Intruder

Title: Intruder
Rating: 4/5
Genre: Horror
Starring: Renee Estivez, Danny Hicks, Sam Raimi
Director: Scott Spiegel
Duration: 88 mins

Sometimes the wrong movies get all the attention. Why A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 was ever given a second look is beyond me. Why Friday the 13th Part V was given a chance is well over my head. Why Intruder was NEVER given a chance until its small DVD release is borderline insanity. Money is truly evil. It blinds the Richie Riches of the film industry to movies people want to see rather than stinkers that will sell. Yeah, I know this is old news and I really don't have that big of a point to make, but Intruder is one of those nerdy slasher movies that should've become a genre legend.

The simple story concerns the employees of Walnut Lake Market, a local grocery store going out of business. One night cashier Jennifer's ex-boyfriend, Craig, comes and visits after being released from prison. Not willing to accept that Jennifer has moved on, he starts a fight and is kicked out of the store. After the hooplah, the boss lets everybody know that he's selling the place and they all have to stay after-hours to mark down everything 50%. Someone, however, begins offing the employees in ghastly ways. Could it be Craig?

The story is a pretty common one in the slasher genre, but it's the ensemble and the gore that really make this a horror buff's wet dream. The cast and crew are almost entirely lifted from Evil Dead II; starring Danny Hicks, Sam Raimi, Ted Raimi, Bruce Campbell, written and directed by Scott Spiegel (co-writer of ED2), and effects by Robert Kurtzman, Greg Nicotero, and Howard Berger (KNB EFX). It also features Renee Estivez (sister of Emilio Estivez and Charlie Sheen) from one of my personal favorites Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers. This alone would be good enough for me, but the splatter sequences are also the kind a horror geek like me fawns over (unfortunately, the graphic nature of them was the reason the film's release was so limited and unnoticed). On top of this, the killer, once identified, is predatorial and relentlessly threatening. The direction and camerawork are unique and the humor, provided mostly by the Raimi brothers and the character Bub, is refreshing.

Our two lead actors are pretty stale and uninteresting, but this is where most of the negatives end. This film is full of characters you grow to really love. This, in my opinion, is what makes a movie great. When you can pick out a favorite character in a movie, you know the writer(s) did something right. Some of the gore effects show their age, but there are so many and each so different and escalating in violence that this minor problem can easily be disregarded. The gore is the highlight of the picture and it's awesome.

This is a light-hearted slasher film (light-hearted in that it has a fun atmosphere throughout) that gives the fans what they want and it's these types of movies that tend to be my favorites. This is essential viewing for slasher fans and recommended viewing for fans of the Evil Dead trilogy.

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