By Melissa Antoinette Garza
The Intruders (2015) was a film that sort of disappeared into oblivion. I recall seeing the trailer and awaiting its theatrical release, but it seemed to never come out. Finally, it was available on Amazon streaming and despite it’s soft PG-13 rating, I was eager to see it.
The movie follows Rose (Miranda Cosgrove), a troubled woman in her early twenties on psychiatric medication. Most of her struggles surround the loss of her mother. She moves in with her father, Jerry (Donal Logue), who desperately wants to help Rose but doubts her stability when strange occurences begin to happen within their new home.
Upon moving into the house, Rose meets her neighbor Leila (Jenessa Grant) who shares some disturbing news about the prior residents. A teenager named Rachel had gone missing and her body was never discovered. Rachel’s father Howard (Tom Sizemore) is odd and was originally the prime suspect but was able to prove his innocence leaving the case open.
Within the confines of her new quarters, Rose is soon faced with both actual unusual events and paranoia. For example, she nearly attacks Noah (Austin Butler), a young construction worker because of the noises she hears. He convinces her that it was the work being done; specifically gutters being removed. Rose initially calms down, but then unexplained noises and being locked into rooms by an unseen force puts her on edge.
Her father tries to be supportive but believes that it is a combination of her skipping her medication and the loss of her mother which is causing all the chaos. Nothing unusual seems to occur when he’s around. When she runs to him with situations, he always attempts to find a logical reason which infuriates Rose even more.
Things get worse when Jerry spends a long night putting together a model of a building he wishes to construct. He leaves the room and returns to see it smashed. He instantly believes Rose is the culprit. She insists that she didn’t do it, but he’s done hearing her denials and tales of strange activity.
I genuinely enjoyed this film. It was much different than what I had thought. My assumptions were that it would follow the formula of movies like Stir of Echoes (1999) or What Lies Beneath (2000). Instead, it went an entirely different route. The conclusion was very surprising, but it wasn’t the cheap Gotcha! moment like the previously mentioned films.
The Intruders was able to take facets from different sub-genres within horror and make an interesting and at times unsettling film that told a story that made sense. For old school aficionados, it has moments that are reminiscent of everything from the TV movie Bad Ronald (1974), to the classic House on Haunted Hill (1959). There were scenes that reminded me of Eizabeth Taylor’s thriller Night Watch (1973) and even times the underrated slasher The Comeback (1978) came to mind. Typically, these movies could not be brought together in a smooth or natural way, but thankfully the writing, directing and cast of The Intruders made it click and resonate with the viewer.
It isn’t the scariest movie in the world, but it is most definitely worth the watch. It’s suspenseful, dark and upredictable. By far, it’s one of the best newer additions to the genre.
The entire cast gave stellar performances. Most notably, Donal Logue is sensational. The man can do anything. His acting, timing and delivery is second to none. He starred in one of my favorite sitcoms of all time Grounded for Life and portrayed Stew Albert in one of the greatest biopics of all time, Steal This Movie (2000). It’s a safe bet that if Logue is present in a production, it’s worth seeking out.
Scared Stiff Rating: 7.5/10
