Return of Intruder (1989)
Yup, you get to see the before, the during, and the after of this poor chum.
Scott Spiegel’s Intruder [M] (1989) is more notorious for its gore sequences and the casting of brothers Sam and Ted Raimi (both of whom die violently as night shift workers in a soon-to-be-shuttered grocery store), but shorn of these key elements, Spiegel’s directorial debut is pretty much a ‘meh’ effort; not awful, but not brilliant, even though there are several strong aspects to the film (notably the location).
For Raimi fans, Synapse’s new Blu-ray is a welcome addition to the collection, given the film’s first VHS release was snipped of its nastiness, and the prior uncut DVD edition from Wizard was a bare bones release. This is the definitive release, and it helps fill in those little gaps that make up the early efforts by members of Sam Raimi’s filmmaking clan.
I’m not sure how you’d classify the group – a clique? The Michigan Gonzo Collective? – but it’s pretty amazing that a group of avid movie fans who made Super 8 shorts together as best friends managed to fulfill their goals and become filmmakers, period.
1989 was also a year where members Ted, Sam, and master thespian and chin-endowed Bruce Campbell sort of hovered between projects initialized by themselves, written by, produced, doctored, or appeared in roles either for the fun of it, as favours, or a gag. Not including the Super 8 shorts, there remain a handful of feature films still unavailable on DVD and / or Blu-ray, or at least in versions or special editions deserving of the group (if not purely for fan benefit).
With Intruder off the list, that leaves Crimewave (1985), Easy Wheels (1989), The Nutt House (1992), and from my list, a widescreen Indian Summer (1993), where Sam plays a nearly mute camp hand who’s just ‘there,’ doing work, and occasionally getting hit very hard where it hurts.
Spiegel isn’t as skilled as colleague Josh Becker (Running Time), and his mania for hitting audiences with bizarre camera angles is interminable, but Intruder does have a few genuine merits, and the review addresses the film’s pros & cons.
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Mark R. Hasan, Editor
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