THE INTRUDER (2019)

*CUT TO THE CHASE*

NOTE: This spoiler was submitted by Jeremy.

The film starts with Scott Howard (Michael Ealy) being driven by his buddy Mike (Joseph Sikora) to a surprise party for Scott, celebrating his promotion at work. It was organized by Scott’s wife Annie (Meagan Good), and he toasts to her, his friends, and his success.

Scott and Annie decide to look for a new house. They come across a lovely home in Napa Valley which appears empty. They then hear a gunshot and see the home’s owner, Charlie Peck (Dennis Quaid), shooting a deer. The couple is startled, but Charlie explains that the deer are eating up the gardens in the area. He politely introduces himself and offers to show them around the house. Charlie tells them that he is widowed after his wife Ellen passed away from cancer the previous year, and that he is going to live with his daughter in Florida. Scott and Annie leave but seriously consider taking the house when Charlie offers it for a reduced price since he claims to like them so much.

The couple eventually decide to move in and have a small housewarming party with Mike and his girlfriend Rachel (Alvina August). Mike steps outside to have a smoke, when it appears that someone is watching him from the woods. He drops his cigarette on the grass. In the morning, as Mike and Rachel go to leave, Mike sees a cigarette burn in the upholstery in his car.

Scott and Annie go into town to get ice cream. Annie notices Scott flirtatiously chatting with the cashier. She brings it up to him later when they get home, as it makes her uncomfortable.

Annie invites Charlie over for Thanksgiving out of pity. When he gets there, he sees that Scott removed a tapestry that was originally hung up, as Scott thinks it didn’t fit with their aesthetic, and Charlie starts to quietly get upset. During dinner, Mike and Rachel join their friends and Charlie. He clearly does not like Mike and fantasizes about smashing a wine bottle over his head. Mike goes to have a smoke outside, and Charlie joins him to chat for a bit, but it gives Mike the vibe that Charlie burned his car seat. He brings this up after Charlie leaves and suggests that someone is watching from the woods.

Scott calls for a security company to install a system. Charlie drives up and angrily orders the men to stop doing work, but Scott firmly reminds him that this is no longer his house and that he must protect his wife. Charlie claims that whatever he heard in the woods was from high school kids messing around.

At work, Scott secures a major client and is invited to go out for drinks later, even though Annie was preparing dinner. Charlie goes over and has dinner with Annie after Scott texts her that he will be back late. She later calls him and hears music playing, and she realizes he was keeping things from her. The client actually does try to come on to Scott, but he resists her and runs back home to Annie. They have a small fight about Scott not telling the whole truth, but he is also none too pleased with Charlie being there.

Later that night, the security lights go on. Scott runs out with a bat to confront the potential intruder, but he hears high school kids leaving in a panic after seeing the lights. However, Scott misses seeing Charlie hiding in the woods.

Scott and Annie go out together in town. After drinks, they pass a hotel where Charlie claims to be staying. Scott, a little drunk, confronts Charlie about being near his wife, telling him to back off while Annie looks uncomfortable.

Scott goes out for a jog when someone in a car (Charlie) runs him off the road. He ends up in the hospital and must stay overnight as tests are being run. Scott calls Mike and asks him to dig up dirt on Charlie. When he does, Mike tells Scott that Charlie was in serious debt and owed a lot of money to people after his construction business went under. He was forced to sell his house even though he didn’t want to. Furthermore, it is revealed that Ellen died from an apparent suicide with Charlie’s rifle. Mike also found out that Charlie has a daughter named Cassidy (Lili Sepe) that changed her name and moved away.

Meanwhile, Charlie visits Annie at home, saying he heard about Scott’s accident and that he came with pizza. Scott asks Mike to go check up on Annie. When he gets to their house, he sees Charlie’s truck. Charlie spots Mike outside and runs out with an axe to try and catch him, making Annie think it’s an intruder. Charlie catches up with Mike and pretends to be friendly by guiding Mike back to his car before revealing his plan to get rid of Scott and then swinging the axe into Mike’s chest.

As Scott is getting out of the hospital, he attempts to contact Cassidy, but she hangs up on him when he mentions Charlie’s name. He gets home to Annie and suspects Charlie of attacking him, since it didn’t make sense how Charlie would have found out otherwise about the accident. This makes Annie start to agree with Scott.

Scott manages to talk to Cassidy again, and she asks him if Charlie is dead. She says that her father is dangerous and that he killed Ellen for threatening to divorce him and take the house away, only to frame it as a suicide. Sure enough, Charlie sneaks up on Annie at home, which starts to frighten her. As she tries to get rid of Charlie, she locks him out of the house but finds another path that he has been getting in from. It turns out that Charlie had a secret cellar beneath the house where he was actually living. She comes across a freezer containing Mike’s body. Charlie finds her and knocks her out, taking her as his prisoner.

When Scott returns home, Charlie is tying Annie up in an attempt to rape her. He goes to try and get rid of Scott, but the couple ends up fighting back. Annie gets free and tells Scott what she found. Charlie runs to get his rifle, leading them to go hide as he starts shooting. They hide in their bedroom where he nearly finds them. Scott waits for the right moment and swings his bat across Charlie’s face. He grabs Charlie’s rifle as Annie calls the cops. Charlie thinks the rifle is empty, but Scott took his last bullet when he wasn’t looking and loaded it. Annie tells the operator that her husband shot an intruder. Charlie pathetically begs for his life before Scott pulls the trigger.

Scott and Annie Howard move into a beautiful home, but its previous owner, Charlie Peck, has a hard time letting go of the house. He becomes obsessed with keeping an eye on the couple and making sure his house remains untouched. He also develops an obsession with Annie, going as far as to hit Scott with his car to try and be alone with her.

Scott learns from his friend Mike that Charlie was in serious debt and was forced to sell the house. Scott also finds out that Charlie's wife Ellen died by an apparent suicide, unlike what Charlie said about her having cancer. Scott contacts Charlie's daughter Cassidy and learns that he killed Ellen after she threatened to divorce him and take the house. Annie is attacked by Charlie, and she comes across his underground cellar where he has been staying, and where he has kept Mike's body after killing him. Scott returns home to find Charlie trying to rape Annie, but they fight back and overpower him before getting his gun and shooting him.