Take a Peek at the Residence Where Gary Busey Hides in ‘Hider in the House’

While watching an early scene in which Tom first walks by the house, I noticed a gathering of tall telephone poles dotting the sidewalk in the background behind him, which tipped me off to the fact that filming had taken place on a major street. So I headed over to Google Maps and utilized aerial views of Monrovia to search for main roads lined with telephone poles, quickly pinpointing West Hillcrest Boulevard as the most likely prospect. From there, it didn’t take me long to locate the home at 145 West Hillcrest. As it turns out, the property is a historic one!

Known as the Eastman House in real life, the Colonial Revival was designed by its first owner, Hal P. Eastman, in 1925. A Monrovia Historic Landmark, the 5-bedroom, 4-bath house was last sold in 2015.

Sadly, not much of it is visible from the street. Thank goodness for MLS images!

Tom wanders upon the picturesque property at the beginning of “Hider in the House,” shortly after being released from a state hospital where he served time for burning his abusive parents to death when he was 15. The residence, vacant and under construction when Tom first sees it, represents to him the wholesome happy childhood he never got to have.

So invested is he in the place that he winds up installing a fake wall in the attic, creating a secret room which he promptly moves into, completely unbeknownst to Julie (Mimi Rogers) and Phil (Michael McKean) Dreyer, who eventually purchase the home.

Cozy! 

Tom, of course, becomes obsessed with the Dreyers and their two children, initially tapping into their intercom system to listen to the happenings below him and then eventually going so far as to venture around the pad each night after dark, rifle through their paperwork, eat their food, and, worst of all, watch them sleep! Shudder! When ripples in Phil and Julie’s marriage begin to show, Tom ingratiates himself into Julie and the children’s lives by pretending to be a friendly neighbor, having pleasant chats in the kitchen by day, all the while spying on them from upstairs at night. It’s a terrifying premise – one that Busey executes impeccably. The idyllic exterior of the Eastman House only adds to the suspense by providing the perfect halcyon backdrop for Tom’s sadistic actions.

Only the exterior of the Eastman House appeared in the movie. As evidenced by the MLS photos, the actual interior bears quite a different look and set-up than that of the Dreyers’.

In real life, the 3,534-square-foot Monrovia property features a formal dining room, a living room with a fireplace, a game room, and a master suite with a balcony. Outside on the well-manicured 0.45-acre lot, there is an outdoor kitchen, a garden, a flagstone patio, and a detached garage. Though Tom’s makeshift accommodations were just a set, per Redfin the home does have an attic in real life . . . so there’s that.

The fake two-story facade the “L.A. Times” article mentioned was attached to a neighboring home for the shoot was actually affixed to the rear of 133 West Hillcrest.

Though the front of the house also appeared onscreen, no part of it was altered.

Construction of the facade seems like quite a lot of effort to go to considering it was mainly only visible in the background of a couple of scenes, as shown above.

Come Halloween, the Eastman House looks like the perfect spot for trick-or-treating (if L.A. actually allows that to happen this year). But word of advice – if you see the attic light on, run!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: The Eastman House, aka the Dreyer family residence from “Hider in the House,” is located at 145 West Hillcrest Boulevard in Monrovia. Disclaimer: Please remember this is a private home. Do not trespass or bother the residents or the property in any way.

Click back over to the main page for more Dirt on the property.