Billy Owens and the Secret of the Runes DVD
Dalton Mugride is back in the sequel to the unpopular The Adventures of Billy Owens that rates about the same and seems to be just as much of a disappointment.
Film making 5/25
Video 12/25
Audio 10/25
Bonus Features 0/25
Total 27/100
Director Mark McNabb, please give up film making and go elsewhere to do anything but working in film, this movie begs to be put back in the can or burned. Billy Owens and the Secret of the Runes is that bad and not even worth a rental.
Dalton Mugride returns as the wizard in training under the tutelage of Thurgood played by Roddy Piper, a local wizard training the group of aspiring wizards. The four youth find out that evil is a foot and a spell is put on Thurgood so the adventure in helping Thurgood waking up begins.
The kids use their wit and training to rescue Thurgood but the film has more than just a familiar plot that stands in its way. Sorry to say but these kids cannot act and it will take some effort in acting school to make it to a film that is actually worth watching.
Billy Owens and the Secret of the Runes is a direct knock off of Harry Potter but is not worth even watching as a rental much less purchasing. Bad acting, poor effects, lousy audio and low budget video are only the beginning of this films problems.
The story is not nearly as good as many young adult stories and is a far cry from the likes of Harry Potter but that is only the beginning of this sad tale. While the plot is followed and the kids try hard to act they still sound like they are reading lines they remembered a few minutes before.
Each scene has the bad acting and the worse effects I have seen in a film, I do have to agree with other reviewers that this film is no better than a high school production at best. The effects are similar to ones I have seen in high school films but I have seen high school students on YouTube produce better film pieces.
The effects are terrible and cheesy looking like 1960's special effects instead of anything resembling modern film making techniques. The film itself looks terrible, again like that 1960's reference, with problems galore but it is watchable if the plot was good and acting was any better.
The audio is terrible as well but you could even forgive that if something was entertaining to watch and listen to but with bad acting and a poor story its terrible. The acting for adults is bad enough but the kids should have been getting at least some direction from the director or even their parents.
The direction is horrible as they allow these poor kids to plod along giving them the hope that they are doing a decent job when they look like kids reading a script with no rehearsing. I really feel sorry for everyone involved with this film that are not responsible for it, the film is terrible and anyone in it will have to work that much harder to leave it in their past.
I received a screener copy DVD so the film may be a bit better on a regular DVD that you would rent or buy but I highly doubt it will be all that much better. I cannot recommend Billy Owens and the Secret of the Runes as a rental much less a purchase, it is just that bad even if I do have to give it some kind of rating.