PopHorror Let's Get Scared
IFC Midnight is killing it with their releases this year, so when I heard about Trespassers (formerly known as Hell Is Where The Home Is), I was definitely intrigued. However, home invasion movies are a dime a dozen, and it often feels like once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. Luckily, Trespassers doesn’t fall under that category.
This film was directed by Orson Oblowitz (The Queen of Hollywood Blvd 2017) and was written by Corey De shon (Shine 2017). The cast includes Angela Trimbur (XX 2017 – read our review here), Janel Parrish (Pretty Little Liars TV series), Fairuza Balk (The Craft 1996), Jonathan Howard (Godzilla: King Of The Monsters 2019), and Zach Avery (Fury 2014). It was produced by Curvature’s (2017) Julio and Diego Hallivis with a score composed by Jonathan Snipes (Snakes On A Plane 2006, The Nightmare 2015 – read our review here).
Synopsis for Trespassers
Two couples, each working through relationship issues, rent a gorgeous house in the desert for a sex- and drug-fueled escape from reality. Sarah (Trimbur) and Estelle (Parrish) are longtime best friends looking forward to reconnecting after a period apart; their boyfriends, Joseph (Avery) and Victor (Howard), however, are immediately wary of one another.
As tensions escalate over the course of a debaucherous night, things take an unexpected turn when a woman (Balk) claiming to be a neighbor with car trouble shows up at the door. She seems harmless enough… or so they think. As the twists and turns pile up, so does the body count in this stylish, blood- and neon-soaked thriller, which hits with the furious force of a machete to the skull.
Trespassers was quite refreshing, actually. The film took me by surprise several times throughout its runtime. It starts out with a group of friends having a get together at a rental house and turns into a blood-soaked nightmare within the blink of eye.
I will say that none of these characters are remotely likeable. All of them suck, and they all have the personalities of a wet mop. However, the performances were good, especially the one given by Janel Parrish. I was always a fan of Parrish in Pretty Little Liars, and in Trespassers, she plays the perfect bad girl, the kind you love to hate. It was also pretty great to see Fairuza Balk on the screen once again. Her character was one of my favorites… she still plays bat shit crazy perfectly.
This film racks up quite the body count, but it’s how the kills are delivered that will appease horror audiences everywhere. There’s some pretty insanely brutal yet creative death scenes that would make any top 10 list. Cringeworthy for sure. There’s also a tense, unsettling atmosphere throughout the film, because you know bad shit is going to happen. Just when you think you know how it will play out, it goes a different way… completely.
Final Thoughts
Although this is probably my least favorite IFC Midnight film this year, Trespassers still stands strong among the many horror releases of 2019. It’s not your average home invasion film. This one is refreshing and will appeal to many viewers. Plus, many will want to check it out just to see Fairuza Balk take on another horror role. Believe me, it’s worth it just for that alone. Trespassers will be opening in theaters and VOD on July 12th, so give it some love, and then let us know what you think!
