This movie's WAY too smart for its own good. The basic story involves a mentally disturbed young woman and her companion being terrorized by a brutal predator on Halloween Night. Plot-wise it's "been there, done that". Unlike the original – superior – Spiegel film from '89 (which this is not in any way a remake of), the director is clearly trying to put a good deal of depth into this film (next time, let's have a little less character development and more decapitations, ce va?)
To give credit where it's due, there's a solid amount of craft involved here. The director has a good visual style, and the performances are strong (unlike most low-budget slashers). There are some solid suspense scenes, and a decent amount of gore and nudity (more of the former than the latter). There's also a sex-murder scene that is one of the more stylish and effective I've seen in recent memory (and includes a shot you would only expect to see in a gore-porn film).
The film never really transcends its budget. The fx are mostly (reasonably effective) flash cuts, and a few of the shots don't match (particularly in the first act). The sound design stands out as quite strong, but some of the elements are tinny and distractingly under-recorded.
Still, Intruder will hold novelty if you're into atmospheric horror on a budget. The principals are talented people, and I get the impression that novice filmmaker Caiafa probably has a really good film in him (he comes across as intelligent in the informative DVD director's commentary). It moves at a gazelle's pace (the 85 min running time felt like a half hour), and has a few superb scenes. But as far as killer clown exploitation goes, I'll take my blood and guts without the side of drama, thank you very much!
To give credit where it's due, there's a solid amount of craft involved here. The director has a good visual style, and the performances are strong (unlike most low-budget slashers). There are some solid suspense scenes, and a decent amount of gore and nudity (more of the former than the latter). There's also a sex-murder scene that is one of the more stylish and effective I've seen in recent memory (and includes a shot you would only expect to see in a gore-porn film).
The film never really transcends its budget. The fx are mostly (reasonably effective) flash cuts, and a few of the shots don't match (particularly in the first act). The sound design stands out as quite strong, but some of the elements are tinny and distractingly under-recorded.
Still, Intruder will hold novelty if you're into atmospheric horror on a budget. The principals are talented people, and I get the impression that novice filmmaker Caiafa probably has a really good film in him (he comes across as intelligent in the informative DVD director's commentary). It moves at a gazelle's pace (the 85 min running time felt like a half hour), and has a few superb scenes. But as far as killer clown exploitation goes, I'll take my blood and guts without the side of drama, thank you very much!
- Saintthomas1985 (check out all my reviews!!!)