Chad Everett stars as the head “tool pusher” on an oil rig in the middle of the ocean in this Made for TV Alien clone. Head geologist Joseph Bottoms forces Chad and his crew to work day and night. After all that constant drilling, they eventually dig up a slimy eel creature who bites and kills one of the workers. Later, an old timer cuts himself on one of the creature’s eggs and goes nuts and kills himself. Another guy gets infected and rapes a co-worker and she gives birth to a big monster that terrorizes what’s left of the cast.
The Intruder Within is an early ‘80s Made for TV Movie, and as such, it falls victims to the sluggish plotting and pacing inherent in one of these deals. (We also get a lot of camera push-ins and fade-outs that signal where the commercial breaks should go.) I will say the rape scene, though quite tame, must’ve been kind of shocking for an ‘80s Made for TV Movie. It’s in scenes like this where you can tell the film wants to be a bit schlockier and nastier than your typical Move of the Week, but the standards and practices office just wouldn’t allow it.
I’ve always liked Chad Everett, and he does a solid job here. If you’re gonna have a monster running loose on an oil rig, he’s as good a guy as any to be at the helm. It’s also good to see Rockne (Black Samson) Tarkington in a sizeable role.
Despite being a bit grungier than your average TV horror flick, The Intruder Within is boring for the most part. The final reel has a little bit of pep in its step, but it’s kind of a slog to get to that point. At least it was made before the likes of the similarly themed Leviathan and Deepstar Six. The monster is pretty cool though. It kind of looks like a variation on one of the monsters from Humanoids from the Deep, but with a big shit-eating grin. If only he inhabited a R-rated flick, he could’ve really done some damage.
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