By Agbo Favour Amarachi
‘The Silent Intruder’ is a crime thriller that explores a stalker-therapist who sometimes preys on the vulnerabilities of the people he counsels, usually targeting the weak wives. The movie, directed by Uyoyou Adia, the movie features Pere Egbi as Dr. Zaki of ‘Zaki Bond Relationship Counsellor’ among others.
Uche Montanna, who plays Catherine; is advised to see a marriage counsellor, because of Catherine’s emotional and sexual dissatisfaction in the marriage. Venita Akpofure, who plays Carrie is Catherine’s best friend and colleague at work; Lucy Ameh, who plays Keta is Dr.Zaki’s front desk officer; and Kachi Nnochiri, who plays Dave (Catherine’s husband), among others.
Dr.Zaki is a successful, attractive sex therapist, who battles his demons of sexual compulsion. His appetite for sex is insatiably beyond measure, lusting after every attractive woman he encounters. Manipulative, Dr. Zaki meets Catherine and begins to have a little too much interest in the affairs of his client, blurring the lines of professionalism.
One of the unusual features of ‘The Silent Intruder’ is the number of foreign names. Catherine, Carrie, Dave, Kita, etc., that is very odd for a Nigerian movie.
The actors in ‘The Silent Intruder’ did great, there are only five characters in the movie but then one wouldn’t even notice because of how well they carried their roles, Uche Montana embodied her role as she transitioned seamlessly with so much authenticity. Pere Egbi on the other hand was the devil himself with his character Dr. Darky, he played a character so dark effortlessly he was the charismatic devil.
The movie excels in character development as it gives in an insight and a deeper understanding of the characters and their complexities, However, while there was a deep understanding of the characters, some essential details were left out, for instance; we were not given the actual reason why there’s a fallout between the Phillips, why they had sexual friction, did one stop loving the other hence the the sexual disconnect, and one would ask at this point if it was due to stress at work or a medical condition?
However, we never got to find out as all attention shifted from therapy after a while during the movie, leaving these aspects unexplored. Also, we never got to find out why Dr. Zaki was maniacal. Has he always been that way with his clients, or was Catherine a recent development and why?
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The storyline of the movie is fantastic, the initial scenes, rising actions, climax, and then the resolution are all on par and we were indeed taken through an unpredictable journey with this movie as it does not follow the traditional structure, and we didn’t see the end scenes coming at all. And we never got to find out why Dr. Zaki was maniacal. Has he always been that way with his clients, or was Catherine a recent development and why? The production is also commendable especially with the setting/location, costumes and all.
The cinematography in the movie is great, as the camera work, lighting, and overall visual style did their own work to bring out the beauty in the movie and Lagos as it portrays some very beautiful locations. The soundtrack and the use of sound in the movie are great as they add to the overall enhancement.
The movie is well-paced, it maintains a great flow between the slower and faster moments adding to the suspense in the movie and every single part of the movie is engaging and suspense-filled toward the end, leaving viewers wanting to know what’s next.
‘The Silent Intruder’ depicts messages that are very vivid as it does not only depict some complexities that are in marriages but also how well or how bad couples can handle their marital issues and these complexities depending on their actions as we see with Mr. and Mrs. Phillips.
It goes beyond the surface to depict the darker nature of human lustful desires and how they can cause so much destruction if not addressed or even tamed.
The movie also exposes the complexities of friendships and how quickly people can change or hurt others out of sheer selfishness. It serves its fair share of caution, urging viewers to be cautious of their interpersonal relationships.
Overall, ‘The Silent Intruder’ gets the nod as one of the ‘new school’ Nollywood movies.
