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Two children, one in Spain, the other in England, are experiencing terrifying visits by the same demon who wants to possess them. The only viable link is that both children are writing a story...

A joint Spanish/English language production, Intruders is the sort of frustrating picture that has big and bold ideas on the page, but sadly on the screen in unfolds laboriously as it bites off more than it can chew. It came as no surprise to myself to find that upon opening internet sites frequented by horror fans, Intruders has greatly disappointed them. It's rarely frightening, sags desperately in the middle section, the pay off is weak, and ultimately it only skirts the boundaries of being a "horror" film.

So, the lack of shocks and suspense in bona fide horror terms needs to be tempered with genre expectation levels, this is more a family drama with fantastical horror elements lurking around the edges of the frame. This of course doesn't help anyone, like myself, who has bought into plot synopsis and the marketing strategy that accompanied the picture, but if able to see past the faceless demon that appears occasionally and promises something else? There's a decent and honest adult film pulsing away here.

Clive Owen plays the troubled father of the piece and he once again, as he did in Trust, shows that given this type of material he can deliver a performance of emotional substance. He's backed up by a very strong turn from young Ella Purnell as his daughter, and with the tech credits high - most notably Roque Baños' superb musical score - there is much to enjoy here. But as thoughtful as it is, and as solid as the film makers credentials are, its reputation is unlikely to be enhanced anytime soon. 6.5/10

Intruders is a horror tale of possession in which two children in two different countries are visited by the Hollow Face man who spreads fear across the globe . There's a spooky faceless monster that has been haunting the daughter of John Farrow (Clive Owen). This figure wants to steal her face as she feels he has no identity of his own . John's tried helping his daughter remedy the situation, but each night she still gets a visit from this unwelcomed friend. Things get even spookier once John sees this faceless creature. He's not sure if he's going completely crazy or not, so he installs a security camera . Though no one can see him , Hollow Face lurks in the corners, desperately desiring love but only knowing how to spread fear and hate. He creeps into the life of John Farrow after Farrow's beloved 13-year-old daughter Mia (Ella Purnell) is assaulted in their home . The line between the real and the imaginary blurs as fissures start to open within the family unit . It seems that no security measure can keep Hollow Face out . Furthermore we're initially introduced to Juan (Izán Corchero) a young Spanish boy who, on one rainy night, is attacked by a strange spectre , known as Hollow face , being helped by his mother (Pilar Gomez Ayala) .

The picture displays mystery, suspense, shocks, grisly terror and eerie scenes when the horrific creature appears . From start to finish the terror and spooky scenes are continuous until a striking ending . The film contains horrifying and hair rising images and a sinister, mysterious atmosphere . It has a couple of twists piled on top of one central twist concerning two children in different countries who are visited nightly by a faceless being and menaced by what seems to be a supernatural presence . Good performance by Clive Owen who stars as John Farrow, a father trying to protect his 13-year-old daughter from the evil entity known as Hollow Face . The acting from Clive Owen , Carice van Houten as his wife , Daniel Bruhl as a priest , Kerry Fox as a Doctor , Hector Alterio as an old priest is much better than the script . Nicolás Casariego and Jaime Marques' screenplay does something strange by the end : it actually removes the stakes of everything that came before with its trio of revelations that at first test and then demolish any credulity the movie had built up by that point. Both of whom manage to create some interest with their dual storytelling style . However , the picture is hampered by a partially fleshed out story that is mostly lacking in horror. Director Fresnadillo throws all of that away in exchange for a terror film without scares, originality or a pulse . Colorful cinematography plenty of lights and shades by excellent cameraman Enrique Chediak . Creepy and thrilling music adjusted to the horror film by Roque Baños .

Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (Intacto , 28 Weeks Later) isn't exactly a visionary director like the film bills him as, but he is good at approaching films with style and consistent moods . The director made an editing the film was a big challenge , it was a long, complex process because of the story's dual structure. The film will appeal to terror buffs but gets some decent scares with the apparition of the frightening faceless being who wants to take possession of the children.

'INTRUDERS': Two and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A Spanish and British horror film starring Clive Owen and directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (who also directed the Spanish/British horror sequel '28 WEEKS LATER'). The film was written by Nicolas Casariego and Jaime Marques and tells the story of two children in different countries who are both haunted by the same demon looking to possess them. It co-stars Carice van Houten, Pilar Lopez de Ayala, Ella Purnell, Izan Corchero and Daniel Bruhl. The movie contains some frightening sequences and some decent acting but for the most part is a bore.

One story is set in Madrid and focuses on a young boy named Juan (Corchero) who is terrorized by a monster called Hollowface. His mother (Ayala) sees the demon as well but is unable to stop it so she calls on a local priest (Bruhl) to help exorcise it. Another story focuses on a young girl named Mia (Purnell), in London, who is haunted by the same ghost. Before seeing the monster she had found a box with the story of it hidden in a tree at her grandparents' house. She had been telling the story of 'Hollowface' to other students at her school before being stalked by it as well. Her father John (Owen) is extremely close to Mia, and protective of her, so when he sees the monster as well he becomes obsessed with stopping it. Unfortunately it's unclear whether the monster is in fact real or just a figment of their imagination and John's wife Susanna (Houten) is starting to believe the latter (as well as the priest in Madrid).

The movie has decent enough production values and looks great (for a low budget horror film); the monster looks cool as well and is pretty frightening. Like I said earlier the acting is all adequate as well, especially another passion filled performance by Owen: he kind of holds the movie together. The directing is decent enough as well but the overall storytelling leaves much to be desired. It's just too slow paced and uninvolving, despite the passionate performance of Mr. Owen. If you're just looking for some cheap monster movie thrills you could do a lot worse but you could also do a lot better.

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People are too uneducated these days about scary movies, they think they should all be 'horror' movies. You'll see this 'disappointment' in a lot of reviews for this movie: Oh it was the worst horror movie ever, not scary enough, blah blah. But see,.. it's a Psycho Thriller.

It's about the mind. Not blood and gore, not melting flesh. It's about how horror comes to life around us - when it is real, when it is imagined, and when it's real because it has been imagined.

Good movie. Enjoy.

This sentence is here just because IMDb thinks reviews have to be longer than they need to be, and most reviewers agree, so they spend a lot of time telling you the same thing you just read in the movie description and how pleased they were to catch it at some film festival.

Well, OK, let me first start by saying the movie is not "bad".

If you want to go watch an OK to somewhat decent movie, this one is for you, but if your aspirations are any higher you should look for elsewhere.

The movie starts slow but surely it states it's points pretty quickly. An invisible invader haunts 2 different kids from different places, a little kid and a not so little girl. The movie flow nice with the script but the actual "fright" scenes are not very much so, in fact, I didn't experience any scare whatsoever through the movie, and this comes from a guy who after watching The Mothman Prophecies had to sleep with the lights on and had goosebumps for the whole duration.

Sadly, this one, for a scare-suspense movie, does the complete opposite, it's plain and quite hollow. We never really find the motive of the attacks, and the motives are vague to say the least.

The main problem with this one is that the "bad guy" is not scary and the scary scenes don't work, that's it and it's enough for a movie of this genre to fail.

If we take out this one little problem, the rest of the movie is OK, good acting and some good twists at the end, but, the main flaws are too big. Number one, lack of good scares, lack of sense of danger, bad timing and for the most important part, a lack of purpose for the attacks.

To add insult to injury, there are scenes so clichéd that bend on ridicule, I can't, for the life of me picture a scary movie where the parents LEAVE the children in the same bed where a monster just attacked them. The first time this happens, well, it's OK, it's movies you know, common sense don't apply, the fifth time it's ridiculous, I would sleep with my kids the first time this happens, does anyone there takes notices of this huge mistakes in common sense?

Recommended only for a casual viewing if you don't have anything more worth watching, if you want real suspense go watch Mothman Prophecies.