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The Owl

  • TV Movie
  • 1991
  • 1h 24m
IMDb RATING
4.1/10
283
YOUR RATING
Adrian Paul in The Owl (1991)
Action

After the violent murder of his family, a man becomes a vigilante dispensing his own kind of justice to people in need.After the violent murder of his family, a man becomes a vigilante dispensing his own kind of justice to people in need.After the violent murder of his family, a man becomes a vigilante dispensing his own kind of justice to people in need.

  • Director
    • Tom Holland
  • Writers
    • Bob Forward
    • Tom Holland
  • Stars
    • Adrian Paul
    • Patricia Charbonneau
    • Brian Thompson
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    4.1/10
    283
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Tom Holland
    • Writers
      • Bob Forward
      • Tom Holland
    • Stars
      • Adrian Paul
      • Patricia Charbonneau
      • Brian Thompson
    • 16User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos2

    View Poster
    View Poster

    Top cast20

    Edit
    Adrian Paul
    Adrian Paul
    • The Owl
    Patricia Charbonneau
    Patricia Charbonneau
    • Danny Santerre
    Brian Thompson
    Brian Thompson
    • Barkeeper
    Erika Flores
    Erika Flores
    • Lisa
    Jacques Apollo Bolton
    • Cool Ice
    David Anthony Marshall
    David Anthony Marshall
    • Bobby B
    Billy 'Sly' Williams
    Billy 'Sly' Williams
    • Gullett
    David Selburg
    • Dr. Clements
    Mark Lowenthal
    • Dr. Miller
    Alan Scarfe
    Alan Scarfe
    • Hutchins
    Thomas Rosales Jr.
    Thomas Rosales Jr.
    • Morito
    Alejandro Quezada
    • Gossett
    Gregory Scott Cummins
    Gregory Scott Cummins
    • Trash
    Rick Zumwalt
    Rick Zumwalt
    • Packer
    Bridget Klappert
    • Six year old
    Jill Pierce
    • Dark Haired Lady
    Sondra Spriggs
    • Black Chick
    Chris Hendrie
    Chris Hendrie
    • Wolpert
    • Director
      • Tom Holland
    • Writers
      • Bob Forward
      • Tom Holland
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews16

    4.1283
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    Featured reviews

    1mj_togher

    truly awful film

    this film was truly awful, it was a mess, I can see why it was credited to Alan Smithee, the fictional name of a director of a film when no one wants to take responsibility for a film.

    main character, the Owl, you are subjected th flashbacks which went on for up to 10 minutes, replaying the car explosion that killed his wife and daughter....we got it the first time, yes we know why you're tortured and out for vengeance.

    these flashbacks also include scenes of him doing his martial arts training....again they laboured the point.

    One of the baddies is a rapping gangster who gets one of his henchmen to play his ghetto blaster so that he can rap his dialogue...and truly awful rapping it was.

    And you hardly see the real baddie, except in this repeated flashback scene when he is driving away from the explosion

    the little girl...typical american girl....you want her to die...

    it went on for way too long...

    and you find yourself watching it to see how bad it can get, and it never disappoints you...
    1rptgb

    An abomination - Pushing the boundaries of what someone can sit through...This is without question the worst film/pilot ever made.

    For lovers of bad TV and film this really pushes the boundaries of what a human mind can take.

    I shall not attempt to describe the full indignity of the film - rather a few select moments, in particular the two 10 minute montages of a silent Highlander Man (adrien Paul?) working out/watching his family dying/stalking the streets (all to a terribly bad, sub-yann hammer synth soundtrack). So bad that by the 6th time you see his wife and daughter get blown up, you wish you had been with them, if only to save the sweet misery of seeing the Owl re-live his dull montage again and again.

    Indeed as we cross the half-hour mark, humour turns to revulsion as we realise that this is a serious piece of work, so bad that the director removed their name from his hateful and yet unintentionally hilarious movie.

    I mean the central villain 'raps' all of his dialogue for god sake!! How could I sit through this? How will you sit through this? Well, like some horrible accident once you begin to watch it you won't be able to take your eyes from the screen.

    However I warn you, the Owl is not for the casual viewer - if it comes on TV and you can survive the full hour then you can consider yourself one of the lucky ones, as many will have fallen where you now stand (probably weeping).
    bob the moo

    Dull TVM that no network wanted (thank God!)

    An ex-investigative journalist can't sleep – he walks the street as a vigilante, taking on cases. He is driven by the murder of his wife and daughter years before and uses his martial arts skill to fight crime. When he finds a new drug Instant Iron creating crime, he is hired to stop the supply. Coincidentally a young girl hires him to find her father, a chemist, who may have been kidnapped to make more of the drug for criminals – does this connect to the man who murdered his wife?

    I hate most TVM's. I especially hate those that are only designed to become cheap TV shows. This was clearly one of those – th plot sets up all the elements the producers wanted for the series, a love interest, a bar room friend with whom he has a shady past, a revenge story line, a criminal nemesis to wheel out regularly and some sort of semi-super powers. Unfortunately they forgot to add any type of spark – this is evident from the credits where we see the director is…oh dear…Alan Smithee.

    The plot is lazy and predictable, the action is worst. The film is dull throughout and it's little wonder no-one picked it up. It's not helped by having cardboard cut out Adrian Paul in the lead role – can't he act at all – there's nothing funnier in the whole film than seeing him wailing to the sky in despair after the loss of his kid! Brian Thompson (X-files' Alien Bounty Hunter) is OK but the rest are as bad as Paul.

    There's nothing to like here, the film is lazy and poor in every area. It's dull and even Adrian Paul seems to think he's better than this – and if HE looks down his nose at something then you know it'' gotta stink.
    5cheathamg

    I haven't seen this movie, so I'm commenting on the original book.

    I voted 5 because I didn't want to influence the overall average. I haven't seen the movie but I read the original novel and was sorry to hear the film being savaged so. I would have hoped for a better treatment of the film by its author but apparently, from what other people have said, he was not trying to translate the novel on to the screen so much as he was trying to create a salable product and get a series going. Too bad! The novel was highly readable. It had a rough, crude vitality. Sure, it was unnecessarily violent but it was not the sort of book one picks up to read for its literary qualities. It was the sort of book one buys from a bus station paperback rack. It was fun, and best of all, the main character was memorable. He wasn't believable, he had no redeeming qualities, but he was memorable. Oh, well, another opportunity for good entertainment sacrificed on the altar of the desire for fame and money.
    skidmarxst

    lost treasure hunter

    I saw a bit of this film just once. It has haunted me for a very long time, I have failed in all my attempts to find it. I can identify with the hero since I'm writing this at 5:00 in the morning.

    Great hero concept, but since I didn't see the whole thing I can't say more

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The original 48 minute version which aired on CBS in 1991 is credited to director Tom Holland. A longer edit which includes deleted scenes (opening with Holland himself as a mugger/rapist who is foiled by The Owl) and lengthy montage sequences was created for the international market and is credited to director Alan Smithee, a pseudonym frequently used when directors are unhappy with a finished film.
    • Quotes

      The Owl: You got a choice. Either walk to the squad car or be carried.

    • Connections
      Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: Leonard Nimoy/Bill Maher/B.J. Sniff (1991)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 3, 1991 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Hämnaren
    • Filming locations
      • California, USA(Location)
    • Production company
      • Lorimar Film Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 24m(84 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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