Rent The Owlman (2013)

Lord of Tears - The Owlman review by NP

After a moody establishing opening, it quickly becomes apparent that this is a low-budget slow burner with a lot of the failings of such productions. Namely - a lot of the acting is very weak. I've seen worse, but a quiet chiller/tragedy like this depends on the performances to sell the emotion, and they just aren't strong enough here, with the exception of Lexi Hulme as Eve Turner .

The location is the winner here, and director Lawrie Brewster achieves some stunning shots that convey both the beauty of the Scottish Highlands, and the isolation too. James (Euan Douglas) inherits a sprawling mansion, and despite being told not to visit, he feels compelled to return, to see if he can identify what troubled him so when he was a child.

Gradually, James learns of the cult of Moloch, and Sarah Daly's story then takes on decidedly MR James turns.

If you're not put off by the slowness of the mood piece, you'll find that the less-than-stellar acting doesn't matter so much. The story, the mood, the atmosphere, the location, the direction and the occasionally glimpsed Owlman are all terrific. The film won two awards at the 2013 Bram Stoker International Film Festival – one, an audience award, and the other for Lexi Hulme’s performance.