Chris Robinson (most remembered for his role in the 1972 snake-revenge flick "Stanley") wrote, produced, directed and starred in 1975's THE INTRUDER which then disappeared without any release. Garagehouse Pictures recently excavated the film in 2017, cleaned it up and now presents it on Bluray.
Quick plot: A bunch of people who don't know each other are invited to a house which can only be reached by a boat - driven by Mickey Rooney! A lot of gold is hidden there and bodies begin piling up. It's sort of a Giallo/Slasher/Old Dark House hybrid containing elements from each. The plot bears much in common with "10 Little Indians" by Agatha Christie, basically the same template for all those "Old Dark House" whodunit kind of movies. The style is definitely Giallo, with weird music accompanying some psychedelic scenes. And the murders are very "Friday the 13th", with bloody bodies suddenly appearing, swinging from overhead rafters at just the right moment, several years before that would become Jason's modus operandi.
Upon viewing, one gets the impression that this was an unfinished film which was cobbled together from the pieces that were completed. The narrative doesn't exactly flow smoothly and there are things which kind of just suddenly "have happened" - as if you walked out of the theater for a moment and came back, missing a scene or two. Most of Mickey Rooney's screen time consists of him riding around on a boat, with and without passengers, until his demise. Yvonne DeCarlo (from 'The Munsters') fares slightly better, but not much. And Ted Cassidy (from 'The Adams Family') retains a comparatively more meaty role.
Though not an unearthed masterpiece, there is more than enough weirdness, quirky characters and blood to keep any genre fan's interest for the duration. But that, of course, is not the main draw of this film. The mere fact that such an unseen relic has been exhumed over 4 decades after it's production is cause to celebrate this slice of seventies schlock and Garagehouse for rescuing it!
