Directed by: Deon Taylor
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Michael Ealy, Meagan Good, Joseph Sikora
If The Intruder were made in the 80's, it might've wound up on the midnight show cult circuit with audience members shouting at the screen. The screening which I attended was similar in atmosphere, with audience members forgoing pesky theater etiquette of remaining mostly quiet during the movie. One person forgot to put his phone on vibrate. I believe people who forget to silence their phones in meetings or theaters honestly want people to hear their ringtones in their never ending quest for attention.
But, I'm reviewing the movie and not the audience, and The Intruder is no better or worse than similar films of the genre. In The Intruder, a nice couple named Scott and Annie (Ealy and Good) buy an old, quasi-mansion home in Napa Valley from a peculiar widower who continually drops by unannounced and acts as if the house is still his even though he sold it and moved out. The man is Charlie Peck (Quaid), who behaves like a man with barely bridled psychopathic tendencies just waiting for a couple of unsuspecting folks to practice on. From his first scene, Charlie is off, probably because he kills a deer right in front of Scott and Annie as they examine the property.
That is not a good way to start off the buyer/seller relationship, and things don't improve from there.
Charlie is odd, but agrees to sell the house for $3.3 million and after settlement drives away with the promise of moving to Florida to live near his daughter. It is not exactly a spoiler alert to suggest the Florida story is a lie and Charlie has his reasons for hanging around the house even after he sold it.
Scott is naturally suspicious of Charlie, as would anyone when the former homeowner shows up to mow his former lawn. Annie is lot more forgiving of such breaches of privacy, chalking up Charlie's behavior to that of a lonely old man who has trouble letting go. Annie should be considered for sainthood, especially when she invites Charlie to Thanksgiving dinner after numerous episodes of him creepily dropping by.
We know not all is what it seems with Charlie, but it isn't like Charlie is a kind fellow to begin with. Quaid's performance is an exaggerated slow burn, with every modification Scott makes to Charlie's former home simply inching him closer to his breaking point. Scott's best friend Mike (Sikora) offers to investigate Charlie and digs up dirt in the nature of Charlie's wife's suspicious death. Charlie says his wife died from cancer two years ago, but that turns out not to be so. Why Scott needed Mike to do a deep dive into Charlie's background is strange. Scott himself could've simply Googled Charlie and discovered this for himself. Regardless, Scott conveniently doesn't tell Annie about what he learns, leading to one more awkward episode of Charlie and Annie spending time together and Mike meeting an ugly fate, which serves him right considering during an earlier visit he ticks off the stalking Charlie by taking a leak outside when there are four bathrooms in the house.
What can I say? Completely bashing The Intruder is like scolding your cat for not being able to
understand addition and subtraction. The Intruder is ludicrous, with a villain who may as well be wearing an "I'm a psycho" t-shirt, and a sweet, bland couple who are far more tolerant of Charlie's behavior than most folks would be. The movie is made in a cheap, schlocky way with occasionally subpar production values, although I can't say I was bored, with suspense originating from wanting to see what silly development will happen next and maybe even the possibility of bad laughs. Such as: You would think Charlie would want to clean spattered blood off the wall before selling the house, or that someone would've noticed the blood during a home inspection. Just saying.
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