RETRO-REVIEW: INTRUDER (1988) (Synapse Films Blu-ray review)

INTRUDER (1988)

Label: Synapse Films
Region Code: Region FREE
Duration: 88 minutes
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono, Dolby Digital English 2.0 Mono
Director: Scott Spiegel
Cast: Sam Raimi, Ted Raimi, Bruce Campbell, Elizabeth Cox, Danny Hicks, Renée Estevez

Director Scott Spiegel's probably best know as the co-writer of Sam Raimi's Evil Dead 2 (1987) and the producer of the Hostel franchise but some of you fiends out there may recall him as the director of this flick, the late 80's splatter classic Intruder (1988). The film is a beloved slasher known for it's extreme gore courtesy of the pre-KNB EFX team of Howard Berger, Robert Kurtzman and Greg Nicotero, who were willing to do the effects on the film for almost free to help launch their new special effects company, and what a calling card it was! The gore effects are outstanding, even watching it now neary three decades later and under the scrutiny of 1080p high-definition, they're ingenious, blood soaked and fucking awesome.

It's been a few years since I last watched the film and what struck me aside from the effects and how great the transfer is were the crazy amount of POV camerawork from director Spiegel and cinematographer Fernando Argüelles (Star Time)
, these are some of the nuttiest POV shots ever committed to film with odd views from inside a rotary phone, a milk crate, a wine bottle and even a shopping cart, not once but twice! The inventive visual gags not just look great but create a quirky sense of off-kilter atmosphere that's hard to peg down. The script is plenty witty, offering a humorous send-up of the genre which by the late 80's had really run it's due course, but not being too-silly for it's own good, it's not near as lame-brained as something like Saturday the 14th or Student Bodies.

Looking at the characters I wouldn't say we get enough character development but I've never been one to require much of it when I throw on a slasher either, so that's just fine, that's nto what the film is about. What we do get is quite serviceable with appearances from Evil Dead alumni Sam Raimi (Spider-Man), Ted Raimi (Skinner) and Danny Hicks (Darkman) with a brief cameo from Bruce Campbell (Army of Darkness). Without spoiling the killer's identity I'll just say that I really enjoyed how unwound and bat-shit crazy the culprit becomes, it's delightfully unhinged stuff. At one point he's puppeteering a decapitated head and then beating down a victim with it in the next scene, that's just entertainment pure and simple. The film is definitely offbeat which I think might throw a few folks off but the humor is dark and demented just the way I crave it and really delivers the goods, so it worked for me.

I have to once again give it up to the KNB EFX Group who really shower the film with scene after scene of bloody deaths and gore-gags that are terrific. There's just so much to choose from here, it's a bloody smorgasborg of grue; we get a head crushed in a cardboard compactor, machetes flying everywhere, a nice eye-skewering, a meat hook through the neck and what must surely be the centerpiece of the film; a head grotesquely sawn in half with a band saw sending brains, teeth and bit of meat everywhere, it's a showstopper and is sickening brutal, but also funny in how over-the-top it is.

A great number of slashers were hacking through the cinemas in the early to mid 80's but to find a really brutal, well done slasher in 1988 seems a rare feat indeed. Scott Spiegel deserves some major love for this late-in-the-game entry, but unfortunately Spiegel didn't go onto direct a ton of films, though I did dig his straight-to-video Hostel: Part III (2011).

Audio/Video: Synapse's brand-new 2K HD transfer of Intruder is presented in 1080p HD framed in 1.78:1 widescreen - this is the uncut director's version of the film with all the tasty extreme gore presented in all it's splatteriffic glory - the KNB FX shots are nasty and effective, the gore hounds are gonna be delighted. The transfer looks pretty sharp, colors are vibrant and the film's fine grain is nicely intact, no unnecessary DNR scrubbing here folks, par for Synapse the transfer is pretty phenomenal considering that this shoestring budget splatter classic was filmed using 35mm short ends. Audio comes by way of an English DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono on the Blu-ray that sounds great, the dialogue, score and effects sound very good. 

Extras are plentiful beginning with a feature length commentary from director Scott Spiegel and producer Lawrence Bender, it's a fun commentary with tons of great behind-the-scenes anecdotes from financing the film on through to the MPAA butchering of the films upon it's initial VHS release. There's also a great half hour featurette featuring interviews with most of the principal cast, director, producer and executive producer Charles Band with clips from the 8mm short film Night Crew and actress Elizabeth Cox is kind enough to demonstrate her various screams as heard in the film providing commentary about the subtle variations, good stuff. On top of that we get over 10 minutes of extended murder scenes from the workprint, nearly seven minutes of outtakes from the Night Crew short, a picture gallery, two trailers and a featurette wherein the director of A Better

Place tells of his experience renting the VHS only to find the gory bits as seen in Fangoria were missing. It's a jam-packed Blu-ray and there's a DVD edition of the film included with all the same special features which is a always nice value add when considering a purchase, don't think too hard though, just buy it. Clearly Synapse have done right by this film and an upgrade is easily recommended if you own the previous DVD edition because this 1080p presentation is gonna blow you away when compared to that murky mess.

Special Features: 
- All-New 2K Digital Restoration of the Original Uncensored Director's Cut
- Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Scott Spiegel and Producer Lawrence Bender
- Slashing of Intruder (3 min) 
- Slashed Prices - The Making of Intruder (38 min)
- Never-Before-Seen Extended "Murder" Sequences from the Original Workprint (10 min)
- Outtakes from the Now-Lost Short Film, NIGHT CREW (7 min)
- Original Cast Audition Footage (11 min)
-Behind-the-Scenes Still Gallery (4 min)
- Original Theatrical Trailer (1 min) 
- Night Crew Trailer (1:19)

Intruder (1988) is an entertaining, visually imaginative splatter-flick filled with nutty gore that's in need of some serious attention, a classic deserving of some shelf space in any serious gore fan's collection. Sure, it's a bit silly and quirky but above all else it's a super-gory slasher that's finally been given a gorgeous release courtesy of Synapse Films, a definite must own.