BURN ON ARRIVAL | Omeleto Drama

Two strangers follow instructions in red envelopes.


BURN ON ARRIVAL is used with permission from Owen Gower. Learn more at https://burnonarrival.co.uk.


In mid-1990s Scotland, Billy is a desperate man. An anonymous blackmailer has incriminating evidence on Billy, but if Billy follows the instructions laid out in a series of red envelopes, which he has to burn after reading, the CCTV tapes will be delivered to him.

Dressed like Santa as instructed, Billy is led to a home in the middle of nowhere, where he must accomplish a ghastly task. But when the getaway car provided to him won’t start, he is soon stranded, along with a woman named Sarah — who is there for reasons of her own.

Directed and written by Owen Gower, this compelling slow burn of a thriller begins with a sinister sequence, as a man dressed in a Santa suit gets dropped off by a cab in the middle of nowhere. Captured in well-sculpted, ominous visuals that emphasize a sense of desolation and isolation, the man makes his way to a cabin, where he shoots the inhabitants, apologizing for his actions even as he pulls the trigger.

The film thus begins on a high point of violence, but the excellent storytelling's deliberate pacing and attention to detail focus less on an escalation of suspense than on the building of a mystery. The center of the mystery is the red envelopes that Billy gets, full of ominous instructions. One of them points Billy to a getaway car. But when the car doesn't work, Billy is rescued by a woman named Sarah, who herself has been instructed by a red envelope -- and has one to deliver to Billy.

They find themselves waiting for the next red envelope together, with Billy and Sara's questions pulling viewers along as well. What slowly emerges is a portrait of two desperate people, brought low by life and personal tragedy, as well as more secrets brought into the open. Actor James Harkness portrays an anxious, terrified Billy resigned to his descent into crime, while actor Kate Dickie turns in a layered, powerful performance as a seemingly innocent bystander with more at stake than she perhaps realizes.

Compelling, suspenseful and elegantly crafted, BURN ON ARRIVAL has its distinctive take on the tension of a high-octane mystery thriller, but in style and tone, it's as much about retribution, responsibility and consequences as it is about violence. "I wasn't given any choice," Sarah says about her presence and participation in the action, and it's something that Billy likely believes about himself and his decisions. Yet every choice, past or present, casts a shadow -- and as the ending of the film shows, you can try to keep the shadow from catching up, but you can never escape or outrun it.