Intruder (1989) Empire/Horror-Thriller RT: 88 minutes (Director’s Cut) Unrated Version (extremely bloody violence, graphic gore, language) Director: Scott Spiegel Screenplay: Scott Spiegel Music: Basil Poledouris Cinematography: Fernando Arguelles Release date: January 13, 1989 (US) Cast: Elizabeth Cox, Renee Estevez, Dan Hicks, David Byrnes, Sam Raimi, Eugene Glazer, Billy Marti, Burr Steers, Craig Stark, Ted Raimi, Aly Moore, Tom Lester, Emil Sitka, Bruce Campbell, Lawrence Bender, Scott Spiegel, Douglas Hessler, Greg Nicotero. Box Office: N/A Body Count: 9
Rating: *** ½
The year was 1989. The slasher movie genre was gasping its last breath with lackluster entries in the usually reliable Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween franchises. Audiences weren’t flocking to them like they used to at the beginning of the decade. Ah, such fond cinematic memories of early 80s slasher pics like Maniac, The Burning, My Bloody Valentine, Graduation Day, Madman, The House on Sorority Row, Sleepaway Camp, The Initiation and so many others. I guess you could blame audiences losing interest on oversaturation although I see nothing wrong with too much of this particular good thing. I was (and still am) a dedicated devotee of the genre. I never let a slasher movie get by me. Well, that’s what I thought until I stumbled across Intruder on Amazon Prime. How the hell did this one fly under my radar for so long? Am I losing my touch? Nah, not the Movie Guy!
Written and directed by Scott Spiegel, Intruder concerns a mad killer running amok in a supermarket after hours. His victims are the dim boys and girls on the overnight crew. They’ve just learned they’re all about to lose their jobs in light of the store closing for good. This would lead the viewer to theorize that the killer is a disgruntled customer pissed off about having to find another place to shop. Another likely suspect is Craig (Byrnes, Witchcraft 7), the angry ex-boyfriend of cashier Jennifer (Cox, Night of the Creeps) who’s just been released from prison after accidentally killing a guy in a bar fight. He wants her to take him back; she wants him to leave her alone. It escalates quickly. It takes the entire crew to eject him from the store. True love knowing no bounds, that’s not the last they’ll see of Craig. In movie terms, he’s what’s known as “The Obvious Suspect”. He couldn’t possibly be the killer, could he? I’ll never tell.
There’s not much in the way of plot or character development in Intruder. It doesn’t really need it. The kids are little more than lambs lined up for the slaughter and what a slaughter it is! Before I get to that, let me introduce you to a few of the characters. Jennifer has the hots for co-worker Randy (Evil Dead creator Sam Raimi). He’s into her too. They have a quickie make-out section on a checkout counter conveyor belt. Working the other cash register is Linda (Estevez, Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers), a good friend of Jennifer’s. The two bosses are store co-owners Danny (Glazer, TV’s La Femme Nikita) and Bill (Hicks, Evil Dead 2) who’s less than thrilled about his partner selling the business. The rest of the crew consists of Dave (Marti), Bub (Steers, Pulp Fiction), Tim (Stark, The Hateful Eight) and “Produce Joe” (Sam Raimi’s little brother Ted).
WOW and HOLY CRAP! Intruder is a freaking bloodbath! When it was initially released, most of the graphic content was edited out to ensure a more teen-friendly R rating. I saw the Director’s Cut and I’m still reeling from the experience. To be fair, it takes a little while to really get going, but once it does it delivers like you wouldn’t believe. Not many people realize it, but a supermarket contains a disturbing number of instruments of death. Spiegel gets it and isn’t afraid to show it in gory detail.
Now we get to the heart of Intruder, the kill scenes. THEY’RE AWESOME! The victims meet their demise at the business end of knives, meat cleavers and meat hooks. One guy gets a paper spike right in the eye thus proving what my dad always said would happen if I handled sharp objects. Somebody gets their head smashed open in a cardboard crusher. The best kill, however, is the guy who gets his head sliced in half by a meat saw. It looks disturbingly real. NONE of it is CGI; it’s 1989, get real! The incredible gore effects are the work of Gregory Nicotero, Robert Kurtzman and Howard Berger (aka KNB EFX Group) working their first gig. They would go on to do the effects for Misery, Army of Darkness, In the Mouth of Madness and From Dusk Till Dawn. One look at their work in Intruder and you’ll understand why I prefer practical effects to CGI.
In addition to its cool bloody massacre, the store is literally strewn with body parts, Intruder is a stylish affair. It features some nifty camera angles obviously influenced by Sam Raimi mentoring the first-time director. The acting and dialogue are exactly what you’d expect. However, I must say that Renee Estevez should have been the next big scream queen. I don’t know why it didn’t happen. As for the identity of the killer, I’ll only say one it’s revealed, it makes perfect sense. Why didn’t I see it before?
I had an absolute ball watching Intruder. I saw something in it I never saw before; somebody being beaten unconscious by a severed head. Also, one scene practically made me jump off the couch. I had to stifle a scream so as not to wake up my wife sleeping upstairs. Okay, so Intruder is as dumb as any other 80s slasher flick. It contains every cliché associated with the genre. It features brain dead characters whose biggest contribution is screaming real loud. The plot can be written on a matchbook; it’s simplicity at its most simplistic. In this case, these are assets instead of liabilities. Had it gotten a wider release in ’89, it would have given slasher movies a much-needed dose of fresh blood.
TRIVIA TIDBIT: In addition to the Raimis, look for cameos by Nicotero and co-producer Douglas Hessler as a couple of locals, Green Acres co-stars Alvy Moore and Tom Lester as a pair of ineffectual cops and producer Lawrence Bender and Evil Dead star Bruce Campbell as the cops in the movie’s final scene.
