So this past weekend I watched Avengers: Infinity War. When it was over, I immediately went to my local Redbox thinking Avengers: Endgame came out, only to be disappointed. In my desperate search to ensure my trip to Redbox wasn’t a complete failure, I decided to rent Us and take a chance and check out The Intruder.
I put it all on the line for all of you Michael Ealy fans, Megan Good fans, and yes, even the Dennis Quaid fans.
SPOILERS FOLLOW
The Intruder stars all three of the aforementioned actors in a plot tailor-made for a “BET Original Movie” at best, and a “Bounce Original Movie” at worst. The Intruder is about Scott (Ealy) and Annie (Good) Russell, a beautifully black, successful couple who purchases a home from Charlie Peck (Quaid), who may or may not support making America great again. Things take a hard left early on, as it becomes painfully obvious that Charlie doesn’t give a fuck about boundaries or paperwork and still feels like he can come and go as he pleases.
Now I know what you’re thinking. Surely, the combined might of our melanin protagonists and their all-powerful love will be more than enough to fight off the red hat wearing trespasser, right? Yes and no. It would’ve been enough if it didn’t take Annie anywhere from a few weeks to a month to get on the same page as her husband.
Annie is certified trash in this film.
Stay with me here. Every time Charlie imposes his presence on the Russell’s and their home, ANNIE MAKES AN EXCUSE AS TO WHY IT’S OK UP UNTIL CHARLIE GOES FULL HEEL!!! It was so infuriating watching Scott detail all the signs pointing to why Charlie is fucking insane only for Annie to either give the latter a pass or flip the script and antagonize the former. If Scott told Annie he didn’t want Charlie in his house, Annie would find a way to get this old bastard back in. I just knew by the end we would get a goofy ass plot twist where Annie and Charlie were going to kill Scott together so she would have revenge for his past infidelities. Yes, Scott cheated on Annie. Yes, this comes up during a moment where Charlie has been let in the house after Scott specifically asked Annie not to let him in the house. Yes, black men STILL don’t cheat. That was the other half of him
This whole dynamic stressed me out so bad.
The logic in the movie is all over the place, by the way. Tommy (played by Joseph Sikora, whose character is actually named Mike. But his name is Tommy on Power, so I’m going to call him Tommy) catches on early and sees Charlie is crazy before anyone. Yet, he gets killed when he inexplicably trusts Charlie despite seeing him with a damn axe. This newfound trust goes against how their relationship was up until this point in the film. I was pissed. Tommy would never fall for the chicanery. Scott even does some dumb shit. Charlie is armed with several firearms but noooooo, Scott doesn’t want a gun in his house because of the manner in which his brother died. All that shit went out the window at the end, though, when it was clear Charlie needed to die and the proverbial rabbit had the gun.
I suppose I should go over the quality of the film at some point, huh? The acting is solid and, quite frankly, undeserving considering how the writing and plot development are both weak. Dennis Quaid is money as Charlie. You’d think he was crazy for real. Michael Ealy turns in a solid performance, turning on the charm and brashness whenever required. Megan Good is appropriately green as Annie, and she does a great job of pissing you off beyond measure. The plot moves pretty quickly and the film isn’t long by any means. If you have nothing else to do or just want to watch something you won’t forget due to how angry (or uncomfortable) it’ll make you, give The Intruder a shot.
Just promise me you won’t dismiss the feelings of your spouse in the way Annie dismissed Scott.
Overall: Unapologetically Basic AF (2 out of 5)