Intruders all takes place inside an old house. Agoraphobic Anna (Beth Riesgraf) is mourning the recent death of her brother. On the day of his funeral, her affliction keeps her from leaving the house. This becomes a bigger problem when three thieves break into her house, expecting her to be out. Though surprised by her presence, the intruders quickly deal with Anna. But there is something else going with Anna and her assailants, a dark secret inside the house that will change the circumstances for everyone.
It is tough to talk about this movie without revealing its big secret. Suffice it to say that there is a big reversal in the middle of this movie; that the power dynamics between the characters shifts drastically at some point. And while there is some novelty in seeing some of this take place, the movie doesn't seem to think this concept all the way through. In order to make its plot work, it ends up writing characters too stupid to make rational decisions. They are constantly making choices that put them into more danger, and there comes a point where it becomes difficult to care about anyone's plight.
This is actually one of those plots that don't work in the present day, because you're expecting everyone to have phones. There are several moments in this movie that don't seem altogether plausible. Aside from the fact that these characters ought to be calling for help, the movie just does a poor job of providing rational motivations for a lot of what these characters end up doing. It writes these characters inconsistently at best, making them mean and crazy when it suits the story at that point, and then suddenly sympathetic when that is what's most convenient.
The core concept isn't bad, but the execution is pretty sloppy. And it only gets worse as it comes to expound of this core concept. The belated explanation for everything that's out of the ordinary feels half-baked, relying heavily on a clunky understanding of the psychology of abuse. The film wields this story as a recovery narrative, presenting the terrible events within as a means of treatment for a psychological problem. It crafts uncomfortable moments of triumph, all of them built on horrible acts. It gets queasy at the end, with the simplistic elements failing to justify the breadth of the emotional resolution.
To its credit, the movie is able to get a lot out of what must have been a meager budget. It uses its one location really well, finding interesting nooks and crannies of this one home, making it out to be much larger and stranger than it probably is. Beth Riesgraf pours a lot into this role, and despite the underwritten nature of the characteristics, she manages to put on a pretty compelling show. Her co-stars flounder a bit while trying to find some consistency in their roles. This mainly results in overacting, the actors straining to hit the repetitive notes provided.
'Intruders' has a pretty cool hook, but it hardly stands up under any scrutiny. The film is so intent on getting to its big reversal that it seems to disregard basic details that would help prop up the reality of what's going on. There are interesting that happen, but they lack a logical foundation. The movie has to contrive so much just to get these characters where they need to be, all to serve a psychological framework that feels a little trite and simplistic.
My Rating:
