Supermarket Sweep: Intruder (1989)
The sheer amount of films available to watch is amazing and overwhelming. How many of you spend more time looking for films than watching them? How many arguments did you used to have in video shops? I would often argue with friends in a local Blockbuster because we could never decide on what to watch but we came to the conclusion that the video shop was built on haunted land and that is why we got edgy. Oh to be young and so naive!
Anyway I settled on a film from 1989 with a running time of 88 minutes that was described as a slasher. Check, check and check. Intruder was the film's name. Heard of it? I hadn’t!
As the opening credits appeared there were three names that popped up that got me pretty excited...Sam Raimi, Ted Raimi and Bruce Campbell. Why has this evaded me?Hangs head in shame!
So what is this film all about?
Intruder is set in a supermarket. A group of employees are trapped with a killer on the loose. This killer appears to be the ex boyfriend of a girl that works there but is it really him? Or is it someone closer to home? This is a very classic Slasher template - just a mundane place where everything turns batshit crazy and we wouldn't want it any other way. The film is very satisfying for someone who loves the Slasher genre. It has fantastic gore effects, the strangest camera angles (which seems to be Spiegel’s thing) and humour BUT I am glad I didn’t watch the trailer first because the damn thing gives away the killer so I am just warning you...spoilers!!
It was written and directed by Scott Spiegel who some of you may know from other Raimi antics (Evil Dead 2 and Drag Me To Hell). This film was his directorial debut and was loosely based on his own experiences working in a supermarket (remind me not to shop there). It was also a remake of an earlier Super-8 short film by Spiegel. The full length film was to be called The Night Crew (as per the Super-8 short film) however, money talks and the studio thought that Intruder fitted in with the whole slasher vibe. However, after watching it I think The Night Crew suits it better because Intruder doesn’t really make sense. When you see it you will see what I am getting at.
If you like slashers then you will seriously like this. I mean, it isn't something extraordinary but it ticks all the 80s slasher boxes. BUT watch the film first then the trailer.
Go on...check it out (sorry supermarket puns, awful).
