4 star brilliantly twisty home invasion horror.
The Owners is based on the graphic novel Une Nuit de Pleine Lune by Yves H. and Hermann. It is written by Mathieu Gompel (The Dream Kids) and Julius Berg who also makes his feature directorial debut with this excellent horror film.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, we don’t have a safe.”
Nathan (Ian Kenny – Sing Street, Solo: A Star Wars Story) has come up with a plan to escape from the small town he feels trapped in. He has borrowed a car from his girlfriend Mary (Maisie Williams – Early Man, Two Weeks To Live) and taken childhood friend Terry (Andrew Ellis – Teen Spirit, Habit) and dodgy out of town geezer Gaz (Jake Curran – Journey’s End, Stardust) to the surgery and home of the local doctor.
Terry’s mum Jean (Stacha Hicks – Captain Phillips, The Children Act) works there as the cleaner and has noticed that there is a safe in the house. Gaz knows how to open an electronic lock and the three friends think robbing the house is their ticket out of town.
Right from the start things don’t go to plan. Mary turns up to reclaim her car, she’s late for work and when they do get into the house it’s the wrong kind of safe.
They decide to wait for Dr. Huggins (Sylvester McCoy – Doctor Who, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey) and his wife Ellen (Rita Tushingham – A Taste of Honey, The Calling) to return in order to force them to give up the combination.
They soon discover that Gaz is not like them, he’s cruel and violent and well meaning Nathan and Terry, who didn’t intend to hurt anyone or even damage anything, suddenly find themselves and Mary on a destructive and dangerous path that no-one saw coming.
The Owners is a very entertaining watch and is a clever and different take on the home invasion genre. It is well directed giving a great sense of growing unease and peril, with some excellent acting performances all round.
It is full of twists and turns and keeps you guessing right up to the very end and allows you to draw your own conclusions which is quite refreshing. Good fun and in your face gory in places, this is a great way to spend an evening and well worth adding to your collection.
“This won’t get you anywhere but prison. Go home, before things really get out of hand and we’ll forget all about this.”
Signature Entertainment presents The Owners on Digital Platforms 22nd February and DVD 1st March
| Director | Julius Berg |
| Genre | Horror, thriller |
| Starring | Maisie Williams, Sylvester McCoy, Rita Tushingham, Andrew Ellis |
Available to buy on :  | |