The Deadly Intruder is an 80's horror film which stars Danny Bonaduce in a very small role. The story is typical for slasher flicks, a man (whose face we don't see) escapes from a mental institution and over a period of time commits a few murders in a small town. The film centers around a lonely young woman who becomes romantically interested in a man who is new in town. They and two other friends have dinner on night while a drifter/homeless man lurks outside stalking the group. During the dinner, about two or three murders occur. They are sort of random murders and seem out of place to the rest of the film.
The homeless man eventually breaks into the woman's's house late at night and holds her hostage on her property. He seemingly just wants someone to talk too. Now he may be a creep, but is he the escaped mental patient? Maybe, maybe not. There are some good twists to the movie, but it's all out of place at times. The film doesn't know if it wants to be a crime thriller or a slasher. The conclusion where the killer's identity is revealed to us is done good though. The killer comes undone and starts losing it in a very creepy way. Molly Cheek, who is likely best known for her role in the American Pie films, does well in the lead role.
This is just one of many lost slasher films from the 80's. It was distributed by Thorn EMI Video and will probably never get a DVD release. The picture quality is very bad. During the first ten minutes, I had no clue what was going on. The nighttime scenes are dark and even the daytime scenes are dark. But this little unknown slasher isn't the worst I've seen. It's actually got potential and a good story. There is some nudity but very little gore. If you're a serious horror fan I say seek this one out. Otherwise, you probably won't get much out of this hard to find movie.
5/10
