Surgeon-turned-movie director's horror film gets Oxfordshire red carpet premiere in Banbury next week

Orthopaedic surgeon James Owen, who makes films alongside his clinical career of replacing knees and hips, unveils his latest horror film which gets the red carpet treatment at the Light, Banbury on Monday.

Bite is director James Owen’s latest release, showing at the Waterfront cinema at 8pm (red carpet from 7.30pm).

As co-writer of the film, with Tom Critch, it is not unexpected to find Owen’s 30 years of surgical experience has been tapped to provide grisly realism in this highly entertaining feature.

"I am still working six sessions a week in Banbury as a knee and hip surgeon. But film making has been a passion for the last eight years and as part of that journey I studied at weekends and in the evenings for an MA in film directing with Raindance London. Actually there are a lot of transferable skills between the two occupations,” he said.

Bite is a horror story of entrapment and cannibalism, a fast-paced thriller of unexpected and shocking revelations.

Pursued by a dangerous criminal after a failed theft, con artists Nina and Yaz get more than they bargained for when they target Beryl, a seemingly innocent elderly widow. Incarcerated in a nightmare version of suburbia and consumed with fear, Nina and Yaz find themselves fighting desperately for their lives against Beryl's family of deranged and hungry psychopaths.

James Owen’s thirty years of surgical experience, detailed knowledge of human dissection and a vivid imagination results in scenes that take the viewer deep into the bowels of Beryl’s house to discover the shocking truth behind a seemingly innocent woman and her family.

"The characters all have their flaws; the good guys can be cruel and the diabolical ones have some good - but you can’t trust anyone,” he said.

"I don’t want to give too much away but there’s a mixture of action, gore and passion, with vicious dogs, car wrecks and a couple of rather nasty meat hooks. You’ll know where its heading from the opening moments, so sit back and let the story be told.

"It’s unexpected, gruesome and shocking and you will probably have nightmares of the little old lady next door!”

Bite is already available in North America following last year’s premiere at FrightFest, Leicester Square where it was screened to critical acclaim. In the UK it will be available across several platforms including Amazon and Apple TV.

“My production company Arthrofilm has a film studio locally and a lot of the sets were built there. In addition the other locations were around the Banbury area, so it is all shot locally.

“Co-writing is a fast and powerful way to create a strong screenplay. First we spend a lot of time developing a robust treatment, the characters, the plot details, twists and turns – and with this, the characters evolve too.

"For Bite, Tom wrote a first draft and after several rewrites, over quite a short time, we pulled it into shape. The whole process took an intense ten weeks, all done remotely,” said Owen.

“I have watched and studied many directors, films and books. We see the real world every day, so I usually want my stories to be set somewhere else, where the rules are different.

“Once you accept this you can pretty much go where you like and do what you want to get creative. I keep asking myself what haven’t we seen before. The film’s style then evolves with the rewrites.

"Most of the locations for Bite are studio builds, giving us more scope for a unique look, designing them to best serve the plot. The story has a fast-paced style, full of unexpected twists to shock and keep you guessing.

“The scenes in the cellar under the house were a lot of fun, but this was the first block of production and we were still finding our feet. The family dinner scene was also one of my favourites, with some very funny moments for everyone. That scene turned out so well.”

Owen said making a feature film is ‘a huge challenge’. Most of the issues relate to budget constraints and a small crew but I was very lucky to have an amazingly talented and dedicated cast and crew that went the extra mile to get this project over the finish line,” he said.

“It’s got unique characters and story. I think the twists and turns keep the audience guessing. Everyone has been very positive and it has been well received.

“I hope people take away a racing heart and big grin. Also, a desire to watch it again; there’s more to see second time around."

Owen has another film, T.I.M. which recently came out on Netflix UK and made number 1. After that comes Daddy’s Head – another horror.

And the busy Banbury movie-maker has several other feature films in development, a 70s thriller, a fusion of the spy and heist genre called Le Rendezvous and a claustrophobic lost-in-space Sci-Fi thriller.

"I am also writing a six-part thriller called ‘Incision’ about a rogue surgeon. Don’t worry it is fiction,” he said.

Tickets for Bite at The Light, Banbury have sold fast. It’s a red-carpet event and Owen and the cast are doing a Q&A afterwards.

If you miss out on Monday’s red carpet premiere, check it out on streaming platforms and perhaps write a review on IMDB.

Bite stars Shian Denovan, Nansi Nsue, Annabelle Lanyon and Anthony Ilott.