I Almost Didn't Breathe - Don't Breathe Film Review

First and foremost, I have to give kudos to the editor of the trailer of this film.  I have not seen a trailer that made me want to go to a film opening weekend in a long time.  When I saw the trailer for “Don’t Breathe” a couple of weeks ago, I immediately marked my calendar.  Forewarning, from here on out there are some spoiler alerts.  If you don’t care, keep reading.  On the chance that you do care, bookmark this page and come back after you see the film.

Director Fede Alvarez does a great job getting us to the meat of the story where the 3 delinquents enter the house of a blind man with the intention of robbing him for a supposed $300,000 that is in his possession.  Within the first 15 minutes the stage is set for on the edge of your seat suspense.  In a completely abandoned area of Detroit save for the blind man being the only living person on the block (him and his vicious Rottweiler), the crumbling surrounding houses and the eerie quiet make the block seem like a ghost town.

Even though there were some very cheesy lines and a lot of plot holes in the story, I must admit that I was entertained.  There were a handful of moments where I held my breath waiting to see what would happen.  I may even have gasped a few times when the camera would pan and the blind man with the creepy eyes would be standing behind one of the characters, towering over them in silence waiting to hear them make a sound.  Considering that his other senses are heightened times 10 with the loss of his sight, the burglars’ movements throughout the house are more intense as they try and watch their footsteps and get out of the house.  I appreciated the director’s throwbacks to some old and classic horror movies.  Not sure if he intended it to be that way but I definitely saw references to Cujo and People Under the Stairs. 

Is this the best horror film of all time?  Definitely not.  But, the actors and the director show extreme promise in my opinion.  At the end of the night, the film was entertaining and I had a few good laughs involving a turkey baster and some extremely aggressive short punches to the face with sound effects that may have been a frame or two late!  The timing was on point and I was satisfied for 90 mins.

The basic story line is very believable.  Three young hooligans all looking to escape their seemingly terrible lives by burglarizing wealthy homes for a living.  The scheme is brilliant.  One of the burglars’ parent’s works for a security company so the trio have access to keys and the ability to disable the alarms of the homes they burglarize at their disposal.  Carefully selecting specific items from the homes that will make them enough cash in resale, they definitely are aware of the consequences should they be caught.  This is why they don’t take large amounts of cash.  If they are found out, certain offenses carry lengthier sentences so they want to minimize their jail time should it come to that.  After securing the items they need to get by, the burglars’ make it look like a break in to throw officers off their trail. 

Even though we only have the details of the lead female Rocky’s story, played by Jane Levy, I will admit her two sidekicks seem out of place.  Rocky’s background is the age old story of a desperate kid wanting to escape her poor white trash home with little sister in tow. There is of course her bad boy boyfriend Money (Daniel Zovatto) who most likely got her down this road (I’m speculating), I’ve rightfully dubbed him White Iverson (yes, like the song) for his street mentality and stringy “fine-haired” cornrows.  The other kid, Alex (Dylan Minnette) is the son of a man who works for the security company where they are getting the addresses and keys for their crimes.  His story is unclear.  Albeit he is in love with Rocky (who is using him clearly for access), Alex’s need to be part of this rough duo is questionable.  Either way, I really don’t care.  I came to be rattled and unnerved with a never ending sequence of suspenseful cat and mouse games as the trio break in and try to avoid the ruthless former army vet who can’t see.

With a trip to the movies being upwards of $16 these days, I would say I’m not upset that I spent it on Don’t Breathe.  Just be mindful of the fact that the big reveal and twist is going to get very strange.  You have an idea from the trailer that someone is obviously locked in this seemingly innocent army vet’s basement, however this person’s actual purpose will make your jaw drop once out in the open.  You may also be slightly disgusted by the methods to this blind man’s madness!