Summary: A young married couple buys a beautiful house on several acres of land, only to find out that the man they bought it from refuses to let go of the property.
Pros:
The Cast. I don’t find the characters that interesting or even that well written, but the acting is the most important. Dennis Quad is spectacular because he’s clearly very dedicated to the character and what he does and he goes all out, to the creepy facial expressions, with how he moves. Not to mention, the way his character jumps back and forth in his personality, lol he’s good and probably a highlight. Michael Ealy plays Scott, the husband and he’s clearly the skeptical one in the relationship because he doesn’t really like the house nor does he like or trust Charlie, especially after their first meeting. Meagan Goode is Annie, the wife and her character is fine, like she’s not like a horrible person or anything but she could have easily prevented a lot of this stuff if she just stopped trying to be so nice. You can be nice but have boundaries, she did not. But I generally like Meagan Goode, she’s a good actress and I think most of the time I like her characters and she plays this character well, it’s just the writing for Annie isn’t great! She’s frustrating and not in a good way.
Some Great Tension. There are some moments where the tension is felt when the movie doesn’t try to force it but instead lets it happen. You know something is going to happen, but the movie allows the actors to show us that they’re uneasy or something like that. A good example of this is when Mike is outside smoking during his first visit of the new house. Or when Scott wakes up in the middle of the night because he heard a noise. Those were some good moments because it was in the moment without the movie going “Oh! Here comes a scary moment! Or an uneasy moment!”
Interesting Premise. It’s not an original story nor is it original in how it’s told. Screen Gems has their formula for movies like this and I was like ehhh, but I will say this one had promise and I might have been interested if they handled it a little better. It would have been a better thriller if it was a thriller throughout the entire film instead of it being in certain places with those formulaic “jump scare” moments that turns into a horror film at the end.
Cons:
Stupid Characters. These people are STUPID! Annie is the worst of it all, yes, she’s a sweet and welcoming woman, and I love how on the special features, they talk about her character and singing her praises, but SHE IS PART OF THE PROBLEM IN THIS MOVIE. Scott expressed many times that he did not like Charlie, or he did not trust him, etc. but she completely ignored his wishes and continued talking to the man, even inviting him into their home. Sure, you can prevent what he was doing in certain places, but she could have had her husband’s back way more. Then we have Mike and his girlfriend, no idea what her name was, but we never see the girlfriend again, no one even asks when something happens to Mike. I mean, ask her if she’s seen him maybe?? Also, how did that random man know that Scott bought Foxglove? Was there an announcement in the paper or something? Lol it was just so random.
Cheesy Dialogue. There’s plenty of it, like when Charlie is talking to Annie, he just says some of the most ridiculous stuff that she just giggles at. “Oh, I feel bad for him”, she’s a fricking broken record and the times Charlie must be menacing, the dialogue isn’t that great that you’re like “oh okay… go sit down.”
No Horror or Thriller Elements. It really works on the thriller aspects throughout the film but then really try to amp of the thriller/horror aspect in the last act of the film, but I don’t think you’ll jump or anything. If you do, it’s because the movie forced you too because of the MUSIC.
Overall, I wasn’t that interested in this film to begin with because there are like five others that are similar and it’s annoying because while they are using black actors and have black characters, the writing is never that great. It never quite delivers the way they try to. It always seems so forced. In this one, some of the positives are the cast, particularly the main trio because I think all three actors do a good job, particularly Dennis Quaid as Charlie who was insane lol. I think the premise was interesting and had a lot of promise AND it does manage to have tension they worked hard to build at times, but it worked better when it rose on its own. It never works the same when they force tension. The characters are stupid, all of them. All. The dialogue is super cheesy, like the last line in the movie made me laugh when the intention was to be all serious. Nope, I laughed. Then of course, the horror and thriller elements were formulaic or didn’t really exist. In the end, if you like these actors or movies similar, then sure, you might enjoy this. I can imagine this being a movie where people yell at the screen, but I don’t think it’s even worth that kind of reaction.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars.
Have you seen The Intruder? What are your thoughts on the film? Let me know in the comments below!
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