The Intruder (2019) Review
"It's not your house."
-Scott Howard
Scott Howard (Michael Ealy) and his wife, Annie (Meagan Good), decide to leave the city and buy an isolated house in the woods. However, after they move in, the previous owner, Charlie Peck (Dennis Quaid), repeatedly shows up at the house, unwilling to let it go and becoming increasingly obsessed with Annie.
What Works:
Dennis Quaid is easily the best part of the film. The film doesn't use him enough and he doesn't get to be as over-the-top as I hoped, but there are three or four moments in the film where Quaid gets to unleash some insanity and it's very fun. Even when he is being more subdued, he is at least entertaining to watch, which is more than can be said for the rest of the cast.
I'll also give some props to the filmmakers on a technical level. There are a few really cool choices in terms of cinematography and sound design. There are a few excellent shots inside of the house and I really liked how the filmmakers would drown out dialogue in favor of Quaid's guttural noises.
What Sucks:
Both Scott and Annie are thoroughly unlikable characters. Annie is completely useless and is totally naive. She continues to buy that Charlie is a good guy far beyond the point of reason. She continues to let him into the house after Scott was attacked by an unknown assailant and is in the hospital. It's unreal.
As for Scott, he was right about Charlie from very early on, but he's a complete jerk about it. He makes a lot of the right calls, but goes about them in the worst possible way. He also takes far too long to get a restraining order on Charlie. It's completely ridiculous.
And we can't even root for Charlie because he starts getting really rapey with Annie. This is where any fun I was having drained out of the film. We didn't need to get this creepy.
Finally, the majority of the film is simply dull. If Quaid isn't on screen, it's rarely interesting and usually it's just frustrating.
Verdict:
While Dennis Quaid gets a few fun moments and there are some cool technical aspects, The Intruder is a mostly dull affair with unlikable and incompetent protagonists and an antagonist that crosses the line and makes the film too creepy to enjoy on any level.
3/10: Really Bad
What Works:
Dennis Quaid is easily the best part of the film. The film doesn't use him enough and he doesn't get to be as over-the-top as I hoped, but there are three or four moments in the film where Quaid gets to unleash some insanity and it's very fun. Even when he is being more subdued, he is at least entertaining to watch, which is more than can be said for the rest of the cast.
I'll also give some props to the filmmakers on a technical level. There are a few really cool choices in terms of cinematography and sound design. There are a few excellent shots inside of the house and I really liked how the filmmakers would drown out dialogue in favor of Quaid's guttural noises.
What Sucks:
Both Scott and Annie are thoroughly unlikable characters. Annie is completely useless and is totally naive. She continues to buy that Charlie is a good guy far beyond the point of reason. She continues to let him into the house after Scott was attacked by an unknown assailant and is in the hospital. It's unreal.
As for Scott, he was right about Charlie from very early on, but he's a complete jerk about it. He makes a lot of the right calls, but goes about them in the worst possible way. He also takes far too long to get a restraining order on Charlie. It's completely ridiculous.
And we can't even root for Charlie because he starts getting really rapey with Annie. This is where any fun I was having drained out of the film. We didn't need to get this creepy.
Finally, the majority of the film is simply dull. If Quaid isn't on screen, it's rarely interesting and usually it's just frustrating.
Verdict:
While Dennis Quaid gets a few fun moments and there are some cool technical aspects, The Intruder is a mostly dull affair with unlikable and incompetent protagonists and an antagonist that crosses the line and makes the film too creepy to enjoy on any level.
3/10: Really Bad
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