Adam Schindler’s “Intruders” (formerly “Shut In”) works with a fairly solid concept that begins with a clever note and then uses the concept to keep out of gimmicky trappings and implement it as a means of exploring a very unique kind of horror protagonist. By the end of “Intruders” you’ll either really care about Anna’s plight, or really fear what kind of maniac she’s capable of becoming, especially when she decides to approach her enemies with a swift and merciless motion.
Beth Riesgraf gives a fantastic performance as young Anna, a woman who’s older brother Conrad dies from a long battle with cancer. Friends only with him and the delivery boy for the local food kitchen (Rory Culkin), Anna has a tough time finding a reason to leave her massive home, as she’s ultimately kept prisoner by her paralyzing agoraphobia. One day Anna’s house is turned upside down when three thieves break in to the house attempting to look for a stash of money that Anna’s held with her for a very long time. Anna makes all the right moves, and has every chance to escape her intruders, except for the fact she can barely step outside on to her porch without breaking down and literally peeing herself out of horror.
When the intruders keep her captive attempting to find the hidden fortune, they get more than they bargained for when they enter in to her basement, and learn that Anna’s snared them in to a literal dungeon of death and torture. Filled with hidden doors, and secret rooms, Anna now has the thieves at her mercy, and has to figure out how to deal with them, as they slowly unravel and begin turning on one another. Watching the thieves slowly lose their minds becomes quite a sight, especially when Anna reveals she has a keen insight in to madness, while also being mentally ill.
“Intruders” is mostly self contained within Anna’s house which becomes a character on to itself, revealing little nuances that make it one of the most unlikely horror war zones imaginable. Beside the startling turn by Riesgraf, there are top notch turns by Rory Culkin, and Jack Kesy (already fantastic in “The Strain”), as well as Martin Starr who plays the resident bastard of the piece quite well. “Intruders” works as a solid horror drama with a bold premise; some audiences may not like the metamorphosis in to slight drama by the second half, but I appreciated “Intruders” penchant for constantly twisting and turning its premise to fit some kind of new idea and concept. It begins as a tale of crippling agoraphobia, and transforms in to a visit in to the psychoses of a woman who attended Jigsaw’s school of torture and traps.