Review No.52: Intruders

It always feels that the hardest genre to get right is horror especially in the 21st century when a lot of things have already been done before. That's why it seems that a lot of films seem to be going old school with chillers based in the past such as The Woman in Black and The Raven. Though not set in the past the tone of the Intruders is reliant on small scares rather than lots of gore and blood. The film is directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo whose best known over here for helming the sequel 28 Weeks Later and Intruders is set both in the UK and in his native Spain. It follows both a young Spanish boy and a twelve year old English girl both of whom are similarly writing a story about a shadowy figure known as Hollowface who haunts them equally during the film. The film flits between these two parts as the boy's mother is helped by a troubled priest while the girl's father played by Clive Owen looks to a therapist for help. As it is seen on the trailer I think I can divulge that the police start to believe that Owen is feeding his girl's fantasies and that he is the only one in the room with her but is this the truth? Obviously Fresnadillo has to link the two sections however I found the link to be weak and it made little sense when compared to the majority of the story that had come before it.

I really enjoyed the first half of Intruders as the plot built up the themes of how can parents protect their children and why sometimes we make up stories are called into question. The two young actors, Ella Purnell and Izan Corcheno, are both great with the latter in particular impressing me in the scenes in which she has to portray the fact that she cannot speak. There is also a great performance from Daniel Bruhl as the priest who is conflicted in his feelings for the mother and how much these feelings contribute to him wanting to help her son. It is Clive Owen who I feel is the most miscast here seemingly only appearing because the film-makers wanted a name above the titles. Though he did a convincing job of playing a doting father when the final revelations come I felt that an unknown actor would've been better in the role. Talking of that final twenty minutes that's where everything goes to pot with the film evoking memories of a number of films including Pan's Labyrinth, Identity and even to an extent Candyman. It is a shame as this is half of a good film which after it has built itself up has no idea how to finish and ultimately ends on a disappointing note.

Verdict: A film that starts promisingly enough but ends on a sour note means that I can only award it 5.5/10