Growing up in Michigan, Scott Spiegel was good friends with Sam Raimi, his brother Ted, and Bruce Campbell. They worked together on various Super-8 shorts, most notably Within the Woods, which was the precursor to The Evil Dead. Seeing how they were able to raise some money for their film, Spiegel decided to follow in their footsteps. He had filmed a short called Night Crew about the late-night crew of a grocery store being killed off one-by-one. Spiegel wanted to expand it to feature-length, but unfortunately, he struggled with securing financing for the project and it languished. He went onto co-write Evil Dead II, and his work caught the attention of up-and-coming producer Lawrence Bender. Bender agreed to work with Spiegel to co-write and produce the feature, having secured funding from Charles Band’s Empire Pictures. Finally, in 1989, Spiegel’s directorial debut Intruder was released, albeit in a heavily-edited version.
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Rating
Synopsis
It’s closing time at Walnut Supermarket, and the night crew is working to get everything ready for tomorrow. However, they receive some bad news from owners Danny (Eugene Glazer) and Bill (Danny Hicks), announcing they’re selling the store. Everyone’s understandably upset about losing their jobs, but they’re instructed to mark down the prices to prepare for the close. Meanwhile, cashier Jennifer (Elizabeth Cox) has been getting stalked and receiving calls from her ex-boyfriend Craig (David Byrnes). As time goes by, the night crew starts getting picked off one-by-one by an unknown killer in gruesome ways. There’s death by a trash compactor, death by meathook, death by bandsaw, and plenty more as the bodies pile up. Eventually, Jennifer is the only one left as she stumbles across her co-workers’ and faces off with the killer. She soon learns that the killer is just crazy about this store!
Review
While not as much of a classic as Halloween or Friday the 13th, Intruder is an underrated slasher film. Having a slasher set in a grocery store is very unique, instead of the usual summer camp or dormitory. What also makes this stand out is Spiegel’s use of POV shots and unconventional camera angles that add some uneasiness. There are POV shots of a shopping cart, a phone, and even a broom, plus the tried-and-true killer POV shots. Admittedly, the film is very light on the story, but then again, most slashers films aren’t concerned with the story. They’re more concerned about delivering over-the-top and creative kills, which this film has in spades and then some. Designed by the newly formed KNB Effects, the kill scenes are nothing short of spectacularly brutal and vicious. The bandsaw death scene is worth the price of admission alone.
Acting-wise, everyone does a fine job, Elizabeth Cox and Danny Hicks especially being the standouts. Cox makes for a solid final girl, delivering a wide variety of screams and showing plenty of emotion. Hicks, however, steals the show as Bill, the obsessive co-owner who will stop at nothing to protect his store. What makes his performance so great is how he starts as a nice, very unassuming, and pretty funny guy. This makes the big reveal all the more shocking, especially with how intense and creepy he plays the part. Admittedly, this is somewhat ruined when you can clearly tell that he’s doing the killings even when hidden in shadows. Also, without giving too much away, the film ends on a somewhat dour note, which helps make it stand out. Overall, Intruder is an underrated gem that’s sure to please gorehounds and general horror fans alike.
Buy Intruder on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3qFymsE
