Directed by: Scott Spiegel
Also Known As:
Night Crew (USA) (working title)
Night Crew: The Final Checkout (USA) (video title)
Runtime: 83 min / 88 min (director's cut)
Country: USA
Language: English
Color: Color (DeLuxe)
Certification: West Germany:18 (heavily cut) / Australia:R / UK:18 / USA:R
The Review:
"Anal itch got you down?"
I've always heard about this little flick from Scott Spiegel & Lawrence Bender, but have never been able to find it anywhere...one of the many problems of living in the very definition of "Rural Location." So when I saw the director's cut was available at the local video store, I snatched it like a klepto on speed. To make things even better, I wasn't even the slightest bit let down. In fact my expectations were exceeded on nearly every level!
The scenario for the film goes a little like this: A group of teens work at the local Walnut Lake Market that is run by two good ol' boys. It's nearly closing time, and an unwanted customer shows up. It turns out he is the ex-boyfriend of the 80's-licious blonde cashier with monster-bangs. He proceeds to be a total douche bag and the entire crew takes their chance to beat him up and throw him out of the store. After closing time, he is still lingering around...and the shit begins to hit the fan.
Intruder is shot with an artist's eye, making it stand out among other low-budget horror flicks of its kind. Nearly every segment has at least one memorable camera angle, usually they give the feeling that the characters are always being watched, which really adds to the suspense.
Despite having lots of top-notch gore and cinematography, the movie is packed with one-liners and visual gags that had me giggling like the geek I am. SPOILER WARNING: One prime example is when we see the butcher Ted Raimi receive a knife to the back of his head, and as he falls out of frame a sign is revealed that reads "Safety First - Knives are Sharp - Please Be Careful." END SPOILER.
The death scenes in this movie are second to none with absolutely fantastic gore. If you've never been afraid of operating heavy machinery or working around sharp objects, this movie will make you feel differently. Nearly everything you could imagine somebody hurting themselves with in a grocery store gets used for carnage - and boy are these tools used well! SPOILER WARNING: We get to see with much clarity a headache-inducing-hammer-to-the-head, a nail to the eye, a head split by a trash compactor, a guy hung by his neck on a meat-hook, a bludgeoning with a severed head (!!!) and a face divided in half by a meat slicer END SPOILER. I was cringing in certain parts and I watch this kind of shit all the time!
The acting is actually pretty good throughout the entire movie. Every now and then the characters are a little over the top, but that makes it even more entertaining. The only scene that has laughably bad acting is when one of the teens asks the lead-woman out for a date...it is totally apparent they really don't give a shit about eachother...and I love it.
It's a little annoying how the box lists Bruce Campbell on the front, and shows a picture of him on the back, when he actually only makes a cameo for a minute or so. Speaking of cameos, one of the very first shots features a close-up of the best cereal of all time, CrazyCow!
There are also a couple little parts that are completely ridiculous as far as the gore is concerned. SPOILER WARNING: When one character gets stabbed in the stomach, blood SPRAYS out like water out of a hose when pressured by a thumb! Also, towards the end when the villain gets stabbed in the gut, he falls backwards, and by some miracle of God the knife flies UPWARDS out of his body, SPINS through the air and sticks nicely into a crate nearby. END SPOILER. Now these two little things are funny and cheesy, but considering the rest of the gore is so gruesomely realistic, they kind of stick out like sore thumbs. I could easily see how it might lighten the mood for some viewers, it just didn't work for me.
In the end, this is a slasheriffic flick that will satisfy any gore fan. It also has a pretty well played-out plot twist that will satisfy the suspense fans out there. Well worth the money and time...just don't watch it for Bruce Campbell!
HUMOR: Excellent spoken & visual gags.
VIOLENCE: INCREDIBLE!!!
NUDITY: Non-existent.
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