The trashy Netflix thriller has quickly become a staple for the streamer, delivering a variety of hits and misses in equal measure. The twisty, but mostly predictable, new film from director Adam Salky and writer Chris Sparling (Buried, ATM, Lakewood) leans ever-so-slightly more in the former direction. Intrusion’s pedigree of talent, in particular the performances of both Logan Marshall-Green and Freida Pinto, is reason enough to give this one a watch. Marshall-Green specifically absolutely slays a multi-tiered role, but anyone who has been paying attention to Logan’s career trajectory knows he could basically do this in his sleep.
The setup is almost too simple—two months after moving into their dream home, therapist Meera (Pinto) and her nerdy-cute husband Henry (Marshall-Green) are faced with an intense home invasion. It ends with Henry shooting and killing one of the attackers, but Meera latches onto a few red flags she notices about the situation. A missing local girl, deeply hidden marital secrets, and stacking coincidences become key to unlocking shocking truths. Was this random home invasion not actually random at all? Can Meera and Henry’s marriage survive the weight of suspicions and distrust?
Marital drama aside, the thrills and chills are wildly effective once they come around. With the home invasion itself happening a mere twenty minutes into the runtime, one would assume the metaphorical wad is blown far too early. A long while passes until the audience is able to experience thrills on the same level. It helps that before anything even the slightest bit pulse-pounding occurs, we get to know this couple and the type of relationship they have. Their cute dinner date, in which they play a game of Scrabble and Henry whips out a dictionary to prove a point, firmly establishes his nerdy status. Meera as a character is unfortunately quite underwritten, however, Pinto sells the hell out of her. It is not until the final act that she is honestly and truly able to play up her strengths.
Intrusion does not have much of a resolution, and ends far too quickly for my taste. Still, there is no denying the inherent charms of its leads, nor the exciting nature of its home stretch. These are some terrifically well-traversed roads here. As such, Intrusion really does not do anything new to set itself apart from the pack. Logan Marshall-Green does a phenomenal job, and tries hard to overcome script predictability. For fans of this talented actor, one really cannot go wrong.
Intrusion breaks into your home as it debuts on Netflix, on Wednesday, September 22nd.
