In this quirky comic thriller from writer-director Noh Young-seok (Daytime Drinking), a screenwriter retreats to a secluded cabin in the woods only to be rudely interrupted by some uninvited guests.
Noh Young-seok charmed Festival audiences in 2008 with Daytime Drinking, a droll and disarming comedy of errors that won widespread critical praise, as well as comparisons to the early works of Jim Jarmusch. With Intruders, the filmmaker combines a similar tone of gentle absurdity with an atmosphere of subtle, slow-burn suspense, and situates his narrative in a setting that has so frequently served as a site of cinematic misadventure: a cabin in the woods.
Hoping to avail himself of some peace and quiet to put the finishing touches on his latest script, a taciturn young screenwriter (Jun Suk-ho) arranges to stay at the rural bed and breakfast owned by his producer's family. With the lodge closed to patrons for the winter, he'll suffer precious few distractions — or so he believes. Inevitably, a carload of obnoxious would-be guests arrives, unaware of the off-season closure and eager to take advantage of his reluctant hospitality. He soon finds himself having to contend with several more unwelcome visitors — including a talkative ex-con, an unscrupulous police officer, and a pair of possibly murderous woodsmen — as his secluded getaway becomes a darkly comic ordeal with surprising geopolitical ramifications.
Viewers familiar with Noh's debut feature
will find much to delight in his follow-up,
which continues to demonstrate his unique
talent for understated whimsy in a story
that raises the dramatic stakes on Daytime
Drinking's boozy sojourn. Newcomers will
discover a filmmaker who has set himself
apart even within one of the world's most
vibrantly inventive national cinemas.
GIOVANNA FULVI