A psychological thriller about a young married couple who buys a beautiful Napa Valley house on several acres of land only to find that the man they bought it from refuses to let go of the property.

Honestly, after watching the trailer, I thought The Intruder (2019) was going to be a pretty cookie cutter thriller verging on Lifetime network quality as it definitely isn’t anything brand new on the home invasion front; it is not even rated R so I had a sinking feeling there wouldn’t be bloodshed. However, while watching this psychological thriller directed by Deon Taylor (Nite Tales on BET), my popcorn was definitely flying at some points and I fell victim to more than a couple of its jump scares!

A young married couple, Scott (Michael Ealy) and Annie (Meagan Good), want to start their family and decide to leave the city to purchase the perfect estate in idyllic Napa Valley. Meeting the seemingly harmless homeowner of the Foxglove property, Charlie Peck (Dennis Quaid), a widowed and rugged man, the couple are able to cut a deal when Charlie proclaims he really wants them to have it. After moving in and starting renovations, what feels like their dream home soon turns to a nightmare for the couple as Charlie refuses to let go of the home he built, and he continually invades their privacy. His strange attachment to the house motivates him to infiltrate their lives and hatch a deadly plan to take back his home, however, after finally learning of his ill-repute from neighbors and his estranged family, Scott and Annie are motivated too and are ready to fight back for their new home.

So, you know that song by the Talking Heads called “Psycho Killer”? Yea, that totally applies to Dennis Quaid now. The smiley dad from the Parent Trap (1998) has taken on an unexpected and dark character, Charlie Peck, the ex-homeowner of the gorgeous Nor-Cal property, Foxglove. Golden Globe-nominated Michael Ealy is always great, but I have to say that Dennis stole the show with this performance. He was perfectly unhinged, creepily leering at and stalking each character, which now that I think about it, is usually Michael Ealy’s forte in movies, however in this film, Ealy was instead tasked with playing the loving but protective husband, Scott Russell. Meagan Good (Saw V) was beautiful but annoying as the wife, Annie Russell, who frustratingly just kept giving Quaid’s character the benefit of the doubt, but I think the character was supposed to be annoying in that regard so ultimately she played her part well for the narrative.

The Intruder is certainly not scary, but it is thrilling in a way that makes movies fun to go out and watch at the theater. It has just the right amount of tension to make the story captivating, and as a popcorn-type-movie, it is an easily digestible film to enjoy and follow along. It’s the kind of feature where the audience can clap at the end (they did in my showing!) when the movie comes to its obvious and expected conclusion because the cast and director successfully pull you in for the ride. There are a few pretty glaring plotholes, like the last minute introduction of some information about our hero-couple to make them less shiny in our eyes, and the fact that Quaid’s character willingly sells them the house so it is questionable why he goes after them in the first place, but I couldn’t help but to enjoy the homages to the “Here’s Johnny!” Shining scene and Psycho‘s shower scene, as well as all the other cool shots that drove this film forward, built suspense and makes it a great addition to the influx of African American psycho-killer/stalker films I have been seeing lately. With the slightly heavy-handed styling of Dennis Quaid’s character being a gun-totting red-hat pitted against an African American couple trying to move up and on in the world, the movie even has some subtext for social commentary.

I couldn’t help but be reminded of other psychological thrillers such as Lakeview Terrace (2008) and especially Cold Creek Manor (2003), which also stars Dennis Quaid and had a similar plot (except Quaid played the new homeowner at odds with a pyscho seller in that one). It was great seeing Quaid’s role reversal, and his slightly over the top performance made this feature entertaining in the way that Nic Cage’s gleeful performances sometimes are. Set to premiere May 3, 2019 to wide release, Deon Taylor’s The Intruder is a good start to the summer season thrills, though if you’re looking for something on the scarier side you’ll want to intrude some other movie showings instead.