I hadn't watched a CAT III film in two or three years-so imagine my delight when I happened to blindly pluck this one from my huge stack of unwatched films. Like many sub-genres, CAT III films can be very hit-or-miss...lucky for me-INTRUDER is a home- run...
A Chinese mainlander kills a hooker and assumes her identity to move to Hong Kong. Once there, she targets an unsuspecting loner-type guy because we find that the woman and her husband are both wanted for crimes in China-and with her own new identity confirmed-she now needs to get identification for her husband. The action of the film transpires when the woman holds her victim captive in his own home-awaiting the arrival of her husband from the mainland...
there are elements of INTRUDER that reminded me of other such films as MISERY and INSIDE (two films that I also happen to enjoy quite a bit...), but with a Hong Kong-style film-making flare. And while not strictly a 'home-invasion' film in the strict sense-I'd still consider it in the same realm as such and rank it up there amongst the best. The main murderess is beautiful and is quite good at portraying a ruthless, yet sometimes vulnerable antagonist, who will stop at nothing to succeed in her plot to keep her and her husband free of the authorities. Sharp storyline, solid acting all around (the victim's young daughter is heart-wrenching in her scenes...), Masterfully shot, well-crafted suspense, brutal (if not always extremely graphic) violence-my only gripe at all is that the gorgeous main actress never shows any skin and that INTRUDER lacks the sleaze of some other notable CAT III entries- facts that I'm willing to overlook this time-for a film that's one of the best CAT III thrillers, or thriller films in general, that I've seen in quite a while. It's a shame the Director only has this film to his directing credit-I'd be seriously interested in seeing something else from him. Highly recommended. 8.5/10
A Chinese mainlander kills a hooker and assumes her identity to move to Hong Kong. Once there, she targets an unsuspecting loner-type guy because we find that the woman and her husband are both wanted for crimes in China-and with her own new identity confirmed-she now needs to get identification for her husband. The action of the film transpires when the woman holds her victim captive in his own home-awaiting the arrival of her husband from the mainland...
there are elements of INTRUDER that reminded me of other such films as MISERY and INSIDE (two films that I also happen to enjoy quite a bit...), but with a Hong Kong-style film-making flare. And while not strictly a 'home-invasion' film in the strict sense-I'd still consider it in the same realm as such and rank it up there amongst the best. The main murderess is beautiful and is quite good at portraying a ruthless, yet sometimes vulnerable antagonist, who will stop at nothing to succeed in her plot to keep her and her husband free of the authorities. Sharp storyline, solid acting all around (the victim's young daughter is heart-wrenching in her scenes...), Masterfully shot, well-crafted suspense, brutal (if not always extremely graphic) violence-my only gripe at all is that the gorgeous main actress never shows any skin and that INTRUDER lacks the sleaze of some other notable CAT III entries- facts that I'm willing to overlook this time-for a film that's one of the best CAT III thrillers, or thriller films in general, that I've seen in quite a while. It's a shame the Director only has this film to his directing credit-I'd be seriously interested in seeing something else from him. Highly recommended. 8.5/10