another quality film from the man with horse teeth.