By Naomi Salami
Movie Title: Ile-Owo
Release Date: 24, June 2022
Runtime: 1 hour 35 mins.
Director: Dare Olaitan
Producer: Kayode Kasum
Background
Nollywood has always been known for its horror movies dating back to the days of Karashika, Ojuju, Living in Bondage and many others. Despite the obvious growth in Nollywood, it seems the storyline of these horror movies remains unchanging.
Ile-Owo bases its storyline on the life of our protagonist, Busola, played by Immaculata Oko-Kasum who narrowly escapes being used as a sacrificial lamb to increase the life cycle of the Owo dynasty. The movie was initially released last year in theatres on the 24th of June, 2022 but was released on Netflix on the 19th of May, 2023 and the reviews have been a mixture of unexplainable feelings about the storyline.
The Plot
The movie starts by showing an animated version of the movie with the voice of the narrator in the background telling us about the insurmountable wealth of a man called Owo. Although he had everything a man could ever dream of, he craved the gift of eternal life. He met a powerful sorceress named Fijabi played by Bisola Aiyeola, known for her immense power and is said to hold the lives of kings in her hands. Unfortunately for Owo, he was told his time had passed but his sons would be able to fulfil what he couldn’t – eternal youth. The sacrifice involved his sons sacrificing their brides every 25 years with a stern warning that the cycle must not be broken.
The movie kicked off fully and introduced us to our protagonist, Busola (Immaculata Oko-Kasum), a dedicated nurse, and devout Christian who was very unlucky in her love life. Even though she was engaged, it didn’t seem like her man was ready to make any moves to settle down and was also known for his cheating ways. The relationship ended abruptly but that seemed to be the beginning of a devious plan of the Owo brothers to entrap her and use her for the next sacrifice as she was the next choice. Her eagerness to get settled blinded her from seeing the obvious danger signs while she was dating Tunji Owo (Efa Iwara). Her mother who shielded her for some time with her prayers and wishes of goodwill died in the hands of her father, who unfortunately wanted his daughter to be a sacrificial lamb. Although, his reason remains unknown to the audience.
When it comes to choosing the cast, we can give them a 7/10, because we saw some of our old actors in a different light. For example, Akin Lewis is primarily known in most of his films as a politician or a rich mogul, casting him in a total opposite of his previous personas was a job well done.
Tina Mba also didn’t disappoint with her top-notch acting. It seems like we tend to see different sides of her in recent Nollywood films. A change we are very open to.
We think some of the characters were underutilised which did not highlight the acting strengths of the actors. We believe it could have been a lot better with a better storyline.
Credit: FilmOne NG
Drawbacks
For a horror movie, one would expect a robust storyline filled with answered questions at the end of the movie, but due to the plot holes in the story, it left a lot of unanswered questions. Here are a few instances where the movie left us feeling confused.
Busola’s father had a serious injury on his leg but we never got a backstory as to how he got to that predicament. And it was obvious that he had a strained relationship with his wife because it was so easy for him to send her to an early grave. We thought there was going to be an explanation as to why he could talk to the supernatural being that was trailing his daughter and why he supported the Owo’s cause tirelessly. Towards the end of the movie, it seemed like we were going to get answers to this confusing riddle, but instead got more questions.
The character developments of most of the actors were nowhere to be seen. The introduction of Sophia Alakija at the beginning of the movie and towards the end felt like we were going to get a backstory of how she ended up there and why she could break out of her trance once in a while. But once again, another riddle.
It seems the writer focused more on the horror elements rather than the brilliant storyline he/she already began with.
Opinion
Ile-Owo is a film that demonstrates how much Nollywood still needs to develop when making horror films with compelling plots. Planning should be done carefully as part of our commitment to exhibiting our indigenous folklore to the global community.
Although Ile-Owo didn’t resonate well with some target audiences, it is a movie to watch for pure fun with key moral lessons.
Ile-Owo is streaming now on Netflix.
Naomi Salami is a Content Manager with Meiza Nigeria.
