The Intruder is more than a “break-in” film. It’s a homage to the thriller/horror genre.

But if it had to be classified, ultimately if Amityville Horror (1979) and Peeping Tom (1960) had a baby, this would be it.

The film follows Annie and Scott, a young married couple played by Meagan Good and Michael Ealy, as they move from the city to a gorgeous new house surrounded by acres of wooded land in Napa Valley, California. Previous owner Charlie, played by Dennis Quaid, decides to sell to the couple but has a hard time (understatement) letting go. Directed by Deon Taylor, The Intruder is a good time in the theater.

It’s not so much an original film as a different perspective. The protagonists are Black, which creates a different type of story, for sure. At first, everything seems good. Then, there’s a gradual shift as you learn things aren’t as hunky-dory as they seem. Like true horror movie fashion for films about a house, this one has a history that our new owners know nothing about it. Hence the Amityville Horror reference, which itself was about a house with a horrible past that comes to bite the new owners in the butt.

Dennis Quaid becomes the peeper that will give you nightmares. What starts off innocent or merely quirky escalates to enraged moments that channel The Shining and the landlord in 13 Cameras. It’s a rollercoaster that keeps viewers on the edge of their seat. The audience is constantly guessing what Charlie will do next. They are also guessing what naive thing Annie will do or say, despite the advances of Charlie. The atmosphere created by director Deon Taylor manages to combine humor and horror in the best way.

This film is also reminiscent of The Strangers in the way it evokes fear and terror in the simplest ways. There are so many scenes in The Intruder when the audience sees Charlie lurking behind the couple and they have no idea. The suspense builds at the right moments and crescendos with the best twist. The audience is able to see the viewpoint of both the protagonists and antagonist of the story. The Intruder is exhilarating, scary, and fun.

The script, written by David Loughery, is smart and well written. Writing suspense is hard, but Loughery seems to know what he’s doing. One of the tricks to suspense is to give the main characters more than just one problem. For our couple in their new house, the problems keep piling up. What starts off as a loving couple getting jiggy to baby-making music turns into a cheating husband and Black Lives Matter topped off with a creepy, athletic, good-looking older American Psycho type obsessing over the house. The Intruder has a great central hook. The basic idea of buying a house and having the previous owner linger around far too long is a first buyer’s nightmare. There’s also the creepiness of a house with so many windows in a dense wood area — people are bound to be spying on you.

The Intruder isn’t perfect. It has its cheesy moments — real-life cheesy, but cheesy nonetheless. You can see that Meagan Good’s character Annie is the nice, albeit naive, young woman who strangers like Quaid’s character Charlie prey upon. Annie’s role is reminiscent of the main character in the film The Resident. She makes some really bad decisions to the point where theatergoers will yell at the screen at her foolishness. At least, that’s what happened at the early screenings of this film. There were people screaming at the screen and commenting with gasps and clapbacks. Listen to the audience, and you can tell when a character is making too many mistakes.

Conversely, the audience will let you know when there’s something right. Dennis Quaid is the bad guy we never thought would be so terrifying. Let the nightmares begin. Quaid channels so many different classic thriller moments, you can’t help but scream out loud in the theater or jump in anticipation. Loughery and Taylor have created a really good villain. He’s not perfect. One scene, where he practices something the rest of us do naturally, could easily have been cut. But, goodness gracious, for a man who has played mostly good guys like the dad in the Parent Trap, this is a side of Dennis Quaid we haven’t seen before. It’s both praiseworthy and look-under-your-bed terrifying. You will be surprised by how well he finds his inner villain. It even goes beyond his creepy psychotic mortician role in Beneath the Darkness.

If you’re into horror, The Intruder is a lot of fun. It’s got some kinks, but overall it’s a good genre film. Be sure to see The Intruder in theaters May 3, 2019.

The post Review: ‘The Intruder’ Is A Horror Film with a Great Central Hook appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.

While we have a foggy idea of what the future holds for the MCU on the big screen, recent announcements for upcoming Marvel shows on Disney+ make a lot more sense after Avengers: Endgame. Keeping in mind the events from the films, here’s how we think the conclusion of Phase 4 (obviously discounting Spider-Man Far From Home) sets up the basic premises for the many Disney+ series heading our way within the next year.

Loki

One of things that had folks scratching their heads about the announcement of a Tom Hiddleston Loki series was the fact that Thanos killed him in Infinity War – and that was well before the Snap. But Endgame showed us that thanks to the Avenger’s “time heist,” Loki got away with the Tesseract in an alternate 2012. That means the Loki series could follow a different path. Does he turn the stone over to Thanos? Keep it for himself? Endgame opened up a world of possibilities for the character, all without undoing his redemption arc in Infinity War.

WandaVision

Although every hero that got snapped away came back for the big battle at the climax of Endgame, characters that died before the snap like Vision did not. So how is that going to work? During the closing moments of the film, we see Clint and Wanda bonding over their recent losses. Wanda tells Clint that she believes that Vision knows that they won, and she’s not just being spiritual. We think this is a hint that Shuri completed her work downloading Vision’s consciousness before the snap, and now Wanda will go to any length to resurrect him, even if he’s not exactly the same man as before.

What If?

When Marvel announced an animated series based on the What If? comics, we just thought it was a fun nod to that old Marvel staple. But with the Avengers having created two or more branching realities, this show could explore those possibilities. Cap went back in time to marry Peggy, but did he stop Hydra from infiltrating SHIELD, and free Bucky from their control? Heck, did he stop real world tragedies he knew were coming? With the multiverse in play now, we might even see the old Jane Foster becomes Thor story. Endgame sets up a lot of possibilities for this series.

Falcon and the Winter Soldier

At the conclusion Endgame, old Steve Rogers gives Sam Wilson his shield, telling him that it is his job to be the new Captain America. And Bucky seems completely okay with this idea, probably realizing his past makes him unworthy of the title. But the new show is called FALCON and the Winter Soldier. Might Sam find himself reluctant to take on the mantle of Cap, despite the title being bestowed on him by Steve Rogers himself?  We think that Endgame is setting up a longer journey for Sam Wilson from Falcon to Captain.

Hawkeye

Hawkeye took it on the chin harder than anyone in Infinity War and Endgame, losing his entire family due to Thanos’ snap. He then became the vigilante Ronin, going around the world and killing members of the Yakuza and drug cartels alike. But now that he’s got his life back, how will Clint Barton seek to redeem himself for his past actions as the sword wielding killer? By training a newer and younger Hawkeye in the form of teenage archer Kate Bishop, he can set her on a better path than the one he ultimately went down. Now that Endgame has shown us what he became, we know Clint Barton has a lot to do to erase that stain on his legacy.

Images: Marvel Studios

The post How AVENGERS: ENDGAME Sets Up Marvel’s Disney+ Shows appeared first on Nerdist.

In a recent conversation, I was speaking to a friend about social issues. In my all too common discussions about society’s ills, we begin to talk about equality. As the conversation moved to the action stage, we started to ask, what can we do? What needs to happen? What are the next steps? Then it occurred to me that equality might be the wrong fight.

People of color have been fighting for equality for as long as I can remember and many hundreds of years before that. Now, in the 21st century, I’m not sure equality can ever be achieved. Think about it. There will always be someone who makes more money, lives in a bigger home, or drives a nicer car. Equality promotes fairness but only if we all start from the same place, with the same opportunities. Since that hasn’t happened and most likely won’t, we will never achieve equality, but we can achieve equity.

Fight for Equity Versus Equality

Equity gives us all the same tools we need to be successful. Our focus should be on changing policies and procedures to level the playing field. And, unfortunately, we will need white folks to engage with us in accomplishing equity. So, blaming white folks today for the racist systems put in place in the past will always impede the progress of dismantling the systemic issues we face daily. But, to speed up that progress, intentional inclusion is the best strategy for achieving equity.

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If we switch our focus to equity over equality, we could then lean in on the things that would bring about real change like access to good healthcare, loans for businesses, stores with better quality foods, smoother streets, culturally responsive police patrol and commerce in our communities that will help our communities thrive.

Be the Change

If you want to effect change, here are a few ways to start: point out policies that are not inclusive to all employees. It could be something as simple as letting management know that a policy against braids or natural hair is exclusionary to people of color. Look at procedures to see how implementing incremental changes could assist in more diverse hiring and promotions. Go ahead. Try it.

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The ideas and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author’s and not necessarily the opinion of Black Enterprise.

The post Why the Fight for Equality May Be the Wrong Fight appeared first on Black Enterprise.