“Invader” (2025)

by Joseph Perry

Normally here at “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict”, both Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. However, here and there they will be taking the reins in a solo outing. For this installment, it’s Joseph with a solo review of Invader from director Mickey Keating and Music Box Films.

Synopsis

Ana (Vero Maynez) is a long way from home, but eager to visit her cousin Camila in the Chicago suburbs. After Ana’s bus gets delayed, she arrives very late and begins to fear the worst when she can’t get ahold of Camila. Accompanied by Carlo (Colin Huerta), one of Camila’s coworkers, Ana decides to venture on foot to search for her cousin, encountering ominous signs, hostile locals, and the punishingly empty expanse of suburban America. When they arrive at Camila’s house, the night spirals into chaos when Ana and Carlo realize the bizarre and jaw-dropping truth.

The Good

Director Mickey Keating has been making a name for himself in the cinematic fear-fare field, with films ranging from his 2015 creature feature Pod to 2021’s Lovecraftian Offseason. Invader, his latest feature, finds Keating tackling home invasion horror. The result is a savage, unflinching feature calculated to unnerve viewers to make them feel uneasy in the place where they should feel safest: their homes. Keating dives right in as the film opens with a discomfiting statistic and then the titular villain (Swanberg) wreaking havoc as he destroys a home. Keating rarely lets up on the unease, as Ana navigates a strange area in an attempt to locate her cousin but meets challenges from the highly uncomfortable to the terrifying — and that is before she inevitably crosses paths with the deadly home invader. Cinematographer Mac Fisken puts viewers agonizingly close to the proceedings and sound designer Shawn Duffy adds to the inescapable dread, while blasts of death metal help to set things further on edge. Maynez is terrific in the lead role, and Huerta and Swanberg deliver great support.

The Bad

I don’t have much to say here, but for the sake of saying something, the ending will be highly divisive among viewers. I’ll leave it at that to avoid spoiler territory.

The Verdict

An early nominee for Feel-Bad Film of the Year — one of those horror movies that you appreciate having watched but aren’t sure that you want to put yourself through seeing it again, and that’s a compliment — Invader is a brutal, immersive shocker grounded enough in reality to make viewers queasy and have them triple-check their door locks before going to bed.