Don't Breathe Review

SPOILERS FOR DON'T BREATHE (2016)

Last week I watched 'Don't Breathe' which is director Fede Alvarez's (Evil Dead) newest and most original movie to date. Fans of his previous gore-fest might want to look elsewhere however as Don't Breathe relies solely on the intimidating presence of its antagonist, The Blind Man (Stephen Lang), to unnerve the viewer. There isn't much gore in this movie which is a welcome change in a genre that has become so over-saturated with blood and guts that they have lost their impact.

Stephen Lang as The Blind Man (Source)

  The movie centers on three young adults Money (Daniel Zovatto), Alex (Dylan Minette) and the stand-out of the trio Rocky (Jane Levy) who are professional burglars. They live in Detroit and steal from the rich; they never take money until they find out about a blind man who has $300,000 in cash sitting in his house. Despite this, however, we are never supposed to dislike them, well besides Money who is just the worst, as we can appreciate Rocky's noble intentions of trying to get enough money to give her little sister a good life and Alex who is in love with Rocky and wants to go with her to California. Things go wrong for the trio once they get into the Blind Mans house when the ex-veteran Blind Man proves to be a formidable foe. He kills Money and then locks the house down trapping Rocky and Alex inside. One of the most interesting aspects of this movie is that the villain has a disadvantage compared to the protagonists ,this is usually the opposite in horror movies, The Blind Man cannot see Rocky and Alex which gives them the upper hand but if he manages to locate them then he can easily kill them which he proves many times in this movie when he shows off his competent combat abilities. Some of the tensest scenes are when the characters are standing right in front of The Blind Man trying to be completely silent, it is in those moments you realize the true horror of the situation, as the characters have to stop themselves from breathing due to The Blind Mans heightened senses. Unfortunately, the movie is slightly inconsistent with the capabilities of The Blind Man as he can sometimes smell the characters when they are in the same room as him yet he apparently can't smell them when they are standing two feet from his face. Despite this minor flaw, this is where the movie hits its stride as the moment the doors lock Director Fede Alvarez utilizes his claustrophobic camera work to truly make the viewer feel as though they are also locked in the house. As Rocky and Alex try to transverse the house in complete silence they uncover more about The Blind Mans tragic backstory, his daughter was killed in a hit and run which had driven him into exile, they also find his daughter's killer bound in the basement. This was one of the more questionable story points because I don't understand how The Blind Man was supposed to have recognized and kidnapped his daughter's killer because the movie clarifies he has been blind since his accident in the military many years before. Luckily the movie sells the moment effectively and keeps you engaged enough that you may not notice the illogical plot hole and you truly believe that Rocky, Alex, and the captive woman are going to escape until the shocking moment in which The Blind Man manages to shoot Alex in the ear and shoot the captive woman in the stomach killing her. In a very interesting moment, The Blind Man breaks down in tears once he realizes who he has killed, which opens up another point, The Blind Man is a very complex character who we as an audience fear yet also sympathize with.

Money, Rocky, and Alex (Source)

After killing the captive woman The Blind Man chases Rocky and Alex into the basement. Which leads us to the most suspenseful scene of the entire movie, this section in the pitch black basement has been heavily featured in advertisements and for good reason, it is the most intelligent and original horror moment of this film. This scene alone sets this movie apart from the rest of the horror films to release this year by some doing something risky and creative to create a brilliant set piece which highlights the strengths of the films villain. The scene is pitch black utilizing a night vision camera to allow the viewer to see what is happening. Small details make this scene great such as the way that Rocky and Alex's eyes never focus on anything in the scene due to them being in the dark, it makes you realize how horrifying losing your sight would be as you watch them unknowingly walk into the path of The Blind Man. The one negative of this scene is that the rest of the movie never lives up to it, it is the standout scene and in my opinion on of the most effective horror scenes in history.  I don't want to give away too much of this scene due to its masterful execution but what I will say is that this is more than enough reason to watch the movie.

Rocky as she explores the vast darkness of the basement (Source)

 We now enter the final act of the movie which is, unfortunately, the one that suffers from the most problems. After Rocky and Alex escape the basement they encounter The Blind Mans dog which wouldn't be a problem if earlier in the movie they hadn't made a point to show that the dog was chained up and knocked out using drugs. Now there are potential fixes for this problem such as The Blind Man unchained the dog and the drugs wore off yet the movie never adequately addresses this which means that it may have just been a mistake on the filmmaker's behalf. Anyway, the dog now chases Alex and Rocky upstairs and they lock themselves in a room. Rocky notes that all the windows are barred so they can't escape. The Blind Man begins knocking the door down so Rocky climbs into the air vents to escape while Alex tries to barricade the door. Rocky escapes while the dog gets into the room and knocks Alex through one of the windows. This once again would make sense if they hadn't made the point that the windows were all barred up. It is a minor problem but it does take you out of the moment because if that window wasn't barred up then why didn't they just escape through it but if it was then how did Alex get knocked through it? After Alex lands in the downstairs kitchen, he once again encounters The Blind Man and is killed! Wait, not really, yes the movie does a fake out death which I honestly find to be one of the cheapest tricks in the book. Individually these are all minor problems but because they all occur in rapid succession it does feel as though the people behind the camera began to care less about the movie as it neared its climax. Fortunately, the movie gets back on track almost instantly once Rocky gets caught and subdued by The Blind Man. She is knocked unconscious and awakes in The Blind Man's basement much like the captive girl who had been killed earlier. The Blind Man explains his motives; he wants a replacement for his daughter which he was going to get in the form of his unborn child who was being carried by the captive girl. Now that his captive is dead Rocky will have to take her place. He explains that he is not a rapist before revealing a turkey baster full of his... well his semen. This scene manages to be one of best gross-out scenes in recent history without a single bit of gore. Before The Blind Man can plant his seed Alex appears and saves Rocky. As they are fleeing the house Alex is killed (for real this time) and Rocky gets into a final confrontation with The Blind Man. She activates his burglar alarm which renders The Blind Man defenseless as his heightened sense of hearing is much more sensitive to the alarm compared to Rocky. She knocks him down into the basement and flees with the bag full of his money. We then see her and her sister at an airport getting ready to go to California. Rocky notices a news report revealing that The Blind Man is alive yet has not reported anything stolen from the house and that he claims there were only two burglars; Alex and Money. The Blind Man is buying Rocky's silence as she cannot tell the police about what happened or she'll lose her money and be arrested. It was a very interesting end to the movie significantly better than the average 'THE KILLER IS STILL ALIVE AND WANTS REVENGE' ending that audiences have become accustomed to.

Pros
Incredibly tense
Didn't rely on jump scares
Original story
Interesting villain
Great cinematography 
Interesting ending

Cons
Fake-out death
Inconsistent villain ability
Plot hole: How did the blind man get the girl?
Wasn't the window barred?
Dog was on a chain yet was suddenly inside

8/10