Don’t Breathe Review
Skyler Powers
Don’t Breathe is a new horror thriller from twisted minds behind the 2013 remake of Evil Dead. Sam Raimi, known for being the creator of the legendary original cult classic Evil Dead franchise, is also a producer, so I had high expectations when walking into the theater to see this film. The film’s premise revolves around three teenage thieves living in Detroit. Wanting to earn enough money to leave their poverty stricken homes, they plan to break into the home of an old blind man and steal a fortune he allegedly has hidden. Their seemingly easy target, however, traps them in his home and a twisted game of cat-and-mouse ensues in his house, located in a deserted neighborhood.
First of all, the acting in this film is great. The three intruders, Rocky (Jane Levy), Alex (Dylan Minnette), and Money (Daniel Zovatto), are portrayed very well, specifically the characters of Rocky and Alex, who largely carry the movie. The antagonist of the movie, simply dubbed the Blind Man (Stephen Lang), is also portrayed very well. The Blind Man speaks very few words throughout the entire film, yet Lang still manages to make his character truly terrifying.
That brings me to the horror and suspense. This film is incredibly suspenseful and quite scary. Most of the movie’s runtime focuses on the intruders trying to escape from the blind man’s house. Unfortunately, all of the windows and doors are barred since the neighborhood is in an economically disadvantaged part of Detroit. The characters are desperate to find any escape route, all while the Blind Man is trying to hunt them down. There are moments in this movie that had me holding my breath. At some points, the characters end up in the same room as the Blind Man; all they can do is hold their breath and stand still. There is also a very memorable moment in the film where the intruders are trapped in the pitch-dark basement with the Blind Man. This one scene in particular is probably the most suspenseful scene in the film. Most of the movie consists of this simple plot. The movie does, however, delve into much darker and twisted territory near the end. This twist is genuinely terrifying, not because of what happens, but because you know what happened. It is incredibly difficult to explain how terrifying this twist is without spoiling it, but it truly is scary.
Every other aspect of this film is also fantastic. The score is genius and the sound design is terrific. The location usage is also great. It would be easy for a screenwriter to run out of ideas when most of the movie is confined to one house. There is only so many places the characters can go and so many things they can do before they run out of ideas. The setting is used very efficiently. It seems like every inch of the house is used to make this a truly suspenseful movie. Something new is always happening and it is never boring.
Everything about this movie is great. I genuinely cannot think of any criticisms. I loved this movie from start to finish. It offers endless suspense and endless entertainment. Add the terrifying twist onto that, and you have a truly fantastic movie. I loved this movie immensely and I cannot wait to see it again.
