The Incomer is one of those films I knew nothing about until it appeared in the schedules, but it fitted in with my viewing plans and although I misremembered seeing Brendan Gleeson in the cast, it actually stars one of his acting sons, Domhnall Gleeson (mother!).
Living alone on a remote Scottish island – and giving a very Wicker Man-like feel, Isla (Gayle Rankin) and brain-of-a-child Sandy (Grant O’Rourke) are psychotic siblings who hate random incomers.
They lost their Dad 30 years ago and have been alone on the remote island since, with no-one to talk to… well, Sandy shouts at the sea in anger – his only solace being a wall-mounted rubber dildo he found on the ground, assumes it’s a toy and flays it about, until it accidentally smacks him in the face.
Meanwhile, Isla believes she’s having random conversations with the seal-like Finman (John Hannah – Benidorm Is Murder), who surfaces to tell her that for once each generation, one member of her family must sacrifice themselves to the sea, so the others can survive.
Yep, they’re both several sandwiches short of a picnic.
Dan (Domhnall Gleeson) works for the local council and is tasked with relocating them to the mainland, as they’re effectively squatting, but their initial meeting doesn’t quite go to plan, as they tie him up and hang him over the cliff edge…
Still, in the evening, he tries to win them over with a story he’s made up for them, about… Frodo and his dealings with The Application Form, in a tale known as “Lord Of The Local Authority”, experiences the pair beating each other up in front of him, and Sandy later declaring, “I tried to murder Daniel, so I could eat his body and hear his thoughts”.
But since he’s taking forever, colleague Cal (Emun Elliott – The Dark) is sent over to resolve the situation but acts like a Commando, even to the point of taking supplies with him but with drinking liquid in the form of… urine. He’s even brought so much that Dan’s forced to ask that in the time Cal’s had to prepare, “Why didn’t you just bring water?”
Yes, The Incomer is absolutely fucking mental, and it’s brilliant!
All of that is just a fraction of the great writing and direction in this film, all backed up be brilliant performances from the key cast – all of whom play it straight, as if they believe the madness that’s happening, and it really deserves to be seen by so many people. I saw this on the Sunday evening during National Cinema Weekend, and while a lot of films will have had packed audiences, this was late on, so was fairly scant in attendance. Still, it clearly resonated with everyone who’d turned up for it, and despite the release date having passed, some cinemas are having additional screenings on Monday September 28th.
However, it’s barely had any timeslots in the schedules, and like the Finman, could well sink without trace, same as last year’s similarly-offbeat and rural, The Ballad Of Wallis Island. Both films deserve SO much better.
NOTE: There are no mid- nor post-credits scenes.
The Incomer is in cinemas now, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD. However, once announced, it will appear on the New DVD Blu-ray 3D and 4K releases UK list.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 102 minutes
Release date: September 4th 2026
Studio: Universal Pictures UK
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 9/10
Director: Louis Paxton
Producers: Emily Gotto, Shirley O’Connor
Writer: Louis Paxton
Music: Tom Kingston
Cast:
Daniel: Domhnall Gleeson
Isla: Gayle Rankin
Sandy: Grant O’Rourke
Finman: John Hannah
Roz: Michelle Gomez
Calum: Emun Elliott
Bob: Paddy Kondracki
Tanya: Natasha Reid
Ginny: Vanessa Donovan
Gav: Neil Bratchpiece
Susie: Annabella Forbes
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.