The Intruder 2020

Scott and Annie Howard move into a Napa Valley residence called Foxglove, purchasing it from its previous owner, Charlie Peck. Charlie explains that his wife Ellen died of cancer two years earlier and that he plans to relocate to Florida to live with his daughter Cassidy. The couple quickly settles into their new home, inviting their friend Mike and Mike’s wife to spend the night, turning Foxglove into a place of welcome and warmth.

From the start, the atmosphere tightens. When Mike steps outside for a cigarette, he feels eyes watching him, and the next morning he discovers a cigarette burn on the seat of his luxury car that wasn’t there before. Annie notices Charlie mowing the lawn and, despite early awkwardness, invites him to join a Thanksgiving dinner, hoping to extend a sense of community. That night, Scott and Mike glimpse something or someone in the woods, prompting Scott to install security cameras and heighten their vigilance.

Charlie’s presence remains disruptive. He orders workers off the grounds, yet his appearances grow more frequent and unsolicited. He explains he isn’t moving to Florida just yet and is instead staying at the Royal Hotel in town, a claim that begins to unravel as the couple’s suspicion deepens. Tensions rise between Scott’s wary protectiveness and Annie’s belief in giving the former owner a chance, a conflict that intensifies during the Christmas season when Charlie helps with decorations while Scott mingles with his clients. A late-night moment unsettles them: a shared, intimate experience occurs in their living space as they wake to a noise, unaware that Charlie is watching.

A neighbor’s warning shakes Scott further: Charlie’s wife killed herself with one of Charlie’s shotguns. Meanwhile, Charlie’s fixation on Annie grows more dangerous as he starts visiting the house when Scott isn’t around. One morning, while Scott is out jogging, a truck unexpectedly collides with him from behind—driven by Charlie, who continues his vengeful rampage in silence. Mike later uncovers that Charlie had fallen into debt and legal trouble, forcing the sale of Foxglove to the new owners, a truth that reframes the need for suspicion.

While Scott lies in the hospital recuperating, Charlie appears again and endangers Annie, inviting her to dinner under a false pretenses. Mike checks on Annie and is confronted by Charlie, who reveals a cold resolve: he wants to reclaim what he lost and wipe out Scott. The confrontation escalates when Charlie murders Mike with an axe, a brutal act that confirms the danger stalking the house.

Back at Foxglove, Scott reaches out to Cassidy, who has since changed her name. She hangs up after Scott mentions her father and the house she grew up in, a cryptic moment that hints at a darker history. Scott learns that Charlie never actually stayed at the Royal Hotel, exposing a web of lies. Charlie reappears in the house and confesses his feelings for Annie, who, sensing danger, tells him she feels ill and asks him to leave.

Annie then discovers a hidden door behind the linen closet, revealing an underground cellar where Charlie has been living in secret since selling the house. As Scott returns home, Cassidy explains that her father is a pathological liar and a psychopath who murdered her mother when she threatened a divorce, a revelation that casts Charlie’s charm in a chilling light.

The night escalates into a deadly confrontation. Charlie discovers Annie’s discovery, attacks her, and carries her upstairs. He assaults her, but Scott returns, ambushing Charlie and forcing him over the balcony. A brutal struggle ends with Annie managing to stab Charlie in the back as he retreats to the cellar to fetch a shotgun. The couple hides behind a bedroom door as Charlie hunts for them. He enters a room, and Scott, seizing a rifle, knocks Charlie down.

Bleeding and cornered, Charlie taunts Scott about the rifle being unloaded, but Scott checks his pockets to prove otherwise. As the couple informs the 911 operator that they have shot an intruder, Charlie delivers a final, furious scream: “You don’t deserve Foxglove!” Scott, overwhelmed and heartbreak-stricken, replies, “Go to hell,” and shoots Charlie, ending the threat once and for all.

Foxglove’s haunting tale lingers after the resolution, a meditation on obsession, misplaced trust, and the perilous allure of a home that promises safety but harbors darkness beneath its polished surface. The film leaves viewers with a chilling reminder of how quickly a dream home can become a battleground, where the line between sanctuary and danger blurs until the truth can no longer be contained.