The Intruder

Director - Chris Robinson (Catch the Black Sunshine, Thunder County)
Starring - Ted Cassidy (The Addams Family, Captain Caveman), Yvonne De Carlo (The Munsters, Tales from the Crypt), and George De Vries (Eyes of a Stranger, Dead of Night)
Release Date - 1975
Genre - Horror/Mystery
Tagline - "It will kill them all"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Tomorrow is turkey day which just happens to be one of my favorite holidays.  With the delicious food aside, its one of the few times a year that I can get the whole family together so my toddlers can spend time with them.  Not only that, I get to watch some of my favorite movies like Thankskilling, Blood Rage and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.  I wanted to work in a review before I wake up and eat until I puke so I tossed in the "lost" slasher film The Intruder from 1975 which has small roles from Mickey Rooney and Yvonne De Carlo.  The film recently received a blu release from Garagehouse.  I reached out to them and they were kind enough to send a copy my way.  

     The film follows eleven people who are spending the night in a mansion after the owner goes missing and is presumed dead.  They all go with the understanding that they will be getting a cut of the old man's riches.  What they don't expect is someone to start killing them all one by one.  Who is killing them and who will be next?

     I was under the impression that I was going to be checking out a lost slasher from the rise of the famed sub-genre.  Sadly, The Intruder was not.  Instead, what we got a was a low budget murder mystery that almost felt like another film adaptation of Clue.  The acting in this one is not what I was expecting considering the level of talent associated with it.  De Carlo may not be known outside of horror fans as Lilly Munster from The Munsters but she had one hell of a career in her life.  She is an amazing actress but she just doesn't feel right in her role.  She was underwritten and underutilized.  The same can be said for screen legend Mickey Rooney.  His scenes were so bleak and boring that I almost didn't recognize him.  The same can be said about the rest of the cast.  It's hard to tell which character is already dead or dying during their performance.  The story for this one isn't bad.  In fact, it was rather fun if it had a cast to bring the characters to life.  Don't let the artwork fool you.  This is not the slasher you are looking for.  Instead it is a murder mystery that does keep you guessing who is the killer and who will die next.  I really enjoyed how the story unfolded but the cast really makes the movie fall apart.  Finally, this one has several deaths but almost all of them takes place off screen with very little practical effects.  We do get some blood and a little effects showing the wound but that is it.  Gorehounds or fans of slasher kills will not be happy with this one.  Overall, The Intruder could have been a fucking awesome movie but the cast couldn't hold it together.  Fans of mysteries may still enjoy it but it could be slow one to watch.