Trespassers (2006) User Reviews

The Curse of El Gringo

[claudio_carvalho · 4/10 · 31 July 2009]

While in the Punta Abreojos in Mexico with his girlfriend Maya (Annica Bejhed) and two other couples, Tyler (Brendan Fleming) invites his brother Colin (Kaiwi Lyman-Mersereau) to join him in the paradisiacal beach for surfers. Colin travels from Los Angeles to the spot in his old car with his girlfriend Ashley (Michelle Borth), her slut friend Rose (Joleigh Pulsonetti) and his friends Javier (Jon Ada) and the goof Lucky (Alex Feldman). When they arrive in the beach, they do not find Tyler and her group, only their motorcycles, surfboards and finally their campsite and truck. While seeking out their friends, the group realizes that there is something wrong with the cursed beach.

"Trespassers" is a plain low budget movie with a shallow and non-well developed story and characters. There are awfully silly lines, and I believe that the winner is when Lucky asks what "km" is and Colin (I guess) replies that it is a shorter mile. The camera and lighting are terribly poor and the best scene in the movie is when Rose removes her bra and shows her wonderful breasts. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Intrusos" ("Intruders")

Not Bad, Not Great

[jamoss11 · 5/10 · 23 January 2007]

I love horror movies and I watch a lot of them. Therefore, I've come across some really, really bad movies. This isn't one of them but it's not great either.

The acting/dialog are for the most part lousy but the story itself isn't a bad one. It keeps you guessing, and therefore interested, for a while and builds the tension pretty well and the payoff is pretty good, not mind blowing or anything but good. The end is kind of disappointing and not exactly clear but it doesn't matter much at that point as the important part of the story has already been told. The direction and camera work has a very raw feel to it which helps add to the creepiness of the mood.

Oh, and for the constantly boob-hungry American fans out there living in puritan-land, this one has some, and let me tell you, they're nice.

Low budget, and only to be worth watching when you'r bored.

[koen-24 · 3/10 · 16 May 2006]

The story goes about 5 young people taking a trip to some hidden beaches in Mexico. it seems like there are some weird weird things going on at that beach, and it seems like our 5 young hero's have just landed in the middle of that...

Just watched this movie, and i could say, its a bit disappointing... low budget and bad acting really didn't give this movie the right push. the story line was far from complete with useless characters in it. the scenes are just to messy. the camera shakes far too much witch just don't give you the change to see the movie probably. Most of the time i just had to wait till the scene was over to find out what just happened, and that doesn't have to do anything with the storyline. hence, at the end of the movie, i didn't even remember the main characters name's. The end is very strange to, its like the movie just stopped in the middle of the plot.

The low budget doesn't excuse the stupidity

[michaeljharvey · 2/10 · 17 August 2008]

I hear a lot of people making excuses for this movie based on the low budget. However, the movie fails in terms of acting, writing and direction... all areas that don't necessarily cost a huge amount to get right. I've seen many movies made on even lower budgets that were far more entertaining and well-crafted.

The story is classic horror cliché. Five attractive young people go on a road trip to a secluded Mexican beach. Of course, something is terribly wrong with the beach and they start to die one-by-one. I won't go into the details of the inane plot, but let's just say it has to do with the curse of a cult leader called "El Gringo" (yes, that's actually what he's called) and people being turned into blood-thirsty zombies who hunt by night. So it's basically a bad, zombie b-movie set on a Mexican beach.

The acting is pretty labored and the story gets dumber and dumber as it progresses. There's plenty of gratuitous nudity from the attractive female stars, which was maybe the highlight of the movie. Some movies are bad but don't take themselves too seriously, so they become fun. "Trespassers" seems to take itself way too seriously, and winds up not very scary and not very entertaining.

Far better than a lot of Hollywood garbage...

[mcdougallgreg · 14 September 2006]

This film was a nice surprise. The pacing is decent, the acting is good, and the cinematography is on a par with that of much higher budgeted films. Plus, the use of creepy locations in Mexico adds an uneasy atmosphere.

The story itself is interesting. Kind of compelling, actually. The set-up with the vacationing friends is nothing to rave about, but the story behind the cursed beach is definitely original. And for once, the kids aren't ANNOYING. Too many low budget horror films seem to think that being an ass is the only way a kid should act. Well, these kids seem fairly realistic and their antics aren't too outlandish. In fact, one antic involves a kid tricking a girl to take off her top on her condition that he doesn't video tape it. This, of course, leads to some nudity that didn't feel forced and is always welcome in a low budget horror film. Plus, the actress showing her - ahem - assets is a natural beauty, so everything is 100% real. Always a plus.

This film does have some gore, but is fairly restrained as far as blood-letting is concerned. This film isn't about copious buckets of blood, either. It's about atmosphere. Gore hounds should rent a George Romero film if they want a gore fix, because they won't find it here. And, actually, that's a small quibble that I did have with it. A little more blood would've been nice to see. It really did need a few violent shock moments (think "28 Days Later"), but this didn't detract from my enjoyment of the picture.

All in all, a commendable job by all involved. I can think of many other, much higher budgeted films that are far below this effort.

NOT Like DAWN OF THE DEAD or Shaun of the Dead

[saraland425 · 1/10 · 28 May 2006]

This movie on the back says that it is in vein of Dawn of the dead and Shaun of the Dead. Somebody lied!! This movie is completely opposite. The only good thing about this movie is that the girls in it looked good. The rest had really nothing to do with zombies. Do Not rent even if your bored. Stay Bored, go play with yourself or something, anything would be better than this crap. Now I will say this; the weird guy with the camera, i think his name was lucky, got to see the girl topless and then recorded it on the camera. Whats funny though is the fact that 5 seconds later we see him sitting on a rock by himself playing a challenging game of pocket pool, but before he can finish flogging the dolphin he gets scared and runs away. Even though this is sick it just shows that if this was the best part of the movie imagine what the rest of the movie is like.

boring

[movieman_kev · 2/10 · 20 January 2008]

Five young adults head off to Mexico in search of some waves that one of the group's brother said were great down there. But when they get there the brother and his friends are nowhere to be found. They soon clash with demented (possibly demoniacally infected) locals. The acting was serviceable if nothing special, the mere fact that this is a low-budget film, i can ignore that. What I couldn't ignore was the lack of good lighting were a good portion of the movie or the reliance on shaky-cam shots during the action scenes of the film. Or, for that matter, the surprising lack of gore. What we're left with is a somewhat boring travelogue of Mexican scenery for a good part of the movie and inane banter. Skip it and rent "Turistas" or something else better that this movie is akin to.

Eye Candy: Joleigh Fioreavanti gets topless

Where I saw it: Netflix online view

My Grade: D-

a well thought idea doing its best

[Aka-HAVOK · 4/10 · 10 May 2006]

This is my first review ever, what a way to start where no one has posted anything yet so here it goes. without knowing much by the DVD cover i didn't know what to expect even though it said "in the vein of dawn of the dead, Shaun of the dead as well as other zombie movies." so i said hey why not it's only $11.00, but after viewing it i think i should have waited a little longer.

The story involves a group of friends going to Mexico to surf at an abandoned beach, getting their they find no one is there, so what do they do strip down and surf and have a sex filled week (more on the line of a teenage boy surfing through porn) you get to see the only girl you want to see topless. later when one vanishes they look to find his video camera lying on the beach (farther away then he dropped it.) to see something grabbed him, and try to figure out where Colin's brother went to, then the rest of the movie is pretty much a tale of terror where Javier and the girl with him (forgot name) get information about the past of the beach by a store clerk, where this man and followers lived on the beach and prayed to god for (I think) entry, they never ate real food just what the tide would bring in until one day he brings food and everyone devours it, then they realize he was bringing children from town, well they get man and do a horrendous act by placing him in the sand with his head out and cut his eyelids off while facing the sun, as he was there he prayed for help, but got the wrong religious man, but took the offer so he could take revenge on anyone who comes near his beach. when the corpses of fellow boarders come back to life they do what "kill" which isn't much of a climax, after a few die only two are left to leave and fight off the dead (which is choppy by how the camera is moving so fast to catch all the action)none the less once they leave on the dirt bike which was left there they meet the pact leader to decide there fate.

This is a well put together movie with a decent amount of blood, some nudity, and it's a zombie flick but the bad thing is it gets old fast they all have the mind of a 12 year old, with to much sex related humor, and the acting is so-so, its decent but not a must maybe a rental instead.4/10

I agree

[chadmichaelcollins · 1/10 · 16 July 2006]

I agree with everything you said. It is all about flashing boobs, also masturbation. On top of that it is like seeing one big soap opera . I would of rather watched a soap opera than this movie. I would not recommend this movie to anyone. My girlfriend fell asleep in the middle of the movie because it was so boring. This is my opinion. If you buy or rent this movie it is a waste of time and money. Dawn of the dead and any other vampire movie beats this movie big time. Like I said this is an opinion I came up with. You make like this movie if you like fake blood, and body parts that look like scraps from a meat dept in your local store. Let me not go any further before I give the whole plot away.

A little too grainy for my taste but otherwise an average effort.

[DigitalRevenantX7 · 4/10 · 10 August 2015]

Colin & four of his friends undertake a road trip to Mexico to locate a remote beach where his surfer brother Tyler is camping in, the promise of uninterrupted waves being on the agenda. But after arriving at the beach, they find that Tyler & his group are not there – only their vehicles & belongings are left behind with all the food missing. One of the group, Lucky, goes missing while exploring the area. After searching for him, Colin & his friends find Lucky's missing camcorder. They turn it on & find that Lucky had discovered the mutilated bodies of Tyler's companions & was promptly attacked by crazed people. As night falls, the four remaining friends are assaulted by wild crazed people who are the victims of El Gringo, a cult leader thought dead who haunts the area, turning any foreigners into cannibals by his eyes.

Trespassers was one of a long line of independent horror films made by wannabe filmmakers who have gotten hold of a camcorder & some money & roping in a few friends for actors & production personnel. This low-budget approach is a time-honoured tradition – many of the best horror films throughout history, from THE EVIL DEAD to NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, used exactly the same setup.

However, unlike those two classic examples, Trespassers is something of a disappointment, although it isn't particularly terrible – more of a mediocre effort that has a reasonable idea – surfers head to a beach that is cursed territory, later attacked by crazed cannibals led by a cult leader who judges people's fate by his eyes – but fails to make much use of that premise. I've heard some people call this a zombie film, which might be halfway applicable if you use the term very loosely.

Trespassers is undone somewhat by a lack of technical polish. Again, this need be not a liability – many classic horror films had a certain roughness that added to the charm – but without the talent to use it effectively. There is a modest atmosphere to be had in the film, but the use of camcorders as primary equipment for the film hurts the film's chances since camcorders (or whatever equipment they used for the stock, which is full of digital grain & a noticeable lack of resolution, which really defies any effort to gauge what is going on in the dark) have severe limitations in the film department – they belong to home movies, not professional genre films.

That said, Trespassers works a fair bit in the horror department. Director Ian McCrudden uses the empty lands of Mexican coastlines & abandoned buildings to decent effect, generating some much needed atmosphere for the film. The actors do a relatively professional job & the characters are modestly drawn. I found the idea of the film's exposition being delivered in Spanish by a fisherman the friends head to as interesting, but in translation by one of the cast, it loses some fidelity. The "zombie" attacks are done mostly offscreen & with little to no gore, losing the film some much needed marks.

Trespassers

[Scarecrow-88 · 5/10 · 24 June 2010]

Looking for the killer wave may actually kill you. The location South of the Border is called the "Point of Open Eyes" and seems ideal for surfing and screwing, and five young adults decide to drive down there hoping to "ride the perfect wave". Beautiful Americans far from home, in a stunning secluded beach, the gorgeous waves crashing, seems enthralling, doesn't it? I guess looks can be deceiving. You know what they say, that which seems too good to be true normally is. Upon entering Mexico, it doesn't take very long before our Americans are engaged in not-so-pleasant relations with the locals. After resolving this minor squabble, the gang come across a gas station seemingly abandoned, finding a Mexican devouring a live chicken as it was squirming relentlessly to escape, setting up the rest of the movie..could the group come across savages with a hunger for something other than live chickens? You might could use the description of beauty and the beasts regarding the peninsula and the human monsters which occupies it. As presented in the movie, the savages hunt and move like a pack of ravenous wolves, ripping into their meal without restraint. Director Ian McCrudden does apply the less-is-more approach, but does establish the kind of predatory fiends these savages are..there's this cool scene where we see a huge pit of bones, with all kinds of skeletal remains, cattle, dogs, humans. There's even one doozy of a scene where Colin and Rose find Tyler's group's compound, with a freshly skinned alive corpse inside one of the tents. They are quite ferocious and bloodthirsty, snarling and menacing..they are photographed in a manner where we can not quite see them for any length of time. The movie looks to have been shot on digital, in the steadicam method so visually you will have to adjust accordingly.

We get an idea of where the savages come from, considered the "curse of El Gringo." I think this herein lies the film's problem. It seems that oftentimes the filmmakers need to weave an elaborate backstory for the predators of their movie. I think I'm not the only one who doesn't necessarily demand an explanation as to why these savages exist in such a way. And, the possession angle for the savages just removes the realism of quite a harrowing survival storyline. These characters caught in what seemed like the perfect tourist trap, actually lives up to it's title in that they find themselves imprisoned in the sand dunes shrouded by the dark, with the savages out there somewhere lurking, an insatiable hunger for human flesh. That more than satisfies me, but to incorporate a mythos for them seems forced when unneeded.

"It's really eerie out here, in the middle of nowhere."--Ashley.

Colin's older brother Tyler invited him to the spot and when they get there, he and his mates are missing. Colin(Kaiwi Lyman) is a blond surfer, and Ashley(Michelle Borth) is Colin's girlfriend. Ashley's gal pal, Rose(Joleigh Fioravanti;Hatchet)tags along as does Colin's male buddies, Javier(Jon Ada)and Lucky(Alex Feldman). Javier brings along his guitar and Rose is more than interested in him, not knowing he's homosexual. Rose, though, seems perfectly fine flirting with Colin, as well. Ashley doesn't appreciate Rose's unbridled and aware lust for Colin, not acknowledging that he's taken. Lucky is the tag-along no one really asked to accompany them on the trip, he sort of invited himself. He has a camcorder which is utilized in the plot when he vanishes after seeing some horrifying things. When the group break up into pairs, Javier and Ashley riding off on a bike to ask locals what happened to Tyler and company, while Colin and Rose look around the beach for the compound. This is when nightfall soon occurs and the creatures come out to hunt.

Buy the ticket, take the ride

[dave-kebo · 8/10 · 25 May 2006]

I Netflixed this film because it just came out and I was in the mood for some horror. As is with low-budg, straight to DVD horror, my expectations were LOW. I am glad to say that I was pleasantly surprised. The acting and directing is well above the caliber of movies in this genre and the writing was surprisingly witty. Felt very much like a throwback to the 70s classics, like the original "The Hills Have Eyes." There are some truly harrowing moments not to mention a cool concept and some beautiful landscapes. O, and excellent music selection and score. My only real criticism is the dialogue mix is low and not the best, but overall, if you're a fan of old school Genre pieces, this film is well worth a rental. Take the ride!

Good looks, good surf, good horror

[marionlm2002 · 7/10 · 24 July 2006]

Yes, the camera work is shaky - which is a DEVICE to make you feel shaky - it was intentional for those reviewers who didn't understand that - it's also shaky which allows the film to suggest gore yet doesn't dwell on it - it lets your imagination dwell on it... yes, low budget but I'd like to see other films with such a low budget showing such accomplished talent - you won't find them - watch these actors closely - they have the potential to go far! They have depth and sensitivity and bring class to the otherwise simple but spooky story. Yes, the masturbation scene is kinda raw sensuality but hey - that's what teens are about, yes? Yes.

Considering the budget, solid.

[fedor8 · 7 April 2007]

From the first frame the low-budget roots of this movie glare you right in the face, with the sort of photography you might find in "Blair Witch Garbage". However, the very surprising thing was the fact that the acting and dialogue were quite a bit above average for a very cheap teen horror film. Particularly Joleigh Fioreavanti stands out, but then again, I'd say that, wouldn't I, being partial to beautiful women. The build-up to the horror scenes is perhaps more fun than the action itself, although the background-story scenes relating to the cult are well done. There are some obligatory silly scenes, though not too many, like when the love-birds make out – less than an hour after seeing some of their friends torn to pieces. Just a little word of advice to the director: do not sing songs on your own movie soundtracks – ever again. What a crappy voice

Enjoyable little horror movie

[TdSmth5 · 6/10 · 11 September 2008]

A surfer finds some cool spot in Mexico and calls his cousin Colin to come over. Colin brings two friends along one of whom is a guy called Lucky some sleazy loner loser who always carries a camera with him. His goal for this trip: to film a surf porno. Also along for the ride are Colin's prospective girlfriend Ashley and her superhot friend Rose.

During the trip we learn a couple of things about the kids who make some stops in Mexico and nearly get themselves in trouble. Once they arrive, the cousin and his group are gone. Their vehicles, a car and two motorcycles left there in disarray. Rose pretty quickly starts making her moves on Colin much to the annoyance of Ashley. While the guys go surfing, Lucky goes on an expedition filming what he finds along the way. Eventually he encounters a cliff at the bottom of which are dozens of skeletons and corpses. As he flees and turns his camera he catches a glimpse of some person or creature on the horizon. He also finds the camp where Colin's cousin was. Inside a tent he sees a bloody corpse. Strange things start happening as it gets darker and Lucky disappears.

The group splits up, Ashley and the other guy go to the closest town to get help and Rose and Colin stay behind to look for/wait for his cousin. At the town the two kids are told the story behind the surf spot and why the locals avoid it and why no tourists come out of there alive. There's a good background story involving the activities of a cult. Eventually the kids meet up again, although not all make it. The remaining ones will confront the attackers known locally as the Jackals.

This movie is quite good considering the budget. The sound and music are first rate. The look of the movie not so much- it has a discolored look to it with red/brown being overemphasized. A bizarre choice since it's all about beach and surfing. The acting is good. All characters are believable. Surfers may be fun guys but they are not interesting. The best character is Rose though and actress Joleigh Fioreavanti /Pulsonetti absolutely steals the show. She's hot and sexy and every scene sizzles when she's in it. It's hard to care for any of the remaining characters other than Lucky. The story is good, in particular the background to our creatures/zombies. There isn't much gore or action but the little there is is filmed well. Overall a fun horror movie that's slightly above average thanks to a good production effort and a sensational performance by Joleigh.

You can do much worse with your time

[cobbler88 · 14 August 2011]

I didn't think this was that bad.

The camera work had a bit of that shakiness to it but the director didn't make the mistake of making it insist that you constantly notice it. It helped the feel of the show, even though it no doubt also served the purpose of covering up for a lack of real atmosphere and action during more frenetic scenes.

The performances were fine, although I have a couple of gripes for these movies in general. 1) Why is the lead almost ALWAYS the worst actor? 2) Why is the slutty girl with the actual personality almost ALWAYS one of the first to go, while the girl-next-door girlfriend who is about as interesting as a dishrag is always spared for a much longer stretch? My main criticism isn't that much. Contrary to what some reviewers here believe, I can't call the back story anything other than ridiculous. You do sort of need a back story for things like this, but they swung and missed with this one. It's not really a main component, so the movie does not fail because of it, but it could have made things a little more interesting had it been good.

I gave it 5 stars (I mean, really, the most you're ever going to give one of these is 6 or 7) because the director didn't tack on a completely ridiculous ending.

Regardless, if you're looking for a passable flick of this type with a little bit of a different feel, you can do much worse than this movie.

Friends stumble into vicious carnage.

[michaelRokeefe · 6/10 · 10 October 2011]

Avid surfer Tyler(Brendan Fleming)wants to share his new found waves and invites his brother Colin(Kaiwi Lyman)to come down to Maja Mexico and catch a wave or two. The two haven't seen each other for awhile making Colin very anxious as he gathered a few friends and headed south. Catching some killer waves and enjoying cold beer on the beach sounds too good to be true; taking rugged Mexican back roads to find Tyler's location has the travelers on nerve's end. Colin is sure he has found the right spot, but his brother is no where to be found. Upon searching out the vicinity, piles of what seems animal and human bones are found. Also a campsite is found, where one tent is full of evidence of a massacre. When two of the group search for help, a Mexican couple tells of a curse that includes the undead needing to make human sacrifices. There is a nice topless scene; but the most excitement comes with an attack of beach zombies. Also in the cast: Annica Bejhed, Joleigh Fioravanti, Alex Feldman, Michele Borth and Jon Ada.

There's a lot of sixes in this film's URL

[Zbigniew_Krycsiwiki · 6/10 · 21 May 2008]

At times creepy variant of The Hills Have Eyes, about a college aged group that goes to an isolated beach in Mexico to surf and to meet up with one of their number's brother and his friends. When they get there, they find the beach seemingly deserted, but that doesn't stop them from surfing and drinking and stripping. One of them videotapes the little striptease that gorgeous Joliegh does, but when playing back the video while whacking off up on the hillside, he sees someone on top of a hill behind watching them. When he goes to investigate he finds a wrecked car and numerous skeletons, and a campsite with newly dead bodies. Someone then kills him, and they proceed to start killing his friends one by one. We learn that this is the result of some sort of a werewolf curse put on the beach, after it was the site of a surprisingly brutal killing and cannibalism decades earlier. I think I would have liked it better if it were just some random person killing them instead of the bit with the curse and the werewolves, or Chupacabra, or whatever the hell kind of animals they were.

Invigorting most of the way, but it loses momentum in the last third, when the pacing slows considerably, and several likable characters are heartlessly killed off. Gorgeous Joleigh is brutally (and needlessly) killed off after stereotypically stupid character behaviour, and Javier meets a similar and brutal fate.

Now, about the photography: the camera-work goes from shaky and very grainy to tack sharp focus and back and forth at random, all throughout the movie. If that had been used sparingly, it would have been to good effect, giving the movie a grittier look and feel to it. When the paranoia sets in and the characters start to fear for their lives, the camera-work adds to the effect. But when we see characters just simply standing around and talking or surfing, while footage changes from shaky and grainy to crystal clear and shaky, it becomes an overused an annoying gimmick. And an alternate title for this movie could have been "The Attack of the Red Lens Filter", because it looks like the entire movie was filmed through a deep red, or even purple filter, which doesn't help.

Overall, this is not a bad, with some suspense to recommend it, but better photography and a better ending would have helped it a lot. Joleigh Fioreavanti is one of the most gorgeous girls in recent memory; her topless scenes are a bonus, also.

Stay Up North!...

[azathothpwiggins · 2 November 2021]

The state of border security is truly pitiful, when young "surfer dudes" and their molls can just wander into Mexico whenever they please. These "legals" simply drive across the border, surfboards in tow, looking for isolated beaches to infest. Drawn by "epic waves", these unwanted Anglos are taking over!

Thank goodness for the bands of hungry cannibals that await them, since the border patrol certainly aren't doing their job!

TRESPASSERS proves that these folks just need to stay home. Who wants a bunch of pale, blonde-haired surf junkies wandering around loose? Let this be a lesson to them...