Michael Ealy and Meagan Good play a happily married couple (Scott and Annie Russell) at the start of a new chapter.
After they buy the Napa Valley house of their dreams, the previous, widowed homeowner, Charlie (Dennis Quaid), gives them more than what they bargained for. It’s not long after they get settled in before they discover that Charlie is still attached to the house.
First, it starts with Charlie performing a kind gesture and popping up to mow the lawn unexpectedly. The unannounced “gestures” continue and become increasingly strange from scene to scene.
Even with the voluntary invitations, Charlie continues to spy on the family and makes several excuses for barging in.
Scott’s friend Mike (Joseph Sikora) is suspicious after an earlier encounter, but unfortunately, his skepticism is not convincing enough.
When the intruding seems unbearable, that is, once the couple feels like they’ve had enough, Scott is left with one task and that is to confront Charlie man-to-man. Even with the first real confrontation, Charlie does not take the hint and shows up unannounced yet again. The turning point happens when Scott is expected to help put up the Christmas decorations and opts to attend a late-night “work outing” instead. Because of the infidelity in Scott’s past, Annie begrudgingly allows Charlie to take his place in helping to set up the decorations.
Later, Annie and Scott learn that Charlie is not who he claims to be and that his violent past coerced him into selling the house in the first place. However, there are several casualties that occur before the realization.
Dennis’ characterization of Charlie is a new experience for moviegoers. While we’re used to him playing a wholesome father or dedicated climatologist, in The Intruder he is a psychotic stalker with a lot at stake. His unresolved past eventually catches up with him once Annie and Scott get a hint of insight, but it is Annie’s compassion for Charlie that gets them all into deeper trouble.
Meagan Good portrays Annie’s insecurities in a tidy way, suggesting that her kindness towards Charlie is based on the idea that he is a man’s man. She wants the same type of household dedication from Scott, but unfortunately, she doesn’t get it.
The disharmony between the couple is cycled by a back and forth battle with Charlie over this new home. At times it feels redundant but once the ping pong events take a turn for the worse, one thing is certain: this couple will never be the same.
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