Directed by Nicholas Carrodo, ‘Intrusion’ is a science fiction short focusing on two characters holed up inside a garage whilst an alien invasion wreaks havoc all around them.
Running at a brisk 5 minutes, the film uses its low budget setting effectively, incorporating genuine tension into the story through above average acting, editing and pacing.
“After working on Intrusion for around 10 months now, I can confidently say that it is a testament to all that I have learned throughout my career and easily the best film I’ve made to date, the effort and passion put into this film is on full display here.”
Nicholas Carrodo
“Carrodo uses the story well, developing tension between the two characters who are fighting for survival”
One of the things that impressed us the most about ‘Intrusion’ was the cinematography. Carrodo uses the story well, developing tension between the two characters who are fighting for survival in the face of an unrelenting alien invasion.
A seemingly innocuous interaction soon takes a nefarious turn as our protagonist realizes that he has made a terrible mistake by letting his old acquaintance into his house.
With a psychological game of cat and mouse now underway, the two characters will try to one up each other as far as they can, with the stakes involved as dangerous and astronomical as life and death.
The editing and pacing are also particularly well done. Carrodo switches the perspective between the two characters effortlessly and as the tension builds, a violent shootout at the end (most of which happens offscreen) wraps up the story in a different, yet exciting manner.
The shootout works to explode the simmering tension into a violent crescendo.
“…the handheld cinematography nicely complements the raw feel of the film…”
Another excellent technical aspect is the film’s sound mixing that adds to the story’s tense moments. In addition, the handheld cinematography nicely complements the raw feel of the film, helping to catch the emotions and the claustrophobic tension really well.
Inspired by such science fiction classics as the ‘War of the Worlds’ and the ‘Cloverfield series’, ‘Intrusion’ is not only a neat little homage to these epics but also a great film in its own right. Slickly shot, expertly paced and bursting with palpable tension, the film is a great attempt by Nicholas Carrodo to successfully break into the sci-fi short genre.
Director Biography – Nicholas Carrodo
Since his childhood, Nicholas had always been fascinated by film. After watching Peter Jackson’s King Kong in 2005, he realized he wanted to pursue a career in the film industry. Now a senior enrolled in the TV/Film program at the prestigious DeSales University in Center Valley, Pennsylvania and with 8 films now under his belt, Nicholas is excited to show off his latest film, Intrusion. Inspired by “10 Cloverfield Lane” and the popular video game series, “The Last of Us”, Nicholas puts his own spin on the post-apocalyptic genre, choosing to show a smaller, more personal encounter set within a much larger world.
