Intruder (1989)

People are voting emotionally.

Fantastic!

Crappy film

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Why is it that some 80s slashers are so bad they're great, and some are so bad they're bad? Where is that mysterious dividing line? I don't know. But to draw a comparison, when it comes to 'teens- locked-in-shopping-areas-overnight' slashers, whatever it was that made Chopping Mall such an enjoyable treat is completely absent in Intruder, despite the fact that (killer robots aside) both are fundamentally the same and both are completely crap. Chopping Mall is somehow a lot of fun, but Intruder completely drags from the start. Despite the bright colours and snappy camera angles, the whole thing feels enveloped by an invisible vacuum of dullness. It limps from one boring scene to the next and by the time the kills come I'd already lost interest. Even the actors seem bored. It's pointless being too critical because 80s slashers are like the Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards of the movie world anyway, but Intruder is just dull.

Personally my favorite horror film is My Bloody Valentine (1981), but Intruder isn't bad. It follows the story of workers in a supermarket as an unknown killer hunts them down one by one. It has decent acting for a low-budget film, eerie soundtrack (some of it has been used in the Spongebob episodes), a great cast and an original plot similar to the novel Laundromurder by Racheal Bates. It deserves a higher rating and better reputation than what it has, and I highly recommend it. Hey, even if you decide you really hate it, you can still at least enjoy its nostalgia and cheesy, funny moments, and laugh at it's, uh, "low-budgetness". After all, horror movies aren't always meant to be scary, some are just meant to entertain us.

For me, the mysterious part of it all is the title of the film. Why is it called Intruder? I've heard of intruders, they invade homes, they usually look for something. Intruders usually don't show up late at night in a supermarket ( that wouldn't make the market so super, now would it? ) Intruder, my arse, you have a mad slasher on your hands...while you still have your hands. And if your dipping into this, thinking that it's another one of those horror flicks where the gross stuff is done off camera, just because it's a low budget movie, you'd better think twice: Intruder delivers the goods in GRAPHIC VIOLENCE. This gory shocker just may put all the other wannabe slasher movies in its place. Our story opens up in local supermarket getting ready to close. The young female cashier is harassed by one of the final customers for the night, an old flame. A little dispute finds him exited out of the building, ah, they were closing anyways. Shortly afterward, a body count begins to rise within the store, a VERY HIGH body count. The deaths are downright grisly, brutal, and not for the faint of heart...okay? You've been warned. There were even a couple of scenes where I almost looked away, and I thought I'd seen them all, since I've seen so many in this genre. Hey! You have to hand it to the deli department, they have so many gadgets that can be used as weapons. Meat slicer, an army of knives and meat cleavers, oh man! Killer is going to be on cloud nine in this store. In my opinion, this is one of the best 80's slasher flicks, and I recommend it to all that are a fan of Sam Raimi, the great guy who brought you Evil Dead and Spiderman 2002. Oh, and don't forget to lock your doors...you can never be too safe these days.

THE GREATEST American SLASHER FLICK EVER MADE! But don't take MY WORD for it - see it for yourself. Forget all your Michael Myers, Jasons or Freddies, this guy here eats all of these for breakfast!!! Perhaps due to a poor marketing strategy, this film isn't widely known to many people. But that doesn't mean a thing nowadays, as many of these gems are available to be watched online or downloaded over the internet.I am proud to own this GEM on DVD! The script was written and directed by Scott Spiegel, the co-writer of Evil Dead 2.Plot: A local late night supermarket is shutting up and the night shift are starting to restock the shelves ready for the next day.Just as the store is about to close Craig (David Byrnes), the former boyfriend of cashier Jennifer (Elizabeth Cox), appears and the two have an argument. Worried for her friend, Linda (Renee Estevez) presses her panic button and calls for help. Co owner Bill (Dan Hicks) appears and a fight ensues. Craig escapes onto the shop floor and the night crew set out to track him down whilst Jennifer calls the police. On discovering him there is another scuffle before they manage to eject Craig from the store, after which he disappears into the night.While the night crew are gathered the owners announce they are selling the store and the staff will soon be out of a job. The staff are assigned the task of marking down all the stock in preparation for the close.Craig makes telephone calls to the store, unnerving Jennifer. The police arrive but do little to help and just tell the group to be careful.Linda finishes her shift and takes some shopping out to her car but is stabbed by an unseen attacker. Bill spots someone trying the back door and goes out to investigate. He finds Craig watching Jennifer through the bathroom window. Craig clubs Bill over the head with a hammer.Back in the store an unseen assailant begins to stalk the workers and the store-owner and kills them one by one. The killer dismembers his victims, leaving body parts around the store.Realising that everyone seems to have vanished, Jennifer goes to investigate and discovers bodies in the storerooms. Terrified, she is attacked by the killer but manages to escape back onto the shop floor. Hearing someone at the door she attempts to attract their attention but they have gone when she gets there.Craig appears and grabs her but she stabs him with a meat hook. Craig slumps to the floor. Bill staggers in and says Craig had attacked him outside the store. He calls the police.Jennifer notices that Bill's hands are covered in blood and realizes he is the killer. Bill tells her that he could not let his partner sell the store so he killed him, and then just got carried away killing the others. Bill attacks Jennifer and chases her around the store. Jennifer is locked inside the building. A delivery man appears outside. Jennifer tries to get his attention but he is killed by Bill who had slipped outside.Bill reenters the building and stalks Jennifer again. Jennifer is grabbed by Craig who tells her he saw Bill killing Linda and climbed into the building through the bathroom window to save her. Bill appears and clubs Craig to the ground with a severed head whilst Jennifer flees.Crawling out the bathroom window Jennifer attempts to escape in her car but finds the body of Linda in there. Bill grabs her legs and pulls Jennifer under the car but she stabs him with the knife she had pulled from Linda. Jennifer heads to a phone booth to call the police where Bill reappears again and starts to smash the booth to get at her. Tipping the phone booth over he has Jennifer trapped when Craig appears and hacks him with a meat cleaver.Jennifer and Craig are standing in the car park over Bill's body when the police arrive and arrest them. Bill regains consciousness and shouts to the police that the pair had gone mad and killed everyone. The two are taken away protesting their innocence.Similar films: Dr. Giggles, The Ice Cream Man, The Mutilator, Bloody Moon, The Burning and Just Before Dawn.