Intruders (I) (2011)

Two children living in different countries are visited nightly by a faceless being who wants to take possession of them.

Director:

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo

Writers:

Nicolás Casariego (screenplay), Jaime Marques (screenplay)

Stars:

Clive Owen, Carice van Houten, Ella Purnell

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clive Owen	...	John Farrow
Carice van Houten	...	Susanna
Daniel Brühl	...	Father Antonio
Pilar López de Ayala	...	Luisa
Ella Purnell	...	Mia
Izán Corchero	...	Juan
Kerry Fox	...	Dr. Rachel
Héctor Alterio	...	Old Priest
Adrian Rawlins	...	Police Inspector
Michael Nardone	...	Frank
Mark Wingett	...	Dave
Peter O'Connor	...	Frank
Mary Woodvine	...	Teacher
Lolita Chakrabarti	...	ER Doctor
Ralph Ineson	...	Alarm Installer

Storyline

In Madrid, the boy Juan is terrified by the monster Hollowface and his mother is unable to protect him so summons Father Antonio to exorcise the monster from their lives. In London, the construction worker John Farrow is very close to his teenage daughter Mia. One day, Mia is spending the day at her grandparents' house in the countryside with her mother Susanna and she finds a box with the story of Hollowface hidden in a tree. Soon Mia sees the monster Hollowface in the closet of her bedroom and John defends her. When they are attacked for the second time, the security camera that John has installed does not show any intruder. Are Mia and John delusional?

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Plot Keywords:

psychologist | hallucination | construction site | protective father | cat | 

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Taglines:

The Nightmare is Real.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for terror, horror violence, some sexuality/nudity and language

Details

Country:

USA UK Spain

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

7 October 2011 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Intrusos

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$40,746 (USA) (30 March 2012)

Gross:

$64,727 (USA) (6 April 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Antena 3 Films, Apaches Entertainment, Canal+ España

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During Mia's birthday, when everybody sings 'Happy Birthday To You', Susanna (Carice van Houten) yells "Hieperdepiep! Hurray", which means "hip hip" in her native language, Dutch.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Juan: The shadow monster woke up. It saw the boy in the pot and said:
Juan: [making his voice gruff] "Mmmm. I'm starving. I'm going to eat you up."
Juan: So the monster opened his mouth wide and swallowed the little tailor whole. The boy fell and fell into a dark cave filed with slime...
Luisa: Is that it?
Juan: That's all I could come up with.
Luisa: Well, you'll think of something tomorrow. Let's go to bed.

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Connections

Referenced in Estrenos Críticos: Capitán Trueno (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Painted Up Doll"
Written and performed by Ella Hunt

User Reviews

Spanish/British horror story about a desperate father who attempts to free his daughter from his deathly grip .

Intruders is a horror tale of possession in which two children in two different countries are visited by the Hollow Face man who spreads fear across the globe . There's a spooky faceless monster that has been haunting the daughter of John Farrow (Clive Owen). This figure wants to steal her face as she feels he has no identity of his own . John's tried helping his daughter remedy the situation, but each night she still gets a visit from this unwelcomed friend. Things get even spookier once John sees this faceless creature. He's not sure if he's going completely crazy or not, so he installs a security camera . Though no one can see him , Hollow Face lurks in the corners, desperately desiring love but only knowing how to spread fear and hate. He creeps into the life of John Farrow after Farrow's beloved 13-year-old daughter Mia (Ella Purnell) is assaulted in their home . The line between the real and the imaginary blurs as fissures start to open within the family unit . It seems that no security measure can keep Hollow Face out . Furthermore we're initially introduced to Juan (Izán Corchero) a young Spanish boy who, on one rainy night, is attacked by a strange spectre , known as Hollow face , being helped by his mother (Pilar Gomez Ayala) .

The picture displays mystery, suspense, shocks, grisly terror and eerie scenes when the horrific creature appears . From start to finish the terror and spooky scenes are continuous until a striking ending . The film contains horrifying and hair rising images and a sinister, mysterious atmosphere . It has a couple of twists piled on top of one central twist concerning two children in different countries who are visited nightly by a faceless being and menaced by what seems to be a supernatural presence . Good performance by Clive Owen who stars as John Farrow, a father trying to protect his 13-year-old daughter from the evil entity known as Hollow Face . The acting from Clive Owen , Carice van Houten as his wife , Daniel Bruhl as a priest , Kerry Fox as a Doctor , Hector Alterio as an old priest is much better than the script . Nicolás Casariego and Jaime Marques' screenplay does something strange by the end : it actually removes the stakes of everything that came before with its trio of revelations that at first test and then demolish any credulity the movie had built up by that point. Both of whom manage to create some interest with their dual storytelling style . However , the picture is hampered by a partially fleshed out story that is mostly lacking in horror. Director Fresnadillo throws all of that away in exchange for a terror film without scares, originality or a pulse . Colorful cinematography plenty of lights and shades by excellent cameraman Enrique Chediak . Creepy and thrilling music adjusted to the horror film by Roque Baños .

Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (Intacto , 28 Weeks Later) isn't exactly a visionary director like the film bills him as, but he is good at approaching films with style and consistent moods . The director made an editing the film was a big challenge , it was a long, complex process because of the story's dual structure. The film will appeal to terror buffs but gets some decent scares with the apparition of the frightening faceless being who wants to take possession of the children.