‘The Owners’, a movie adapted from a French graphic novel, is as thrilling as it is terrifying. The film stars Maisie Williams, Ian Kenny, Jake Curran, and Andrew Ellis who attempt to rob the elderly couple Sylvester McCoy and Rita Tushingham. Things take a turn for the worse after a plot twist none of us expected. ‘The Owners’ is streaming on Netflix now, and is definitely worth a watch.
Here is a detailed explanation that will take you through the very end of the story:
The Owners: Plot Summary
‘The Owners’ begins with the trio of Nathan(Ian Kenny), Terry(Andrew Ellis) and Gaz(Jake Curran), stalking an elderly couple (Rita Tushingham & Sylvester McCoy) in the Huggins’ mansion. They plan to rob the elderly Huggins once they leave. The three are joined by Mary(Maisie Williams), who is Nathan’s girlfriend.
The Owners’ characters go back and forth as they play the hero one moment and villain the next. Despite their brash, devil-may-care demeanor, we get to learn through these character’s backstories that they are in fact, helpless kids in disguise.
The gang robs the mansion, believing that they’ve struck gold when they uncover a large safe hidden in the basement. When the Huggins return, they get attacked by the four and are taken hostage. The movie ‘The Owners’ initially paints a dramatically pathetic picture of the couple.
But, later on in the movie, the elderly couple smartly manipulates the gang to turn on each another. This move is a big success and leads to a climax where Nathan is gravely injured, and Gaz’s dies in the hands of Mary. While Mary realizes that Dr. Huggins has killed Nathan, Terry gets drugged by Mrs. Huggins.
The Ending
Image Source: IMDB
As Mary escapes their grasp, she manages to take Mrs. Huggins captive. This leaves Terry trapped with Dr. Huggins. Eventually, Mary is able to negotiate hers and Terry’s way out of captivity by promising Mrs. Huggins’ safety in exchange. While the couple prepares to escape, Terry fatally shoots Mary from the behind.
Dr. Huggins explains Mary how Mrs. Huggins has endured the crippling loneliness after their daughter, Kate, went missing. To suppress her desolation, they kidnapped different children as substitutes of their daughter. Only one kid clicked with them, who they christened as ‘Kate’, after their missing child. Then it is revealed that Terry will be in fact, joining ‘Kate’, instead of being granted freedom.
We soon realize that the couple is actually hiding ‘Kate’ in the safe. Look closely, and we find that ‘Kate’ is a dead-ringer for Mary. A lamenting Terry locks eyes with ‘Kate’ as he gets wheeled into the safe. Later, Terry’s mother asks about her missing son to the Huggins, while they plant new flower patches to cover up the dead bodies of the three intruders.
Who is Kate?
When Mary questions Terry’s cowardly demeanor, she hints at an important thing that links his past and their present. Terry used to be in a committed relationship with Mary’s twin sister, Jane, a long time ago. Mary insists that Terry’s obnoxious behavior drove her sister miles away from their hometown.
While Terry refuses to accept that he had any part to play in Jane’s disappearance, Mary aggressively maintains on her ground. We find out that ‘Kate’ is Mary’s long-lost twin sister, Jane. Even though none of these characters comment on Mary and Jane being identical twins, it is clearly hinted & implied since several instances of their mistaken identity take place.
In a scene where a dispute breaks out between Mary and Mrs Huggins, Mary attempts to flee what she suspects is a trap. Mrs. Huggins, in a confused state, mistakes her for ‘Kate’ and blocks her from finding a way out. Later in the movie, a drugged Terry confesses his undying love for Mary, after he confuses her with Jane.
Why did Terry kill Mary?
Image Source: Netflix
When Mary holds Mrs. Huggins captive, in exchange for the house keys and an ambushed Terry, we catch Dr. Huggins negotiating with Terry. Bits of the audio are deliberately made inaudible to keep the big reveal coming out untimely.
He pushes Terry into putting a bullet in Mary, if he really wants to reunite with his long lost love interest, Jane. Dr Huggins, comes out as more of a manipulative psychologist rather than a physician, after he preys on Terry’ loneliness. Terry falls for his master plan killing Mary and giving the Huggins what they so desire. What Terry fails to realize rather intentionally is that his reunion with Jane will cost him his freedom.
What exactly are the Huggins up to, and how does it add into the twisted plot?
When Mary and the gang invade their mansion, they resolve to create a bastion of their carefully-constructed lives and retrieve their control. They disguise their quest for revenge as an over-protective & disciplinarian parent’s psychotic urge to teach one’s child a well-deserved lesson. It is not wrong to say that ‘The Owners’ takes helicopter parenting to a completely new level.
The Huggins see the intruders as children in need of a strict disciplining. Their mansion is even secretly child-proofed in disguise of various traps. Like anyone would deal with a child, they lure in Terry with the most handsome of rewards after he agrees to submit as per their wishes. They finally settle by rewarding Terry’s submissiveness and loyalty by letting him rejoin ‘Kate’. They acknowledge it as a win-win situation since their so-called captive child has now gained a new playmate.
