Hider in the House Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Hider in the House Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 24, 2025

Note: October's releases from Lionsgate Limited are another variant grab bag of formats and packaging options. Jacob's Ladder 4K offers 4K and 1080 discs in SteelBook packaging, Knock Knock 4K offers only a 4K disc in a DigiPack, and Lionsgate Limited continues with their curation of Vestron Video outings with this release, offered in 1080 only.

Screenwriter Lem Dobbs is on hand in a supplement on this disc perhaps offering some unintended proof that had he not succeeded as a scenarist, he would have made a smashing stand up comedian. Dobbs discusses the travails of being an "unproduced screenwriter" in Hollywood, which Dobbs evidently was for quite some time, which then leads him in a somewhat wending course to offer his own advice to any prospective newcomers to the screenplay writing business. "Forget Syd Field" might seem to be the unspoken subtext of Dobbs' really funny musings, which boil down to "set your film in a house with limited characters, and get some form of the word 'house' into your title", and you're pretty much guaranteed a green light, no matter what else is in the screenplay. Dobbs obviously learned this lesson with regard to Hider in the House, a film which he opens his interview by more or less apologizing for, while also taking some comedic (?) umbrage at those who claim his work is, um, similar to the weirdly well remembered 1974 made for television opus Bad Ronald, with Dobbs stating he was living in London that year and never saw it.

As outlandish as the basic premise may be (irrespective of how it compares to that 1974 made for tv piece), social media feeds, always on the hunt for clickbait, have frequently featured stories about people who have found other people hiding out in various nooks and/or crannies of their homes or in some cases even apartments. That's the setup here, though anyone with half a brain (evidently no one in this particular scenario) might have noticed that the secret room ex psychiatric patient Tom Sykes (Gary Busey) builds in the attic of a house being remodeled is actually on the side of that floor with a window, meaning the ostensible "interior wall" new homeowner Julie Dreyer (Mimi Rogers) finds up there should have raised some kind of red flag, since the window is now nowhere to be seen from the inside. That niggling point of illogic aside, Hider in the House tries to toe an uneasy line between offering Sykes as a sympathetic man dealing with PTSD from having been abused as a child (evidently Dobbs' original formulation) and more of a Fatal Attraction adjacent story with Sykes "romancing" an initially unaware Julie, who is in the throes of marital dysfunction with her husband Phil (Michael McKean).

The result is ill fitting in more than one way. Dobbs overtly mentions how badly miscast he feels Busey was for this particular role, and while that certainly adds to the weird off kilter feeling suffusing this piece (aside from any intentional angst from the actual writing), it may not account for other elements that don't quite land. Busey is actually relatively restrained here (for Busey, anyway), and the rest of the cast does fine in what are often pretty stereotypical roles. The subtle deconstruction of a "perfect suburban life" is certainly nothing innovative here, but Dobbs and director Matthew Patrick put their own spin on things.

Hider in the House Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Hider in the House is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films' Lionsgate Limited etailer, here offering a Vestron Video Collector's Edition imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. As tends to be the case with these Vestron Video releases, there's really no technical information imparted on the packaging other than the usual generic "digitally restored", though that said, director Michael Patrick expressly mentions a "new print" on the commentary, which while perhaps offering a "quaint" description may indicate this is based off of an at least relatively new scan. The results are appealing if not overly revelatory. I found a lot of the presentation to be just slightly blanched looking, and personally would have preferred more robust contrast, especially in some of the interior scenes, but the palette is generally very nicely suffused (if occasionally looking just slightly skewed toward blues-teals, notably in some outdoor material). Detail levels are quite expressive on close-ups, which are repeatedly utilized. There are some very minor signs of age related wear and tear which escaped whatever restoration gauntlet this may have been put through (if any). Grain resolves without any issues.

Hider in the House Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Hider in the House features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. One of the best things about the film in my personal estimation is the very effective score from Christopher Young, which includes everything from spookily haunting choral work to more idiomatic ominous low strings and brass to up the angst levels. The score is nicely spacious and burnished sounding throughout. Ambient environmental effects can be discerned in both the outdoor material as well as some of the interior moments where, for example, Sykes is pacing manically in his little self built room. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

Hider in the House Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Matthew Patrick and Michael Felsher


• Out of Hiding: The Screenplay of Hider in the House (HD; 25:00) is the above mentioned interview with Lem Dobbs.


• Tragic Tones: The Music of Hider in the House (HD; 14:42) is an interview with composer Christopher Young.


• No Place Like Home: The Production of Hider in the House (HD; ) is an interview with producer Michael Taylor.


• Still Gallery (HD; 7:42)


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:03)

A digital copy is also included. Packaging features a reversible sleeve and a slipcover.

Hider in the House Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is another cult film whose release will be celebrated by its fan base (there evidently is a fan base for this film), but where some of the supplements, notably the fantastic interview with Lem Dobbs, will be appreciated by those who love "backstage gossip". Technical merits are generally solid and all of the supplements are enjoyable, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.