The premise of Don’t Breathe certainly sounds terrifying, doesn’t it?
Three criminals decide to break into a blind war veteran’s house because he’s sitting on a fortune, but they fail to take into account that he’s very in tune with his other senses, and he’s more than likely good with a firearm. Those, plus many other things, make him a formidable opponent, so our protagonist robbers spend the movie running from the veteran instead of stealing from him.
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The end result is 1.5 hours of heart-pounding action as the robbers try to get out of the house before the veteran kills them. Of course, as the title insinuates, they have to function in total darkness and not make a peep.
Is it scary?
If sitting in the fetal position in your theatre chair and holding your hand in front of your face because you can’t bear to watch is the definition of scary, then yes, it is scary. This is definitely more of a thriller than a horror, with the scares and jumps far outnumbering any gore. Claustrophobics, along with people afraid of the dark and vicious dogs, will most definitely find this movie terrifying.
Is it gross?
Not so much, but there seems to be this running theme in modern horror films to have one very disgusting scene at the climax, and Don’t Breathe has its own. It’s gross enough that the audience in the theatre screamed and yelled out. Otherwise, the gore is tepid. This movie is more about the building anxiety and frustration of our protagonists never getting out of the damn house.
How are the main cast members?
Jane Levy returns as the central figure, Rocky (she was also the star of director Fede Alvarez’s 2013 Evil Dead remake), and she’s definitely a charismatic onscreen presence. Horror movies, by their nature, don’t really require premium acting chops, but Levy manages to bring a certain something to the movie. Her fellow criminals in the movie, Dylan Minnette (nice guy Alex) and Daniel Zovatto (bad boy Money) both deliver what they’re supposed to: sidekick humour and a sorta-love story.
Major kudos to Stephen Lang (Avatar), who plays the gruff-voiced veteran. He is absolutely jacked in this movie, and despite his blindness (or maybe because of it), he is downright terrifying. Sight or no sight, it’s apparent that this guy could kill you, no problem.
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Does this feel like a classic horror movie?
Aside from the cellphone usage, it sure does. Alvarez is skilled at adapting horror for modern audiences; as we saw with Evil Dead, he can either go full-tilt gore or take this approach and scare people with subtlety. Don’t Breathe has a typical horror beginning, when you know, 100 per cent, that they shouldn’t go in the house, and they do too — but they go in anyway. There are so many stupid decisions made by the characters, it feels right at home with horror movies from the ’70s and ’80s.
So, what’s the bottom line?
Fans of horror and thrillers will be pleased with Don’t Breathe. Its comparatively short running time (what movie is under two hours these days?) does the movie a favour; we don’t spend hours languishing in the house. Suspense runs high the whole time, and you’ll be rapt. For those of you out for gore, it’s probably best you look elsewhere.
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