Finally a release of Intruder that does the film justice!
Intruder (1989)
Directed By: Scott Spiegel (Hostel III)
Where to get it: Synapse and CAV
The Prologue
Intruder is one of those old school slashers that has enough going against it (like most lesser known slashers) that you can’t overly rate it, but you’ll love it regardless. The brainchild of Scott Spiegel, in 1989 he would team up with some friends, The Raimi Brothers (that’s Sam of Evil Dead fame and Ted) and Bruce Campbell, with a little help from such well known names as Lawrence Bender and Charles Band to put everything in this movie together. The film would gain a cult following over the years, being released on DVD by Wizard Entertainment (the frontrunner to the relaunch of Full Moon Entertainment), but to honest with you guys, the print wasn’t that great. But now we have a release that does this highly underrated slasher film justice. Synapse has released a Blu-Ray/DVD combo back. And it even packs just the right amount of special features to make you love this release just about as much as some people in this movie love this store.
The Movie
It’s 10 pm and the employees of Michigan’s Walnut Lake Supermarket are in for a really bad night. The place is shutting its doors for good, and the night crew has a long shift ahead of them… longer than they think! The lovely check-out girl has a deranged ex-boyfriend, the store’s phone lines are cut, and the employees start dying in the most stomach-churning ways imaginable (courtesy of Academy Award®-winning KNB EFX Group). A deranged killer is on the loose in the grocery store! Can anyone stop this murderous intruder?
One thing about this film it’s really stylish and grimy looking, which makes a pretty cool combination. While the film is on the surface a pretty basic slasher tale, the camera shots and style of filming used would make any film student or independent film fan very proud. I think some of the shots are very innovative for it’s time. Of course some don’t work, but you can’t be perfect all the time, now can you? The acting it’s self is what you’d come to look for when dealing with slashers but that’s not to say it isn’t a fun movie anyway. There’s a lot to be laughed at in this movie, for better or worse. One scene that probably wasn’t meant to be as funny as it comes across is when a store full of folks can’t seem to take down the crazy ex-boyfriend of their fellow employee, Jennifer (who isn’t hard on the eyes for 1989), when he first comes into the store and starts raising hell. I don’t know where these folks came from but back where I come from if you got someone out numbered by that much, that person has had a bad day. Of course, they went the more “Retarded Ninja” route of trying to take him on one at a time instead of just rushing the bastard. It’s moments like this however that make Intruder so much damn fun.
Now one problem I do have with the film is when people start dropping like flies and it while takes a moments to get to that, none of these people seem to know whats up until it’s too late. Now keep in mind this isn’t a giant store like Wal*Mart, this is a small mom and pop grocery store that is closed and only the employees are there to close it down (since it’s being closed down for good actually). So when a group of folks are there and they all the sudden are not, you should probably notice before it becomes your time for the killer to start after you. I grew up right next to a store like the one in this movie and take my word for it, if someone uses the bathroom too loud everyone knows it. So I never did get why everyone here in so self-aware that they never seem to notice how fast people are dropping until it’s too late. I mean come on, where do they think everyone is disappearing to? Still, the method of which most these crazy kids disappear is worth the price of the movie alone.
But now let me get you to the bread and butter of this film and probably the only reason people still talk about it today (well the only reason besides Sam Raimi and company). That would be the GORE! This film has a nice share of blood and gore and it packs what might be the greatest kill I’ve seen on film and that covers a lot of ground. But it’s not just a one kill pony, it has a few really clever gore jobs rounding it out. that along with the style of the film and it’s kinda clever (for those not paying attention) twist ending makes the film a lot more fun than it should be. It also it a must watch for any slasher fan. Sure it isn’t the best, but it’s far FAR from the worst. Plus, we do get Bruce Campbell for a few minutes. And a little Bruce Campbell is probably still better than no Bruce Campbell at all to the most of you reading this now.
The Conclusion
The film packs enough gore to make any hardcore horror fan drool. And here it’s even more prominent than ever before. This new 2K digital restoration of the original uncensored director’s cut, makes the film look better than it has every looked before. It also comes with some cool features such as, audio commentary with the director Scott Spiegel and producer Lawrence Bender, featurettes/retrospectives, and even never before seen extended murder sequences from the original workprint. And a lot of other great stuff as well. Intruder might not be as well know as Halloween or Friday the 13th, but I have it listed as one of my all-time favorite slashers and I’m sure a ton of you will enjoy it as well.
The Rating (7/10)
