INTERVIEW: The Intruder6 min read
Reading Time: 5 minutes
What would you do if you were alone on an island with a dangerous stranger on the loose? The Intruder is a mystery-thriller web series that develops this hypothetical situation further with a group of four friends. Borne from a collaborative effort between Big 3 Media and Flying Tiger, The Intruder is a blend of a compelling storyline, intense action scenes and great acting set on a beautiful remote island. Read our review here.
Spoilers in the interview ahead.
Though it only comprised of four episodes, The Intruder (2019) was a captivating series from start to finish. We were pleasantly excited to snag an interview with the cast and crew to get a deeper look into how The Intruder developed from an idea into the compelling series it is now.
Director Phutsachi Pipat (who goes by the nickname Koo) shares, “We wanted to write a story on what humans fear the most […] The series started from a very small idea and it eventually grew from there.” Little did we know, the inspiration behind The Intruder actually took root 2 years ago! It certainly took awhile for the series to get to the screen, but it was satisfying that it did.
Producer Peter Tan adds, “We changed scriptwriters quite a few times, so there were a lot of discussion processes.” The production process itself took a relatively short 6 months in comparison — they wrapped up production in October last year, and completed the final touches by December.
While The Intruder carries a compelling storyline now, Koo and Tan confesses that they had to make many changes before getting to this point. The action scenes in particular underwent several adjustments. “We added more gore scenes,” Koo tells us. “I had to make sure that people believe in the story, and that the actors are capable of delivering it.”
It was indeed a pleasant breakthrough when Benjamin Kheng, who plays the role of Adam, did extremely well during the stunt rehearsals. Seeing the potential to push the series further, Koo decided to add more fighting scenes in order for the show to develop more realistically.
Similarly, Kheng shares that it was filming the action scenes that he was looking forward to the most. “I think it takes a lot of effort to get beaten up convincingly.” He jokingly adds, “I’ve always wanted to be gagged and bound and screaming for my life.”
Jokes aside, Kheng admits that the fight scenes were one of the most memorable parts of shooting The Intruder. Eugena Bey, who plays Christine, shares the same viewpoint. “Definitely the fight scenes I had with James and Naomi respectively,” she replies when asked about the most unforgettable moments during the filming process. “Naomi and I went off choreography at one point and started to really fight.”
Despite increasing the intensity of the action scenes, Koo modestly admits that they finished production ahead of schedule. He attributes this to the countless rehearsals that he and the cast had. “Not a lot of directors do this, but I personally like having what I call ‘workshops’, where I’ll call the talents in and walk through the script with them many times. So before the cast flew out to Thailand where shooting took place, they were already in character.”
“The fact that we were given time to workshop the scripts and scenes over the course of a few months was such a wonderful luxury that I couldn’t pass up,” Kheng says. “Working with the Thai crew and witnessing first-hand their style of doing things was really fun.”
“Being out of my comfort zone and learning how to work with the Thai crew and stunt team was extremely refreshing,” the actress behind the character Marion, Naomi Yeo, agrees. “All of my other memories from the filming process came from that one core experience — friendship.” The chemistry between the cast definitely played a part in the smooth filming process.
Though her worries may seem unfounded now, Bey was worried that her performance might not be satisfactory. With little acting experience under her belt, Bey had to get past her insecurities to provide a wonderful performance (which she did). “We would run through scripts together every single night,” she recalls. “I’ve received so much encouragement from my fellow cast and crew.” The workshops definitely paid off, however, as The Intruder proves with impeccable acting from the cast.
When asked about her character, Marion, Yeo immediately replies, “I felt everything and nothing for Marion, all at the same time.” With a tragic backstory, it was hard for Yeo not to feel everything for her character. Still, Yeo agrees it didn’t excuse the person that Marion ultimately turned into.
Edwin Goh had similar thoughts on his character, Thomas. “As I was reading the script, I was so angry at Thomas just because of how useless I felt he was.” Though Thomas may be an unlikable character to some, he certainly is a character we can empathise with or even relate to. “He makes the audience wonder, would they lose all courage just to survive, like Thomas did?”
Though the filming process went off without a hitch, Tan comments that not everything was as smooth-sailing behind-the-scenes. As his first time producing a series with Koo, there were many decisions he struggled with. They also found it difficult to get much support for the project, be it sponsors or investors. Managing the budget was tricky as well, especially with having to fly the crew overseas to film. But with team effort, they managed to make it work.
Because of this, Tan says that it was rewarding seeing the responses to The Intruder. “We proved them wrong, through the outcome of the show, that although Koo and I are the newbies producing a show for the first time, we succeeded.” Seeing the cast being so invested in the film, where they would take initiative to ask for permission to post stills to their social media, was heartwarming for Tan as well.
With the traction of The Intruder still ongoing, Tan and Koo want to strike while the iron is hot. “We’re definitely aiming to produce more shows although we still would like to keep the focus on thriller for now,” Tan confirms.
The cast also echoed their enthusiasm for filming another thriller series. As Kheng puts it, “I’m super open to any and all new experiences, please intrude my life.”
One can only hope for the possibility of another thriller series in the future. Spinoff or not, The Intruder is a recommended watch for thriller lovers. With the amount of work going into this series, it certainly draws out a new level of appreciation for not only The Intruder, but other thriller films in general.
