Intruders

Made by BBC America, INTRUDERS is a supernatural thriller centering on a secret society Qui Reverti, which has advocated that immortality can be achieved by possessing another person's life. They believe that each member of the society has two souls; prior to the death one of the members, the soul is activated and invades someone else.

The narrative is a familiar one involving the basic quest involving Richard Shepherd (James Frain) and Jack Whalen (John Simm) to discover what has happened to the people around them. The story also involves a ten-year-old girl Madison O'Donnell (Millie Bobby Brown) who appears to have two discrete sides to her nature - one childish, the other distinctly adult.

Shot in deliberately faded colors by Philip Linzey, INTRUDERS creates a dystopian world stretching across several American cities - Seattle, Reno being two of them - drawing our attention to the extent of the intruders' power. The scenario is strongly reminiscent of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956): apparently "normal" human beings turn out to be very different once their souls have been possessed by another person. The implication is clear - individuals must remain vigilant so as to protect themselves against possible corruption. Whether they can accomplish that task is another issue entirely.

In the mid-Fifties, INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS was a thriller produced by the Cold War situation: many Americans feared that their nation would be "corrupted" by communism - hence the emphasis on Red-baiting that persisted from late in the previous decade to the early Sixties. INTRUDERS takes the same scenario and updates it, warning viewers about the possible "menace" of foreign inspired terrorism, that might encourage hitherto well-educated young Americans to veer from the path of democracy and pursue more drastic, if not violent, methods of achieving their aims. Once again we are exhorted to beware of "the enemy within" - by trying to protect ourselves, as well as rooting out those whom we believe have already been corrupted.

INTRUDERS is a fascinating, if structurally complicated piece; its plot-development is slow, forcing viewers to identify the links between its various strands by watching each episode. The links are allusive rather than overtly emphasized; it is up to us to make the connections. Hence the structure reinforces the theme; it is only by paying close attention to the story that we can acquire the vigilance that will prevent us from being invaded by the intruders.

One of the successful methods with The X-files was Chris Carters' premise of, for every one question answered, 2 more are posed.

I found it intriguing, dark and mysterious. That's really difficult to accomplish now.

I suspect that a chunk of the negative reviews are from persons who want all of the answers up front.

I knew a guy that would finish a book in hours. I asked him how he could possibly do it. He said, "Simple. I just read the first and last paragraph of a book."

This is why we live in Idiocracy.

Its starts a little slowly and weird. i was worried it was going to go a bit under the dome ridiculous. After the third episode i was hooked. The little girl is quite frankly, frighteningly good! I found myself needing to know what on earth was going on. I liked the ending too, which was satisfying, a little carrot dangle for a possible future series. There were a few loopholes that had my nose wrinkling but i forgave all and moved on. Some of the acting was also a little ropey but i do like john Simms so again, i got over it pretty quickly. A good Friday night whilst having a curry sort of show. I didn't play on the ipad whilst i watched it so it held my attention more than most!

Intruders took a little while to unfold, but it was worth giving the patience of the first couple of episodes. It's very enigmatic, in a most intriguing sort of way. I'm enjoying it immensely. I'm surprised by the low ratings, but I could see how some people wouldn't want to stick with it. It has currents of darkness and violence. And there are some graphic scenes with a child that could be off putting for some. Since I love American Horror Story, this is really nothing in that league. Anyway, color me compelled and along for the ride to see the mysteries unfold. You have to stick through the first two to three episodes, but I find that to be true with premiere shows anyway as there is a great deal of background to be told. Patience folks...it's worth it.

Some people have been complaining about being confused after watching the pilot. To those people I say, who says a pilot has to lay out everything before you? Can it not just establish the mood and a general direction to color you intrigued without having to give a clear synopsis of what the series is about? Twin Peaks for example doesn't start to make sense until after the first season. What I mean to say by that is, just because a show starts out slowly and takes a few episodes to establish the characters and atmosphere doesn't mean it's bad. I liked Intruders very much so far, plot-wise we aren't given much answers until episode 6 or so, but it constantly keeps us guessing. The all around solid acting adds to the eerie mood and intriguing mystique. I am very curious where the story will lead and what strange revelations lie ahead.

Let's hope this gets renewed for a second season, Intruders is in my opinion currently one of the most intriguing horror/mystery series on television.