The Owners (2020)

Originally reviewed on October 26, 2020

I picked this film purely because of one cast member. Sylvester McCoy. Being a Doctor Who fan I am always interested in something if a former Doctor or companion is in it. Doesn’t matter whether its film or TV if I recognise the name then I will give it a go. This can be a risky strategy but the synopsis was quite interesting so I thought it was worth a go. The setup of the film is that a trio of robbers try to rob a house but can’t get into a safe and then the titular owners (including McCoy) arrive back and the robbers hold them hostage to get the code and then things turn and it turns out that McCoy isnt the doddering old man that he first seems to be.

The three robbers are various degrees of horrible. Gaz (Jake Curran) is the most loathsome and his death was the most rewarding because he was about to saw Ellen because Richard kept messing up the combination. This was a good performance from Curran because its not easy to make someone loathsome but Curran managed it in the relatively short amount of time that he’s on screen. Nathan (Ian Kenny) was in the middle because he had moments where he seemed reasonable and yet seemed desperate to show Gaz he had a mean streak. Kenny also did a good job and it did seem a shame that he died because he did show some sort of decency. Terry (Andrew Ellis) was the nicer one because he’s only there really because his mom cleans at the house and he fed Gaz & Nathan the information.

I thought Sylvester McCoy was really good in this as Richard. The character goes through a personality shift and whilst he is good when he’s nice Richard, when he becomes nasty Richard that is when he is great to watch. Rita Tushingham is also good as Ellen. There is an indication that she has dementia or something like that but whilst she’s not as involved in the story as McCoy is, she does contribute a lot to the story. Maisie Williams is the headline name because of her involvement in Game of Thrones but I don’t think she’s the lead in the film. Ok in the second half of the film she does become the lead but that’s by the virtue that Gax and Nathan are dead and Terry is munching food on the couch. They were clearly using her name because they thought it might draw people to the film but apart from that she’s ok. She does have a great scene in the kitchen when the smoke machines

Whilst I like this film there the ending is slightly questionable. I like the idea that Mary is thwarted from leaving but the idea that Terry is the one that ‘accidentally’ shoots here seems slightly odd. Then there is the sudden revelation that the safe door had their daughter behind it and they lock Terry in with her. The final scene is with Terry’s mom worried about her son and Richard & Ellen acting like they don’t know anything with Ellen seemingly compus mentis. This raises a question as to whether Ellen was pretending to a greater extent than Richard. 

The Owners is a good horror film. I might be biased because it has Sylvester McCoy but I honestly think that there is a lot here to like. The film is an enjoyable horror film that should be watched because I’ve seen most people refer to it as a British Don’t Breathe which I can’t confirm but I haven’t seen that film but I’ve heard good things about it so that comparison might be a good one to have.