MOVIE REVIEW – Don’t Breathe the latest summer horror movie that aims to break the mold of the typical genre movies that we have been getting for the past few years. It is an outlier; it does not have spooky ghosts, orphans, twins, or even an exorcist. Nor does it have a goody two shoe character that is a pure saint. Instead, Don’t Breathe is a horror movie at least sold by the trailers (that managed to produce some weird cuts from scenes that are outright laughable), but in reality, it is a psychological thriller. Is it worth holding your breath, or should you avoid stepping into this old man’s house?

The story of Don!t Breathe is rather simple. You have three people in their late 20s who live in Detroit. They make their living by stealing from houses that are easy targets. One day Money gets a tip from his „loot seller” that there is an old man who got a six-figure settlement. The trio decides to target the old man’s house, whom they soon discover is blind. After stalking the old man, they decide to break in at night, to get the cash. The situation turns south rather quickly as the blind man is skilled, and has heightened senses, plus reflexes. The question remains, who will survive the ordeal and whether they can even find that fabled cash.

While the story is rather simple, the characters are well developed. All three of the characters are acting out of desperation, a sort of one last hit to finally get out of Detroit.  None of the characters are saints, and are not the most law abiding citizens, so while we do root for them, sometimes especially in the beginning it was hard for me to empathize wit them.

Same goes for the old man, who I rooted for in the beginning hoping he survives, but after a while, his background and psychotic tendencies will be shown to the viewer. The fragile old man, becomes otherworldly, and relentless, and near the end, a disgusting, vile monster is shown to us. Not by transforming into a ghoul or him turning into a monster, but rather simply his acts, and deeds he has done.

Welcome to the Family son!

As I was watching the movie, I noticed that Don’t Breathe was not relying on jump scares that much. I  think I counted around two or three jump scares in the total of the 90 minute running time. The camera angles, tense shots, and music all add to the atmosphere of the movie. It is a suspenseful, and dreadful movie.

The camera shots are also well done, and are not quick, sudden jump cuts, but rather at times one continuous shot of the character. The sound is also the focus of Don’t Breathe due to the nature of the antagonist, and this is punctuated by the loudness of certain effects, or the silence that the main characters are forced to create in order to survive within the house. It is effective, and much better than most recent movies.

The gore is also used sparingly, and for those who are going in to see this movie for a bloodbath will be sorely disappointed. There are some disgusting shots, but those are not because of guts flying everywhere. It is a technically well made, and thought out movie; that ends up being one of the most original movies of 2016.

Too much thinking ruins it

While it is an original movie regarding concept, and story, it does have its clichés. Which is okay, but there were some logical leaps that even I could not believe. Sure there maybe no people around the block, but shot randomly in your house an entire magazine from a Beretta, the entire city will wake up especially if everything is so damn quiet.

The main twist of the movie also left my head scratching for several reasons. While it is true that blind people can have heightened senses, and since the man lived in his house for many years, he probably knows the ins and outs of it, but … that twist just does not really follow the movie‘s logic. The twist is disgusting, but it might require a few mental gymnastics to believe it. Speaking of mental gymnastics, while the movie does give a reason for no cops patrolling the area it is a paper-thin throwaway line, and it is weird that in a big city like Detroit, no car, or cop car went around the neighborhood during the entire ordeal. I get it Detriot is rundown, and a poor city, but that is not how life, or housing works.

In the end, if we can suspend our disbelief for zombies or ghosts, this should not be a problem for this movie.  Just do not bring a nitpicker with you. Otherwise, they might complain throughout the movie.

Homeless fun

Don’t Breathe is something new, and familiar at the same time. It is a classic thriller with some interesting twists and rather disgusting imagery. It has its faults, but it still manages to outperform 99% of recent horror movies. Go see it, and stay away from hobos after watching this movie.

-Dante-