Intrusion: Disconnected

Intrusion Disconnected is a solid film. The writing has matured significantly since the first film. And is one of the few films where the sequel surpasses it's predecessor. Well worth the watch if you are a fan of 80s style slasher films.

I love everything about this movie. The dialogue, the dark humor, the characters, everything. Without going into spoilers, the story goes beyond a traditional slasher flick by having you question the mental state of our main protagonist as she is once again confronted with the man that has become her nightmare. It has great twists within the movie and it will leave you questioning on how it will all end. Although the whole film was amazing, the third act was something spectacular.

This is the long awaited sequel from writer/producer Craig Everett Earl's 2015 creepy thriller 'Intrusion'. Mr. Earl and crew waste no time keeping up the creepiness of the connection between Holly and Ray. Some time has passed since the tragic events of the first film and Holly is still nowhere near living a normal life. Convinced Ray is still alive since the police never found his body in the wreckage of the paramedic van's accident. The nightmares come nightly as Holly wakes up screaming most nights staying with friends just trying to find a way to deal with it. But the gloves are off this time as the anniversary of the horrific event in Holly's life draws near as there is a slaughter happening and it is slowly closing in on Holly. Craig dives deep into the two characters of Holly and Ray to expand their backstory and show their connection in this bloody sequel. Again they rely heavily on the Holly and Ray characters to move the story along more than blood or sex that is thrown into most Indy films to move them along. This is a unique independent film for the reason it is a true thriller which you do not get much in the low budget world these days and for that I give it 3 out of 4 stars. Katie Stewart and Craig Everett Earl, remember their names as I can see bigger budgeted projects coming their way soon as they are super talented people.

Intrusion: Disconnected continues the story of Holly Jensen and her stalker / killer, Raymond Hummel. The film, set in the vain of such slasher fare as 2007's P2 or 2018's Unsane, has the killer from "Intrusion" return to his murder spree of everyone significant to Holly in order to force a final confrontation where she will either turn and join him or one of them will end up dead. Will she turn? You'll have to watch the film to find out.

The story is terrifying! It's like watching a real life stalking event and the horrors that this one woman has to go through because of some obsessed man. The events of the film are just insane but play out in such a real way. I've always been a sucker for real life trauma type films and this delivers heavily.

I will tell you that the cast was the highlight of the movie. We have an appearance of fan favorite Tiffany Shepis, which is always fun to have her on screen of course. Holly is staying with some friends (Sebrina Scott as Anna & Shawn Taiwone Francis as Ethan) in the film and I have to say they are excellent for the time they got on screen; I'd love to see either of them in leading roles. Katie Stewart actually reminds me a little of Adrianne Palicki, she gives a wholehearted performance throughout her onscreen ordeal. I'd go through the whole cast but probably best for you to just watch them all for yourself. Everyone did a fantastic job, which as we all know, the acting is often the Achilles heel of these movies, so that's pretty impressive on its own.

The only real hiccup I found in the film is that the editing could have been tighter. Keep in mind as a filmmaker myself it's hard to look at any movie with the eyes of an audience rather than the eyes of a director/editor/etc. I'm going to end up being a little more critical than your casual viewer. I felt the pacing slowed things down when they didn't need to be slowed and gave us lots of time to buffer between progression of the story. As I was taught, every moment on screen, every item or person we focus on, every event should move the story forward. But then again, I've only done short films.

Overall, the movie delivers on what it sets out to do. The goal is to terrify and drag the audience along for a horrific chain of events and it does it well. I really felt bad for some of the characters; the carelessness of the protagonist moves you because she was only trying to be free and ends up causing so much harm in a way. She's super traumatized from previous experiences and it is hard to watch if you empathize with the character.

Writer Craig Everett Earl indeed knows how to spin a dreadful story and Director Kyle Cates shows his skill and talent by piecing this horror romp together so proficiently. I hope this team gets to go on and make more thrilling tales together as they did a commendable job with Intrusion: Disconnected

I have never been a fan of many sequels. It is a rarity when I find one that meets and/or exceeds the original. Intrusion:Disconnected certainly soars above it's predecessor. If you have seen the original, which was quite good, I am sure you will agree that the writing on Disconnected is more meticulous. Better executed. And over-all, superior. Actress Katie Stewart outshines her prior role as Holly. And digs deeper this round to provide more depth to the character. The score perfectly suits the tension of the film. And the bar set for the production value appears to be much higher on Disconnected. If you love 80s slasher films then you must put this on your "to watch" list.