The Intruders Movie Review – Another Reason Not to Buy a House Without Looking at its History

Runtime: 93 minutes
Release Date: February 24, 2015
Rating: PG-13

Director: Adam Massey

Rose had a partial breakdown while studying at Standford. Her father, Jerry, worries that she suffers from the same emotional and mental problems that led to her mother's death not that long ago. As the university asked her to take some time off, Jerry decides to move them into a new home far removed from their old home to give his daughter a new start.

Not long after moving in, Rose meets her next door neighbor Leila. Leila expresses disgust at her for living in that home after what happened, but before she can explain further, her father pulls her back inside. Rose also meets Noah, a handyman helping a team of contractors fix up the house and a guy who conveniently seems to be around every time something bad happens.

Rose quickly learns that a young woman named Rachel went missing from that house the year before and that Leila's dad was originally the prime suspect. The woman who owned the house, Cheri, acted a little suspicious before disappearing herself. Most people in town thought she was a pillar of the community for the work she did with her church. After discovering the story, Rachel finds that there is something just plain wrong with her house.

She finds the head of a doll in one of her desk drawers and later sees the same head popping up in other places in the house. After venturing into the basement, she finds a tiny closet with a lock on the outside and the words "Rachel Was Here" carved on the rock wall inside. Rose then hears weird noises and starts running, only to trip and fall down the stairs and see the shadowy figure of a man standing over her. Her dad begins questioning if she actually saw anything or if everything she fears is only in her head, especially after learning that someone stole the majority of his prescription pain pills...

I never heard of The Intruders until I saw the trailer for it on another movie. As a fan of Donal Logue, I added it to my mental list. He turns up as Rose's father, but he doesn't play a very likeable character, and he occasionally seems a little bored. Miranda Cosgrove does a much better job as Rose.

Both the director and Cosgrove did a good job of leaving us wondering if everything that happened in the film occurred only in her mind or in real life. When she led her dad to the basement and showed him the writing on the wall, it suddenly looked faded and barely legible, which only added to the idea that maybe she made up everything. Though the film does make it clear what happened in the end, it also ends on one of those notes that makes you wonder if maybe Rose really is more like her mother than she thinks.

I also want to give a shout out to Tom Sizemore. Given the problems he had in the past, it was nice to see him back to doing a fairly good job. As the father of the next door neighbor, he does a pretty good job of walking the line between creepy and possible killer/kidnapper and a guy just looking out for his daughter.

The Intruders got some horrible reviews, but I have to say that I actually liked it. While the reveal was a little hokey and something we've all seen dozens of times, I would probably watch it again, which is something I almost never say.