Review: INTRUDERS Creates a Suffocating, Frustrating Atmosphere

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo's Intruders fits the definition of a slow-boiling psychological drama -- emphasis on the s-l-o-w. The pace is so deliberate, in fact, that it's tempting to summon forth another title: In-Snoozers.

That wouldn't be entirely fair, though, to the atmosphere that Fresnadillo is attempting to create. True, it's more of an art house aesthetic: the cultivation of dread amidst a garden of moody characters, a greenhouse in which any demonstration of cheer must be snuffed out. In such an environment, measured actions and spare words make sense; one must walk carefully through a minefield to avoid complete annihilation.

Yet the premise, which holds the potential for suspense to reign over logic, never delivers enough narrative satisfaction to match (or overcome) the low-key, low-energy ambiance. The film carefully observes John Farrow (Clive Owen), a high-rise construction crew chief, as he struggles to help his only child Mia (Ella Purnell) deal with a mysterious, faceless, hooded figure who threatens her life.

Just turned 12, Mia has a very close relationship with her father, even more intimate than the one she has with her concerned mother (Carice van Houten). Thus, when she begins experiencing traumatic nightmares that seem very real, she turns to her father for help.

The film also follows the story of young Juan (Izan Corchero) and his mother Luisa (Pilar López de Ayala); the child experiences similar nightmares about a faceless, frightening man. Luisa reluctantly accepts help from Father Antonio (Daniel Brühl), but as the priest probes further, he meets resistance from both mother and child.

Intruders contains individual moments that are quite effective in their stark simplicity, featuring only an actor or two (or three), a dark room, and shadows that may or may not be alive.

The moments -- and occasionally an entire scene -- are marooned, however, by Fresnadillo's enervating direction and a script by Nicolas Casariego and Jaime Marques that springs too many narrative leaks to be held together by conventional means (i.e. loud music cues and the like). Certain plot points appear to have been parachuted in from an entirely different suspense piece, inciting rampant head-scratching by this otherwise attentive viewer.

Fresnadillo made the superb, clever suspense film Intacto back in 2001 before directing 28 Weeks Later; the former was well-modulated and the latter was propulsive. Fresnadillo would appear to have the potential to make a slower-paced movie that depends almost entirely on atmosphere, mood, and character, yet Intruders feels half-baked on the story side.

What makes all this particularly frustrating is that a compelling movie could have been made from the material. Ultimately, the lapses in narrative logic, the absence of compelling characters, and Fresnadillo's inability to build up or sustain tension sinks the film in a shadowy morass.

Intruders opens today in limited release in the U.S.