LONDON: We may have now reached a point whereby “middle-of-the-road Netflix thriller” should become an official cinematic sub-genre. The latest in the streaming giant’s slate of so-so dramas is “Intrusion,” which stars Freida Pinto and Logan Marshall-Green as married couple Meera and Henry, a pair of Bostonians who have given up city life to build an ultra-modern, luxury house in small-town USA. When the two come home from date night to find their fancy house ransacked, the police seem a little confused that only their phones and laptops were taken, with all their fancy belongings left behind. Why didn’t the thieves take anything else? Could this not be the simple home invasion we’re supposed to think it is?
The film stars Freida Pinto and Logan Marshall-Green. (Supplied)
Meera, inevitably, asks the same questions. Still reeling from the sense of violation after her home has been invaded, she begins to second-guess the details of the investigation. Why do the police seem so antagonistic towards them? Why is Henry so calm about the break-in? And what does any of it have to do with the case of a missing local teenager?
Director Adam Salky manages a few jump scares as Meera begins to poke around, but “Intrusion” lacks much in the way of palpable tension — Pinto frowns pretty well as she uncovers clue after clue, but the revelations of the final third are telegraphed in the first, and what is supposed to be the big finish might seem like a surprise to Meera, but audiences will be frustratingly ahead of her.
Director Adam Salky manages a few jump scares. (Supplied)
“Intrusion” is also clunkily written, which is a shame given that it is penned by Chris Sparling, who wrote last year’s entertaining and satisfyingly thoughtful “Greenland.” There is just something so unerringly predictable about Meera being led from one breadcrumb to the next, gathering painfully obvious clues that will have audiences shouting at the screen. At one point she seems like she has put the entire issue to bed — until you realize there’s about 25 minutes of the movie left, so you can expect at least one more twist. For a film built on a central mystery, there is very little that “Intrusion” leaves to the imagination.