Sommerleigh Pollonais – Horror Head Writer
I think the first “home invasion gone wrong” movie I ever saw was The People Under The Stairs, which was uniquely weird and enjoyable. This sub genre of horror/thriller movies actually has a lot of awesome flicks under its bloody fedora, going all the way back to 1967 with the stellar Wait Until Dark up to recent ones like Don’t Breathe, The Collector, You’re Next and Hush, just to name a few. Today, I’m happy to add another flick to this ever growing roster of suspense and thrills with The Owners.
Starring Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones) and directed by Julius Berg, The Owners follows a group of friends who think they have found an easy score at an elderly couple’s house. When they can’t break into the safe they wait for the couple to return home with the intention of scaring them into giving up the combination, only to have the tables turned on them.
While I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, I’ll be the first to admit it was very predictable. That might just be the case for me, as I’m a well-known (straightens imaginary tie) horror connoisseur. This movie comes from across the pond and somehow that added English touch always manages to make a film feel a bit better than it actually is (it’s that damn accent I tell you!). But if you scratch the surface, The Owners is as by the numbers as they get.
That said, the acting was strong enough to keep me engaged, with all the props going to the elderly pairing of actors Sylvester McCoy (Seventh Doctor from Classic Doctor Who, The Hobbit Trilogy) and Rita Tushingham (Doctor Zhivago, A Taste of Honey). They took me right back to M. Night’s The Visit as the only two movies (for me) that made old people freakin’ terrifying! They truly carry this movie on their shoulders. Maisie was fine but there was really nothing here I haven’t seen her do before, and the other actors did what they had to do.
So would this movie make one of my Top 5s? Nah! It’s a tad too much of the same, with respects to the plot and the way everything plays out. But it was in no way a bad movie and I had fun watching the insanity unfold.
Sommer’s Score: 5.5 out of 10
* Editor’s Note: A big shout out to Stephanie Rock, the winner of the inaugural Funny Caption Friday on our RMR Facebook page. Can’t really beat a good Boy Meets World reference. You Rock, Stephanie! Pun very much intended. And also thank you to our other funny caption writers as well. To be a part of Funny Caption Friday and for all RMR reviews and news you can like and follow our page here. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.
For Sommer’s list of the Top 5 Scariest Home Invasion Movies you can click here.
Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes.
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