Director: Adam Salky

Writer: Chris Sparling

Starring: Freida Pinto, Logan Marshall-Green, Robert John Burke, Sarah Minnich, Yvette Fazio-Delany, Clint Obenchain

Rating: ★★½

This week’s Netflix original is Intrusion, which follows Meera and Henry who move into a house that Henry designed and help build. While on a night out, their house is broken into and the police believe it is linked with the recent disappearance of a teenage girl. Meera is left rattled and starts her own investigation into the event.

Freida Pinto gives a great performance as Meera. She is constantly on edge, especially around her husband Henry. While at points he is incredibly charming and you do feel that they love each other at points, it’s still clear that she doesn’t trust him completely. She doesn’t take long to start thinking that he has something to do with the missing girl and when they go out on a date, they must leave their phones at home as he was glued to his previously. There is a lot of backstory that is only hinted at, which is refreshing compared to a information dump at some point. It tells you enough to catch you up and then lets you piece together the rest.

Henry (Logan Marshall-Green) is a sinister and creepy character, hidden undeath a mask of charm. Marshall-Green expertly walks a fine line of a good husband trying to look after his wife and sadistic psycho who shows no remorse over killing the intruders. He switches back and forth and you can never quite tell what is going on with him.

Sadly, the script isn’t as subtle as Marshall-Green’s performance. The twist, if you can call it that, is incredibly obvious from the opening of this film. It’s signposted so much that you’re left hoping you’re wrong and that’s it’s just a red herring. It isn’t, you will figure this out very early in the film and it offers no surprises.

There are no real memorable moments or scenes in the film. It passes the time quite nicely and never feels boring but there’s not a moment that stand out. The film just happens and is entertaining while it lasts, and then ends. There’s not a lot of tension or suspense. The characters are interesting, but nothing special. It just falls flat and suffers massively thanks to its similarities to the far superior The Night House that was released in cinemas a few weeks back.  

Intrusion is a decent thriller, with some great performance from the two leads. It’s just a shame that it can be solved so quickly and that you always feel one step ahead of Meera. It’s still entertaining while it lasts, but the new Netflix original is nothing to shout about.