The Owners
Runtime: 91 Minutes
Director: Julius Berg

Available as a Rental on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Vudu, Google Play

Trigger Warnings: Medical Procedures, dialogue suggesting Sexual Assault and Rape, Drug Use/drug-effect scenes, and some flashing lights.

“The Owners” is a 2019 Psychological Horror-Thriller, adapted from a French-language Graphic Novel “Une Nuit de Pleine Lune.” While I have not read this myself, I was able to track down a few pages, and it does appear, at a cursory glance, to have at least been faithfully adapted from the source material. While “The Owners” does not do anything new or inventive with its source material or storyline, it’s a pretty solid watch.

After a group of bumbling 20-somethings break into the sprawling Victorian estate of two elderly residents, they get a little more than they bargained for. The film has a bit of slow start for the first 15 minutes or so, but it does payout rather quickly on the “fun” once the action really gets going. The cast is well selected, each committing to characters which are all despicable, save one Mary, played by Maisie Williams, our sympathetic “heroine”.  You’d be hard pressed to not adore the portrayals of Ellen and Doctor Huggins - played by Rita Tushinghama and Sylvetser McCoy. They are a dynamic duo who fit together so well as an at first charming and later delightfully devious, sinister, and at times wholly disturbing husband and wife.

The director makes excellent use of their secluded Victorian Mansion set; the claustrophobic nature of being stuck inside this creepy old house with so many doors and windows, but no clear escape, escalates with each scene and each characters’ attempt to flee. The camera work in the last 30 minutes is delightful, and swapping from 16:9 to 4:3 formatting in the last 20 minutes creates some interesting tension. By closing in tighter on the action, it also brings the nostalgia of late 70s/80s slasher and exploitation pics. Quick cuts, Zolly Shots, and hand-held interspersed with Steadicam shots makes the last 15 minutes feel more desperate and chaotic as it ramps up to a neat little ending. Though the twist ending has been done before, and some might call it a tad formulaic, it’s still campy and devious enough to satisfy the viewer, eliciting a few delighted chuckles and perhaps a victorious “I knew it!”

Overall it is a clever horror-thriller with wonderful casting and decent acting. It might not be wholly original in story or design, but it’s got enough mystery, action, and guts to be surprisingly satisfying nonetheless. It’s got plenty of blood and gross-out medical and body horror, but nothing in excess that would make you tear your eyes from the screen in disgust. It’s absurd, silly, and doesn’t take it too seriously which is precisely what makes it fun! “The Owners” would definitely make a solid movie choice for a Friday night hangout with friends and some popcorn, pizza, and beers!

By Ellen Avigliano

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