Intruder

Intruder is a fun and delightfully gory late 80s slasher that perfectly exemplifies the direction the sub-genre took from the more somber and intense early 80s entries. These flicks now had a sense of humor about themselves and were far more ‘self-aware’ than the ones that were inspired by Halloween and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. These films were more colorful, focused far more on bloody body count and were made knowing there was a slasher/horror savvy audience watching and openly acknowledged the films that came before them.This film takes place at the Walnut Lake Market where the night crew is closing up and getting the store ready for when it reopens the following morning. But, the mood is somber as the employees have been informed that the store is being sold and they soon will be out of jobs… that and pretty cashier Jennifer’s (Elizabeth Cox) thug ex-boyfriend Craig (David Byrnes) is out of jail and is harassing her at the store. But, soon the night shift becomes a nightmare as someone is stalking the employees one by one and slaughtering them in the most gruesome ways. Is it the spurned ex-con Craig?… or is there someone else out there with a grudge against the market and demented enough to kill them all. Will any of them escape The Walnut Lake Market alive?Written and directed by Scott Spiegel from a story by he and producer Lawrence Bender, this flick is a whole lot of slasher flick fun. The proceedings are taken seriously but, the film is written and directed with a wink to the audience that the filmmakers know they are watching and know what to expect and they are going to get it, covered in buckets of blood. The film is not very suspenseful but, does have some nice atmosphere, thanks in part to Fernando Argüelles’ cinematography and a cool score by the great Basil Poledouris. It’s made with the understanding that you know whose getting it and when and now it’s the anticipation as to see which gruesome manner it should be… the ban saw, the butcher knife, the trash compactor… or all of the above? And we get those gruesome kills with some delightfully nostalgic prosthetics and gallons of blood. The film knows the premise that no one notices they are being offed one by one or hears any of the screams is ridiculous but, goes with it, yet, never makes a joke out of it. Spiegel takes a likable bunch of young working stiffs and decimates them effectively in the setting of the empty grocery store and has a good time doing and so do we. The slasher formula is followed well and the film never insults us by assuming we haven’t seen it all before. In fact, the nods and winks to the genre make this ooze with nostalgia all these years later as, it is both slasher and slasher homage all in one.Getting back to the likable bunch of employees/victims… Elizabeth Cox makes a solid lead. She’s pretty, perky and when she finally realizes what’s going on, she is a resilient heroine as is part of the slasher tradition. Sam and Ted Raimi have small parts as butcher and produce workers respectively and the tools of their trade make the killer’s job a lot easier. Craig Stark is fine as Tim, a potential love interest for Jennifer and pretty much the male lead. David Byrnes is appropriately slimy as Craig who is obviously, as dictated by the formula, being set up as our #1 suspect. The rest of the supporting cast are also lively in their cliche’ roles which includes fun cameos by Spiegel, Bender and horror icon Bruce Campbell.I had a real blast with this film. I love the 80s era horror and this flick not only is one, but, it’s self-aware tone sets it up as a homage as well, which makes it a fun nostalgic viewing all these years later! In fact, I will go as far too say that it probably works far better now as homage than it did back then, at a point when the slasher genre was burning itself out. It’s got plenty of inventive and very gory kills and while it concentrates more on killing off it’s cast than trying to generate any real tension, it gets away with it by being obvious about it’s intentions and having fun with the fact that it respects that this is not the first horror flick we have all seen. A fun, deviously gory slasher flick that all these years later now works as a nostalgia filled homage, as well as, a fun horror flick. A very underrated and entertaining 80s slasher.

Want to watch an awesome bad movie? This is a solid choice. This flick is fun to watch, scratches your 80s itch in just the right silly spots, and keeps good pacing with gory death scenes and butchered body parts presented scary booby traps.It’s closing time at the local supermarket and the staff—including Jennifer (Elizabeth Cox; Night of the Creeps, The Wraith), Linda (Renée Estevez; Heathers, Sleepaway Camp II), Bill (Dan Hicks; Evil Dead 2, Darkman), Randy (Sam Raimi) and the produce guy (Ted Raimi; Evil Dead 2, Shocker, Darkman, Candyman, Wishmaster, The Grudge) among others—is preparing for their night stock and inventory duties when ultra-creepy ex-boyfriend and ex-con Craig (David Byrnes; Witchcraft VII, Witchcraft IX) wanders into the grocery store and harasses Jennifer. He’s dangerous and angry and he wants her back. After a big, clunky full-staff fistfight feeling like the stuff of “the best worst movies,” Craig becomes our primary suspect for the slasher flick to come.Despite kicking him out of the store and calling the cops, Craig continues to skulk around outside and grocery staff begin to die off one by one. As the body count rises, so does the playful occurrence of randomly displayed severed body parts throughout the store. And while I’d not call this a horror comedy, the body part presentation is amusingly zany. Cheeky even. We also enjoy a good chuckle when the killer uses a severed head as a weapon to repeatedly bludgeon another man unconscious.The death scenes are decent for a low budget entry of the era. Happening largely onscreen with a lot of blood and latex, there’s much for a classic 80s gorehound to enjoy here. The hydraulic head smash was my second favorite death, behind the obvious show stealer when a guy’s head is buzzed in half with a table saw in gloriously gory form. The aftermath of that kill is an iconic screen grab among 80s slashers.Directed by Scott Spiegel (Hostel Part III, From Dusk Till Dawn 2) and produced by a young Charles Band (Prison, Dolls, Parasite, Meridian, From Beyond, Doctor Mordrid, Head of the Family, Castle Freak), this slasher classic is also a who’s who of before-they-were-huge actors and filmmakers. In addition to the Raimi brothers, we enjoy brief cameos by Bruce Campbell (Moontrap, The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, Escape from LA) and Greg Nicotero (The Walking Dead).This flick is fun to watch, scratches your 80s itch in just the right silly spots, and keeps good pacing about itself between gory death scenes and impish macabre displays of butchered body parts set up essentially as scary booby traps. A nostalgic romp for sure… but also sort of bad. But like, the good kind of bad.

Arriving relatively late in the game, this low budget but highly energetic slasher flick wears its ghoulish heart on its sleeve and delivers a fun if derivative movie that belies its limited finances with funky performances, inspired camera angles and plenty of the red stuff...The story is standard slasher fare: The nightcrew of a supermarket are closing down for one final night as they're all unfortunately being laid off. The team led by Jennifer (Elizabeth Cox) along with Linda (Renée Estevez), Bill (Danny Hicks) and Joe (Ted Raimi) are busily calling it a day when Jennifer's ex boyfriend Craig (David Byrnes) arrives out of the blue, having just been released from prison. When he is abruptly ejected from the store, a series of grisly murders begin and all fingers point at him being the dastardly slasher who is cutting more than prices on this fateful night of survival... Co-funded by an uncredited Charles Band and produced by future Tarantino stalwart Lawrence Bender, 'Intruder' (or by its pre-release and much better title 'Nightcrew: The Final Checkout') is a whole heap of unbridled fun. If you are a fan of the slasher genre, this one both celebrates and deconstructs in equal measure - giving you crazy characters (albeit a little more mature than the usual teens in peril staple), a knowing 'wink wink' screenplay (by 'Evil Dead II' co-scribe Scott Spiegel) and gallons of gore (by the fine folks at KNB) that at one time got this puppy into hot water with the censors. Director Spiegel keeps things moving at a brisk pace and if honest, its the best movie he's directed - even though it looks like it cost a buck ninety five - it has an undeniable young energy that's really infectious.Synapse Film's 2-disc release gives us a locked Region A Blu-Ray (owch!) along with a Region 1 DVD which sports a great picture with fine audio. Thankfully, its uncut (which is a relief as I've waited for what seems like an eternity to finally catch it sans the censors scissor happy antics) with the wonderfully queasy bandsaw head bisecting scene being displayed in all its gory glory. The package is rounded out with a fun directors commentary and retrospective documentary which ensures this almost forgotten horror is worthy of a definite purchase. For fans of silly horror flicks, this one is a real killer. Recommended.

Uncut Directors Cut restoration of a cult slasher.Extras:Audio Commentary with director Scott Spiegel and producer Lawrence Bender."Making Of Intruder" documentary (HD, 38:24)"The Slashing Of The Intruder" featurette (HD, 3:27)Extended murder sequences from the original workprint (SD, 10:26)Outtakes from the Night Crew short film (SD, 6:50)Cast Audition Footage (SD, 11:04)Theatrical Trailer (HD, 1:19)Alternate Trailer under the title Night Crew: The Final Checkout (SD, 1:19)Still Gallery (HD, 4:20)(info copied from rewind dvdcompare.net)

Great low budget slasher flick directed by Sam Raimi's friend Scott Spiegel.After a disasterous video release in the 'bad old days' of heavy handed censorship that was shamelessly savaged by the BBFC, we have had to wait many years. Now we are finally treated to the uncut version, and it was worth the wait!The effects are suitably hideous (in a good way!), the bandsaw vs head bit is particulaly fun(!), but the things that raise this above the crowd are the interesting camera work and the fun script. The cast were clearly enjoying themselves when they made it, and this shines through.

Full range of irritating characters introduced before the film gets going. When the killings eventually start some of the gore is quite effective, but just as it looks as if this might salvage the film its completely undermined by one of the most stupid endings ever.

Every bit as Gory and good as I remember. You can just tell that this story of a Maniac taking out the nightshift workers in a Supermarket,was made by the same folks that brought us Crimewave and Evil Dead. The sick humour and Weird Camera angles evoke the same style and Suspense that Speigel and Raimi do so well.Worth A Look.