Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s “Intruders’’ looks great and has a promising opening, but this atmospheric Spanish psychological thriller is otherwise pretty underwhelming.
The latest film from the director of the zombie-fest “28 Days Later’’ opens in Spain with Juan (Izan Corchero) telling his mother, Luisa (Pilar Lopez de Ayala), a bedtime story about a faceless ghoul who wants to tear off and wear children’s faces to make people love him.
When the youngster ventures out into a rainstorm to chase the family cat, he sees a hooded, faceless figure entering their home.
In a parallel story set 30 years later, a 12-year-old amusingly named Mia Farrow (Ella Purnell) finds Juan’s story in a tree trunk and soon begins having nightmares about the same ominous figure, known as Hollow Face.
Her father, John (Clive Owen), and mom, Sue (Carice van Houten), can do little to reassure Mia, even with the help of a shrink (Kerry Fox).
Meanwhile, back in the ’80s, Luisa has turned to a troubled priest (Daniel Brühl) straight out of “The Exorcist,’’ to assist with the terrified Juan.
The two stories eventually converge in a climax with elaborate special effects, but the rather generic “Intruders’’ is simply not in the class of such recent Spanish thrillers as “The Others’’ and “Pan’s Labyrinth.’’