While “home invasion gone wrong” doesn’t offer a huge category of films, it creates a decent sub-genre, with 2002'’s Panic Room as arguably the most prominent semi-recent entry. 2020’s The Owners joins this group.

Ne’er-do-well pals Nathan (Ian Kenny), Gaz (Jake Curran) and Terry (Andrew Ellis) plot to rob a house owned by Dr. Huggins (Sylvester McCoy) and his wife Ellen (Rita Tushingham). With Nathan’s girlfriend Mary (Maisie Williams) along as a semi-unwilling accomplice, they time this heist based around a period where they believe Dr. and Mrs. Huggins will be out for a few hours.

However, when the burglars can’t figure out the combination to a safe, they decide to wait for the residents so they can get the necessary information. Things don’t go as planned.

Don’t expect a lot of star power from Owners. Williams enjoys some fame via Game of Thrones and The New Mutants, while viewers know McCoy from a stint as Dr. Who and a relatively small role as Radagast in the recent Hobbit trilogy.

Of the two, McCoy makes the bigger impact, as he lends spirit to the seemingly kindly old doctor. The role comes with a mix of twists – many of which relate to the “things don’t go as planned” element mentioned – and McCoy brings a sly, devious nature to the part.

Williams seems less impactful, but she also gets the less interesting role. Though along as a reluctant accomplice, Mary gets more involved as twists evolve.

Mary essentially acts as the viewer’s point of view, so she plays the “straight role”. Williams doesn’t develop Mary into a memorable part, but she gives the character the necessary range.

As for those aforementioned twists, these offer tension, even if the movie telegraphs many of them. Nonetheless, the film builds this drama fairly well, especially in the way it digs into elements that reveal Dr. Huggins’ true motives.

These become a strength and a weakness. On one hand, we find it intriguing to learn about various secrets, but on the other, the story can dawdle and meander a bit as it goes. Owners becomes so focused on its surprises and background narrative that the primary tale loses some force.

Still, Owners throws enough curveballs at us to keep us with it. This turns into a fairly tense and interesting little thriller.

The Owners appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Expect a mostly solid transfer.

Overall delineation looked fine, as the movie usually seemed well-defined. Some wider shots could be a little soft, but not to a substantial degree. I saw no jaggies or shimmering, and both edge haloes and print flaws remained absent.

To the surprise of no one, teal and amber dominated the film’s palette. While predictable, the colors seemed well-executed for what they attempted to do.

Blacks showed good depth, and shadows were fine. Some low-light shots could be a smidgen thick, but not terribly so. All this led to a more than competent presentation.

Similar thoughts accompanied the fairly good DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Owners. This wasn’t exactly an action-packed mix, so one shouldn’t expect constant auditory shenanigans. When appropriate, the soundscape kicked to life well, but much of it focused on ambient information and music.

Audio quality worked fine. Speech seemed natural and concise, without edginess or other issues.

Music offered good range and impact, and effects followed suit. These elements contributed fine dimensionality, with strong low-end at appropriate times. All of this led to a worthwhile soundtrack, if not a memorable one.

The Making of The Owners runs seven minutes, 13 seconds and brings notes from director/co-writer Julius Berg, producers Alain de la Mata and Christopher Granier-DeFerre, and actors Maisie Williams, Ian Kenny, Jake Curran, Sylvester McCoy, Rita Tushingham, and Andrew Ellis.

“Making” covers story and characters as well as cast and performances. We learn little of import in this promotional piece.

A spin on the conventional home invasion narrative, The Owners lacks consistency. Nonetheless, it boasts enough tension and plot twists to become a fairly lively effort. The Blu-ray brings generally positive picture and audio but it lacks substantial bonus materials. The Owners gives us a pretty engaging tale.