Movie Review: Trespassers

credit: Trespassers

While the title speaks of home invasion, this movie is capable of using that term in a loose manner since, to be fair, the people in the home are renting, and the attackers appear to be little more than thugs and killers that get off on attacking people who can’t or won’t fight back. That’s the initial impression, at least since from the moment the first couple that shows up at a luxurious rental home tries to settle in, it’s pretty clear that the house they’re using belongs to someone that’s into art, has great design taste, and is interested in photography. What they don’t notice right away is the fact that the pictures that are being developed show a man in a ski hood with a skull painted on it threatening another person with a gun. That gets pushed to the side, however, as another couple shows up and essentially ruins the fun for the initial couple, as the man obviously thought that he was going to be alone with his wife. The fact that there’s trouble in paradise, so to speak comes into play early since it’s easy to see that things aren’t alright, especially during an intimate moment between the couple. 

credit: Trespassers

This movie doesn’t exactly grab one’s attention. 

There’s a reason for this, and it’s kind of confusing since the movie starts off with a violent murder as two people are seen kneeling behind a car as the taillights illuminate the fact that they’re half-naked and bound. The execution of one of them makes it clear that this movie is going to be a bit brutal, but as the couple enters the home, it’s easy to think that things are going to slow down for a while until it’s time for them to pick up yet again. It’s only when a stranger knocks on the door and states that she needs to use the phone that things pick up a little bit with cringe and uncertainty as Fairuza Balk, the most famous name in this entire movie, comes off as a rather nosy individual that might be kind of suspect but might also be just a nosy individual who is a bit eccentric. 

The sudden deaths that come at different points in the movie should be jarring, but still, they aren’t really that big of a deal. 

Seriously, an accident that forces someone to impale themselves, through the eye, on a piece of glasswork should be a WTF moment that rocks a lot of people on their heels. But instead, it plays off as something that might as well be a giant ‘whoopsie’ moment that is otherwise just another part of the movie. The same goes for the death of a police officer when he’s killed by a machete that’s buried in his skull. It’s surprising but not exactly breathtaking. Much of this movie is kind of a yawn that could have been built up in a much different way that might have been a little more convincing since the villains turn out to be very generic and entirely thuggish. In some ways, that works, but overall, it’s an effect that doesn’t inspire a lot of faith that the rest of the movie is going to be that impressive. 

credit: Trespassers

There’s no desire to tear a movie down, but when a feature tries too hard, it’s tough not to. 

This movie did make a few decent moves that didn’t exactly cause a person to cringe, but for the most part, it’s simply too predictable and doesn’t lean hard enough in any single direction to inspire much faith in the audience. The beginning of the movie made a statement and a promise of things to come that didn’t get kept, and that alone is a reason why this movie isn’t easy to compliment. From the bland characters and their lackluster development to the fact that the villains felt as though they were made up on the fly and didn’t really come together as a threat that’s any more serious than a regular band of street thugs, Trespassers is the kind of movie that one might think sounds interesting and could even lead somewhere. The sad part is that even with the terror factor added in, this movie is kind of a dud. 

Horror movies are diverse, but sadly, this movie didn’t really belong in its own genre. 

There are a lot of tweaks that could be made to this movie to make it even better, but it almost feels as though it’s one that would be shelved and gladly forgotten since it’s not the best addition to the horror genre that’s ever come along. With a great deal of improvement in the dialogue and the action, it could become a movie that would no doubt frighten a lot of people. But it would need a couple more well-known actors as well.