I am going to be honest, I am not a huge fan of the found footage genre, but in more recent times I have come to realise that found footage movies have their place. When they are done badly they are unwatchable, but when they are done well they can be very effective. In the case of Unlisted Owner it was a bit of both extremes.
Before watching the movie on Amazon Prime I watched the trailer. Usually a trailer presents the film in a manner that would entice you to watch the movie, this trailer on the other hand made me think.... this is going to be painful. Luckily I didnt let it deter me and decided to give the movie a chance.
The plot is a simple well worn one of the spooky house, the house that seemingly exists in every neighbourhood, that house where unspeakable horrors happened years ago. The house that your parents told you to avoid, or on Halloween you threw eggs at, then ran away extra fast just in case the stories were actually true.
This house, the 'Owner House' has of course the awful past, but more importantly, it has within the timeline of the movie, just been announced on local radio that a family that recently moved into the property have all been found murdered. The central characters of the movie hear about it as they prepare to go camping, and it sows the seed of morbid curiosity.
So the group of friends drive over to the crime scene in order to check out what happened. They arrive to find the house cordoned off with police tape and the paramedics taking away the dead bodies. That the movie managed to have what appears to be real police, fire men etc. was a nice touch, and a big plus in terms of drawing you in. At the crime scene they meet another friend who voices his concerns, tries to warn them, but of course they dont listen. Do they ever listen?
Some movies try to elicit our sympathies for characters within movies, this is not one of those movies. The movie, and the actors portraying Gavin and Tyler in particular, should be praised as I found myself hoping they would soon meet a terrible fate. The other characters, however, are devoid of the ability to say no, and are portrayed as weak, ineffective. Neither qualities are going to make me want to hope they survive. And as a result I am not invested in the characters, I literally do not care if they all die. Call me old fashioned but I like to have one character I might like and want to survive.
No one in the group appears to like anyone else in the group and a lot of time is devoted to them bickering with each other. Perhaps a little too much time. Peer pressure eventually wins the day and they decide to break into the murder house. At this stage I had to ask my wife (she is American) if it was normal for 'friends' to hang around in America together when they clearly despise one another, and apparently it is. Fair enough.
The movie picks up pace as it appears that the police, busy with their coffee and doughnuts have not been diligent enough. In my opinion the best scene in the whole movie was the policeman who should have been watching the house rather than cleaning up his coffee and doughnuts. For a movie on a micro budget it was very well done.
I am not going to give away anymore of what happens in the movie, but teenagers in a murder house, with a pyscho killer, I think we all know where this is going. To make matters worse one of the friends urinates in the sink, something I myself would probably also do. How I chuckled. Memories.
The acting is about the same standard as the vast majority of found footage movies, some of the cast were better than others, but it is a movie on a micro budget so its understandable. The house is perhaps not foreboding enough, but the scenes within the basement were quite creepy and well done.
For a found footage movie, on a micro budget it was remarkably good. If you are a fan of the genre you should check it out.
If you arent a fan of found footage it might still be worth watching, as you can watch it on Amazon Prime.