This review is brought to you by Kathy Kaiser
THE INTRUDER – Rated PG-13 – 1 hr. 42 mins.
DIRECTOR: Deon Taylor
WRITER: David Loughery
STARS: Meagan Good, Dennis Quaid, Michael Ealy and Joseph Sikora
When we meet young married couple Annie (Meagan Good) and Scott (Michael Ealy), they have decided that life in the city just isn’t for them, and they decide to look for their forever home out in the country. When the perfect house comes on the market, it seems that its owner for many years, Charlie (Dennis Quaid), has found the perfect couple to take on his estate, as he needs to move on from this place, to be with his daughter.
As Annie and Scott try to settle in to their new home, it seems that Charlie is still hanging around, just in case they need anything. When weeks past, and Charlie still hasn’t left, Scott’s friend Mike (Joseph Sikora), alerts his friend, that he thinks something is terribly off with the past owner of their home.
Annie dismisses both Scott, and Mike’s claims that Charlie is becoming a real creeper, popping up all in bizarre places throughout their home, almost daily. But will Annie ever realize that her new found friend Charlie, may have had ulterior motives, when he sold them “his home” right from the start…
I give THE INTRUDER a rating of WAIT AND CATCH THIS FILM ON NETFLIX or STREAMING: It just pains me to give this film such a mediocre review, as Meagan Good, and Dennis Quaid’s acting throughout is really good. But between the slow pace of this film, and its “been there, seen that” vibe throughout every inch of it, THE INTRUDER is just substandard, any way you look at it. I have to admit, I was excited to see Quaid play a creeper, as he is usually cast in “super nice guy” roles. And I have definitely loved some of his nice guy, and edgier roles too along the way, as I loved him all the way back in 1993, when he was cast as part of the ensemble team in THE RIGHT STUFF. I also adored him playing a father opposite Natasha Richardson for the remake of Parent Trap (1998). I even enjoyed seeing him play a womanizing hubby, opposite Julia Roberts in 1995’s SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT. Sadly though, even his pretty good creeper vibe in this rather intense role, couldn’t make me warm up to enjoying this film. I mean it isn’t the worse thing I’ve been subjected to all year, but THE INTRUDER isn’t even close to hitting my top 10 so far, and we are only in May. I just think that this film could have used more character development, more intenseness, and most importantly, a better written script where all of its characters are a little bit smarter, and a little bit wiser, as the signs are there for everyone involved, every step of the way , but just like in a poorly written horror film, when everyone decides to go into the dark to seek out their ill-fated demise, THE INTRUDER went right down this rabbit hole too. This film really did have so much potential along the way, but sadly Director Deon Taylor, just didn’t manage to capitalize on any of it, from any of his actors, when it was all said and done…
This humble opinion is brought to by you T. K. Edwards
THE INTRUDER – Rated PG-13 – 1 hr 42 mins
Director: Deon Taylor
Cast: Meagan Good, Dennis Quaid, Michael Ealy
A young married couple buy a beautiful house on several acres of land only to find out that the man they bought it from refuses to let go of the property.
Movies about obsession are only as good as the actor that is portraying the person that is obsessed. If that actor can pull off the character and scare the snot out of the audience then you know you’ve got a story that will follow too. It doesn’t matter what the story is about, just as long as the “villain” is nuts and makes the hairs on the back of your neck stick up. Here are some examples of movies that were only good because of the actors playing some sort of obsessed psychopath:
- THE FAN – Robert DeNiro
- FATAL ATTRACTION – Glenn Close
- THE RESIDENT – Jeffrey Dean Morgan
- SINGLE WHITE FEMALE – Jennifer Jason Leigh
- UNLAWFUL ENTRY – Ray Liotta
- PLAY MISTY FOR ME – Jessica Walter
- HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE – Rebecca De Mornay
- FEAR – Mark Wahlberg
- SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY – Patrick Bergin
- GRETA – Isabelle Huppert
- THE CRUSH – Alicia Silverstone
THE INTRUDER is now added to this list for one reason and one reason only…Dennis Quaid. I’ve never seen him in a role like this before. He is equal parts crazy and creepy as balls. It’s funny how I have seen loads of his movies and never placed his signature smile as having the capacity of being so sinister. Maybe it’s because I’m so used to him playing a good guy that I was so shocked at his performance in THE INTRUDER, but either way…Bravo! Mr. Quaid. I really do hope his performance in this movie opens up more opportunities for him to play villains because he definitely has the chops to play them. As for THE INTRUDER, you don’t have to see this one in theaters to enjoy it because watching it on the couch will be just as entertaining as it would be at the cinema. But if you were to twist my are my suggestion would probably be to wait and watch this one at home. Until next time, thanks for reading.
P.S. – There is no post credit scene.
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