The Owners (2020)

A rote and uninspired retread of better home invasion films, this movie tries very hard to mimic the far superior “Don’t Breathe” but serves only to remind one of that film’s vastly better execution. Criminal invasion films share similar complaints, foremost being: it is hard to sympathize or be sympathetic towards people choosing to commit violent criminal acts against victims. While inevitably the ‘victims’ unveiled are far more heinous than the criminals themselves, it’s hard not to feel some sense of comeuppance when the tables are initially turned. There’s often an attempt to draw distinction between levels of criminal complicity and sympathetic motivation with the ‘heroes’ of this scenario, but there’s always an initial hurdle, which can be overcome with a good script this film unfortunately lacks. The younger cast attempts to act as if they are in far better films, while the veteran actors relish the opportunity to ham up their villainy. Watching Sylvester McCoy got absolutely bonkers in this role is almost worth the price of admission, but ultimately, its a cheap knockoff of better fare.

D