Christian Jude Grillo’s “Intruder” owes a lot to the campy sci-fi films that Troma Entertainment used to produce. If you’re not familiar with the indie studio, it’s infamous for producing some of the most over-the-top, cringeworthy, and campy movies—like “The Toxic Avenger”—which have earned a special cult status among niche cinephile circles. If you are someone who belongs to that ‘very specific’ category, “Intruder” might just reel you in. To others, it might be one of the films that they sit down to hate-watch. But then again, you might find yourself stuck in a constant loop of a movie that is unable to really dig into its B-movie shenanigans.
Things should work off the bat, but for some reason, Grillo wants his protagonist, Bree Hewit (Dana Godfrey), to be an MMA fighter. I mean, it would make sense for that angry introduction where Bree punches her opponent until she passes out, if the narrative were to end up using her moves to exhibit some form of thrill. What we do get eventually is how she is connected to the central conflict. Most of which stems from the seemingly odd Moon travelling towards the Earth, possibly causing a rapture that kills everyone, and her estranged father, Martin (Andrew Hunsicker), getting back into her life just when it’s about to happen.
The existential edge is formulated around a multimillionaire named Jude Micah (D.C. Douglas) – Martin’s boss, whose tech company has been selling the idea of a haven to the rich somewhere in space. Meanwhile, the news channels keep updating us with the general sentiments surrounding the rich having their way yet again. Subsequently, the narrative keeps juggling between these three wild, tonally haywire threads that are stitched together with bad dialogue and worse acting performances — all of which are set in motion when Bree steals a spaceship that belongs to Micah.
The use of bad CGI, splattering fake blood onto the screen, and a satirical take on capitalism’s exploitative cycle—until someone disrupts it—perfectly aligns with a Troma-like vision..However, Grillo’s work is incredibly tedious with no clear standout in any department, not helping his case either. The film never manages to build up some steam or create spooky vibes that, despite the low budget, would make you sit up and notice — if not for the ambition, for the oddness itself.
B-movies work if their over-the-top premise replicates, mimics, or mocks a previously established genre. “Intruder,” despite its best efforts, fails to do that. The other reason why one would watch something like it would be to understand just how seriously it takes its own farcical underpinnings. Grillo’s film doesn’t. While the elements are all present, none of them come together to produce something that is exciting or even mildly entertaining – not even in a so-bad-that-its-good fashion.
You keep expecting the film to take a turn that would redeem it, and the presence of Iryna Scarola’s character, Azalea, raises some hope. But even she is squandered with an underdeveloped third act that peters out. Dana Godfrey, reportedly, learnt MMA for this role. Sadly, the film never truly uses her or any other character, for that matter, in a way that makes them feel important in the grander scheme of things, making “Intruder” a chore to sit through.
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