Certificate: 15
Running time: 93 minutes
Starring: Maisie Williams, Sylvester McCoy, Rita Tushingham, Jake Curran, Andrew Ellis, Ian Kenny
Directed by: Julius Berg
The story: Thinking that they have found an easy score, a group of friends set their sights on robbing the grand house of an elderly couple. But when the house owners return home unexpectedly early, the thieves find themselves caught up in a deadly game of cat and mouse.
The verdict: There exists now a subgenre in which a person or group of people break into a house which turns out to be the worst possible house that they could have broken into - a twist on the classic home invasion film. I must admit that I am not a massive fan of either subgenre. Partly because these films often explode into violence for violence's sake, partly because, with both the people breaking in and the home owners turning out to be 'bad,' the audience ends up with no one to root for and partly because horror in the home is a horror that's a bit too easy to imagine and a bit to close to home (pun not intended). So with that in mind, I approached The Owners with dubiety. Unfortunately, my dubiety was warranted.
The Owners had a really engaging first act. The premise is set up well and the audience is immediately given a character to root for when Maisie Williams' character is reluctantly dragged into the attempted robbery by her awful boyfriend when all she wants to do is get to work and not be late for her job. The film effectively builds up the tension as the attempted robbery goes wrong and the owners arrive home.
However, I felt that the film deteriorated with each subsequent act. The main problem was that all the characters were thoroughly unlikeable, even the characters that had at first appeared sympathetic and relatable, and as the film went on they became more and more unlikeable. This meant that I had no investment in what happened to them and what the outcome of the situation was going to be.
The Owners does make a good attempt at originality, but in a crowded subgenre, it was not quite enough to stand out. Visually, The Owners was well shot and I liked the production design and location. The film does try to add even more visual interest, in particular there is an aspect ratio change at a certain point. However, for me the change did not work well at all and at the time I feared that my screening link was on the blink - obviously not a great sign.
The Owners all culminates in a twist which, whilst I didn't see it coming, wasn't very effective for me. By that point it felt like the film had slightly unravelled.
Though all the above may sound very negative, in spite of its flaws, The Owners should not be completely disregarded. The performances cannot be faulted and fans of Maisie Williams and Sylvester McCoy will really enjoy seeing them in this - McCoy in particular is obviously having fun in this role.
The Owners does have its moments and for the most part was watchable and engaging. It's quite brutal in parts and does get a bit nasty, however it is a low budget British horror that I think will appeal to a lot of audiences.
The rating: ★★★
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