In Intruders, a severely agoraphobic young lady (Beth Riesgraf) is menaced by three baddies in search of cash somewhere in her home. But this isn't a standard home-invasion flick, and she's not the standard victim, either. This Intruders contains a devilish twist about midway through, and suddenly this isn't a movie about a damsel in distress but something wholly different – and much more interesting.
Anna (Riesgraf) lives in an old house with her brother Conrad, who's quickly dying of some disease. The two have lived in the house by themselves since their father passed away some ten years earlier, but Anna has developed a paralyzing fear of the outside. She can't even open the door without hyperventilating.
Conrad dies very early in the film. The only other person Anna has been in contact with over the past decade has been the faithful delivery boy from Meals on Wheels, Dan (Rory Culkin). A few days before Conrad's death, Dan and Anna discuss the possibility of either leaving their small town for bigger and better things. When Dan says he'd love to strike out on his own somewhere, Anna offers him a sackful of cash. Which Dan turns down.
A quick fast-forward to the days after Conrad's death. It's time for the funeral. Anna doesn't go, despite the pleadings of her brother's lawyer. And then, while she's at home doing pretty much nothing, a couple of vehicles pull up in her driveway and men enter the house. They don't know she's there. Because she's not supposed to be there.
Riesgraf's Anna is no shrinking violet. At the same time, the thugs aren't exactly one dimensional themselves, with each character carefully defined without being a stereotype. Perhaps this affair won't be as one sided as it initially appeared. After all, this is Anna's home turf.
I found Intruders to be fairly brilliant, with a neat twist on a standard plot that ultimately transforms the film from a pile of predictability to a tsunami of terror and guessing.
Anna (Riesgraf) lives in an old house with her brother Conrad, who's quickly dying of some disease. The two have lived in the house by themselves since their father passed away some ten years earlier, but Anna has developed a paralyzing fear of the outside. She can't even open the door without hyperventilating.
Conrad dies very early in the film. The only other person Anna has been in contact with over the past decade has been the faithful delivery boy from Meals on Wheels, Dan (Rory Culkin). A few days before Conrad's death, Dan and Anna discuss the possibility of either leaving their small town for bigger and better things. When Dan says he'd love to strike out on his own somewhere, Anna offers him a sackful of cash. Which Dan turns down.
A quick fast-forward to the days after Conrad's death. It's time for the funeral. Anna doesn't go, despite the pleadings of her brother's lawyer. And then, while she's at home doing pretty much nothing, a couple of vehicles pull up in her driveway and men enter the house. They don't know she's there. Because she's not supposed to be there.
Riesgraf's Anna is no shrinking violet. At the same time, the thugs aren't exactly one dimensional themselves, with each character carefully defined without being a stereotype. Perhaps this affair won't be as one sided as it initially appeared. After all, this is Anna's home turf.
I found Intruders to be fairly brilliant, with a neat twist on a standard plot that ultimately transforms the film from a pile of predictability to a tsunami of terror and guessing.