Don’t Breathe (2016)

Review

88min

Genre:       Horror, Thriller

Director:    Fede Alvarez

Cast:         Stephen Lang, Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette…and more

Writers:     Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues

-Synopsis-

A plan to burgle the house of a blind older man in desolate Detroit becomes the worst idea ever, as the dream of escaping their town for a better life soon becomes a nightmare for three young friends when they bite off more than they can chew, in this tense violent thriller from the director of 2013’s ‘Evil Dead’ remake.

After his debut with the 2013’s remake of Sam Raimi’s gory horror classic, writer/director Fede Alvarez reunites his with ‘Evil Dead’ star Jane Levy and Raimi himself as producer in an ultra-tense home invasion thriller where the tables are shockingly turned.

Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette and Daniel Zovatto star as three young thieves who eye up an isolated house as the score which will make their California-bound dreams come true. But the seemingly soft target of a lone, blind middle-aged man (Stephen Lang) turns out to be anything but, as the Army veteran proves to pack a punch and hide a dark secret in what becomes a brutal struggle for survival.

‘Don’t Breathe’ has many of the core elements of previous “people escaping a house of maniacs” movies, from ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ to ‘Green Room’ and everything in between. But Alvarez’s effort adds a compelling twist by blurring the moral lines between the hunter and the hunted; making the audience less attached to the “heroes” and more sympathetic to the antagonist, whilst weaving in a story twist to further shock and conflict while keeping us gripping the armrests.

Thankfully unlike the recent and inexplicably lauded ‘Green Room’, and despite obviously featuring some disturbing brutality; ‘Don’t Breathe’ doesn’t rely on an orgy of cheap, graphic and ultimately ineffective violence to keep the audience on tenterhooks, instead building on carefully orchestrated scares, atmosphere and real tension within a simple but effective narrative and premise.

As such the film shouldn’t be classified as a Horror in the truest sense, but much more a well-crafted and tense violent thriller. So if you’re a pure genre addict looking for maximum gore and a high bloody body-count, best to look elsewhere.

The four main and virtually only speaking character are all reasonably well fleshed-out by solid performances from the lead actors, with Jane Levy showing future star quality as the “hero” of the piece. Meanwhile Stephen Lang as the mysterious blind veteran, builds upon a legacy of intense unsettling characters, with a performance which drives the whole film but has a measure of pathos.

‘Don’t Breathe’ is certainly not a genre classic which breaks the rules, it has 3rd Act issues like many films of this kind, and there is an inevitability and predictability about the story. But Alvarez handles the material well and with enough innovation to keep it compelling for just about the entire ride.

The Bottom Line…

Fede Alvarez gets a chance to fly on his own terms with his second feature and crafts a tight and tense little home-invasion thriller with a twist; ‘Don’t Breathe’ effectively takes a simple premise and makes a stroll through a modest house into a morally ambiguous, ultra-violent survival odyssey.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Green Room (2016)

A young underground punk band’s gig at a remote rural Oregon Roadhouse turns into a brutal nightmare after they witness a murder; hunted by the club’s skinhead patrons and their ruthless leader, our “heroes” struggle for survival as a diabolical plan evolves.

Directed by Jeremy Saulnier and starring Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots and Patrick Stewart among others.

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