Review: INTRUDER Is A Variant On The Home Invasion Thriller

Home invasion thrillers have become so numerous over the past few years, they're pretty much their own genre now. It's easy to see why they work; they prey on our most basic fear of not even being safe inside our homes. Intruder, from director Travis Zariwny (here credited as Travis Z) is yet another entry in the genre, and even though it's nothing groundbreaking, it at least tries to break away a bit from formula.

The victim this time around is Elizabeth (Louise Linton), a cello player spending some time alone and facing some big life decisions. She remains blissfully oblivious to the shadowy figure stalking her throughout her home, going through her books, raiding her fridge, and pissing in the sink, as most unwanted house guests do.

Normally, a home invasion scenario would play out in real time, ratcheting tension. Here, Zariwny spreads it out to a couple of days. While this slows down momentum and reduces any suspense, it allows the movie to play a guessing game as to who is the one stalking our heroine. Is it the silent next door neighbor (Aaron Trainor) who stares daggers while taking out the trash? Or the slightly off-putting, good-looking guy (John Robinson) she meets cute at a laundromat? Maybe it's her boss, played in a cameo by Moby (or is it the Dean from Community?), a guy so obviously creepy and asshole-ish he might as well be called Herring, first name Red.

It doesn't have the urgency and immediacy of a home invasion thriller, mostly because or heroine really has no clue what's going on around her. This works much better as a 90s style "enemy in our midst" type thriller; the admittedly cool poster art should be a giveaway.

What really takes away from this being a solid genre throwback is Zariwny's over-reliance on the dreaded jump scare. The music swells up into a crescendo and blares out whenever the stalker pops up, so much so that you expect to see a full brass orchestra right behind him. After the 6th or 7th time it becomes a pattern, effectively neutering any surprises. The movie does save the best for last, though; stay tuned after the credits.

Linton is solid as our leading lady, mostly asked to remain oblivious to the danger around her; and you have to give credit to Zariwny for attempting something different with a genre that's already on the way to repeating itself. But Intruder really needed a more low-key, "less is more" approach in order to be truly effective.

 

Intruder opens today at the Laemmle's Monica Film Center in Los Angeles and at the IFC Center in New York. It's also available via On Demand and on all digital platforms.