'Intruders'

I know I'll like 'Intruders'. It looks well done and seems to offer a viewer who isn't looking for slash and gore something to think about that's atmospheric and creepy. My kind of movie.

'Intruders' is directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo ('Intacto', which got good reviews, and '28 Weeks Later'). These are pretty solid flicks that show a lot of confidence -- rare these days with all the furniture movers pointing and shooting.

This from Manohla Dargis' write-up:

• It’s a pleasure to find that Mr. Fresnadillo has assumed the mantle of horror classicist to make “Intruders,” using shadows and directorial sleights of hand to coax forth its slow-building scares rather than just pouring on the usual guts and gore. 

 and

• For “Intruders” Mr. Fresnadillo has slowed the pace, dimmed the lights and trained his camera on the faces of characters you may actually want to see make it out alive and in one piece, unlike the disposable young things of many contemporary horror flicks whose idiocy and one-dimensionality almost beg for your sadism.

The movie took about $41k in its limited US release in 33 theaters for a per-screen-average of $1,235. Kind of low -- that looks be it. 'Intruders' will cut back to 11 theaters this weekend.

Still, I'm intrigued by the story and the poster. Why are Owen's eyes and mouth missing? What does that say about his character? If these plot elements deliver 'Intruders' could be a substantial experience. However, it occurs to me that (perhaps) these are the very story devices that have made the movie so difficult to sell. Trailers measure out with an odd beat -- not quite weird or off-putting, but with conceptual psych threads that are both difficult to make clear with a few seconds of footage and have to be kept...well...secret. People would sense this isn't a typical horror flick, and may have decided to skip it for that reason. While that may have been a tad unfortunate, 'Intruders' could do a lot of business on cable/TV and as a rental due to good word of mouth. I'll be buying a copy.

Here's an interview with Fresnadillo which includes new footage.



Clive Owen has a couple interesting projects coming up. 'Hemingway & Gellhorn' with Nicole Kidman arrives on HBO in May (trailer). This is directed by Philip Kaufman (The Right Stuff, The Unbearable Lightness of Being) which by itself qualifies the movie as must-see.

Owen has an intriguing project in 'Recall'. The logline is pretty vague: 'An NSA agent attempts to recall the events that led up to a failed hostage rescue', but also has a lot of potential. Directed by Harold Becker (Sea of Love, Mercury Rising). The news here, though, is the script is by Paul Schrader who penned 'Taxi Driver' and wrote and directed 'Affliction'. That's got to be a good sign.
















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