Scott (Michael Ealy) and Annie (Meagan Good) decide to make the movie from the busy metropolis to a more subdued quiet area so they can better enjoy each other’s company. They find a seemingly perfect fit that is up for sell by the home’s very passionate current owner. Charlie (Dennis Quaid) grew up in this house and seems to know everything there is to know about it and is probably the best person suited to sell the property. The thing is, Charlie doesn’t seem so keen on letting go.
Charlie continuously oversteps his boundaries as it becomes increasingly clear that this former homeowner may just be more than a bit unhinged. As The Intruder progresses, Scott and Annie start to notice that Charlie may not have been as nice and truthful as he let on in the beginner. This feature will give a new meaning to buyer’s remorse as everything comes to an eventual head.
Michael Ealy and Meagan Good are the two main co-starts but it’s Dennis Quaid that garners the most interest. His role as a disturbed widow has some appeal, well at least early on. Sometimes less is more, which is a phrase completely ignored by director Deon Taylor. I understand wanting to create a character that appears to be disturbed but it’s like Deon Taylor subscribes to the painfully obvious school of thought. There are a couple of moments that pretend to create tension but the audiences will catch on quickly and find The Intruder to be more of a nuisance than anything.
I am not going to spend a lot of time discussing The Intruder because I was not a fan of it and I’m not going to invest too much more of my time in this one. I’ve already wasted 102 minutes just by watching it. Here’s the thing, I get the fact that you have to have a few questionable decisions (I really mean dumb if I’m being honest) to keep a movie like this going. That said, don’t constantly insult our intelligence in the process. Things like having it be daylight when you’re in front of the house only to have it be pitch dark out of the window when you go around the back while continuing to have the same conversation, that’s ANNOYING. Or when you’re both playing phone tag and wondering where the other person is but no one checks their missed calls or voicemails. C’mon, really?!?!
Those are just two examples of how, either the writers, editors or director, takes its audience for granted. The Intruder is nothing more than a direct-to-video B-movie looking to make a quick buck. Painfully predictable and over dramatized, this PG-13 horror mystery will confound and frustrate you until simply laugh at the spectacle before you.
