The Intruder (2019)

“The Intruder” stars Michael Ealy, Meagan Good, Joseph Sikora, and Dennis Quaid.  Released on May 3, 2019, the film is about a couple who buys a dream house, only to realize that its previous owner wants it back.

The film is directed by Deon Taylor, who also directed films such as “Dead Tone”, “Meet the Blacks”, and “Traffik”.  It’s really hard to let go of something that’s precious to you.  This guy knows it, and he’s not having it.  Now, there have been plenty of films that I witnessed that deal with the dangers of obsession over a person, and believe me, they’re all pretty stupid in terms of the concept.  This time, we have a film that deals with obsession over a house.  A flipping house.  Sheesh, it’s no wonder society has gone downhill.  I was quite skeptical about whether or not I should see it because I wasn’t a big fan of Deon Taylor’s last two films, “Meet the Blacks” and “Traffik”.  In fact, those two films actually made my “Worst Of” lists in the past three years.  But I wound up seeing it anyway because I thought that it might be a bit more entertaining than those films based on the trailers.  Turns out…I thought wrong.

The only good thing in the film was Dennis Quaid, who delivered a creepy and riveting performance as Charlie Peck, the former owner of the house who sold it to a married couple, Scott Howard (Ealy) and Annie Howard (Good).  Compared to the performances from the other psychological films, Quaid’s take on the psychotic persona was far from memorable, but he was able to make the film slightly watchable for me.  Everything else, however, was exactly what I expected.  It’s a formulaic and bland obsession thriller that’s filled with meaningless plot elements, corny dialogue, dumb characters, and forgettable thrills.  It’s a trend that works well with its target audience, but it can be tiresome for those who are sick of the genre.  Aside from Quaid’s performance, the rest of the actors were OK, although Good’s performance could’ve used some improvement, especially in the first act.  I also had some issues with the pacing.  It did a nice job at setting up the plot during the first 30 minutes, but it wasn’t able to maintain my interest during the rest of the film.  There were some scenes that dragged a little bit and there were some that failed to explore certain plot elements that could’ve made the characters a bit more interesting.

Overall, “The Intruder” is like any other recent obsession thriller I have witnessed.  Formulaic, dumb, and forgettable.  Despite Quaid’s respectable attempt to make the film entertaining, it didn’t convince me well enough to give the genre another chance.  It’s suitable for those who are in a mood for some thrills and chills.  As for the rest of the people, you’re better off looking for a different house.

D-