Don’t Breathe launched in British cinemas on 9th September. The choice of film title is a perfect way to personify the film; as the audience is left feeling breathless throughout this gripping horror.
Don’t Breathe Movie Review And Spoilers
As the audience watches the powerful performances from the entire cast they will be left on the edge of their seat. Don’t Breathe introduces the audience to Rocky (Jane Levy), a young woman who wants to escape her existing life of misery and despair and turn her life around for the better.
A key scene displays Alex’s unhappy family life with her mother; the selfish individual who puts her current boyfriend’s needs first and her younger sister who is desperate to flee her existing life and to live by the sea with Alex. This was a turning point in the film for me as Alex instantly became more likeable and is portrayed as so much more than a petty thief, but as more modern, feminine version of Robin Hood, stealing from the rich in order to fund her sister’s escape from poverty and misery.
She enlists the help of Money (Daniel Zovatto) who plays her on screen boyfriend and Alex (Dylan Minette) her friend whose feelings run deeper than friendship. The trio use elaborate plans to burgle houses with the help of Alex’s father’s career as a security guard, they are able to attain codes and keys for the various luxury houses to stage each perfect heist. That is until greed takes hold and they hear of the legend of a US Blind Veteran who has a substantial sum of money hidden in his home.
The money was gained from an out of court settlement over the death of his beloved daughter who was tragically killed by a careless driver. Rocky views this as the perfect opportunity to get the break she has desperately been waiting for; this will be their last crime to help her achieve her goal to leave their state. In theory it looked like a fool proof plan until the trio break into the house and events begin to take a terrifying turn. The blind man played by the critically acclaimed Steven Lang (Avatar) is both dark and unnerving; his performance is flawless from start to finish. The US veteran epitomises the saying you should never judge a book by its cover! The blind man’s story could have been developed more throughout the film, to help the audience make their decision on him as a character. The blind man isn’t your typical horror character that is traditionally portrayed in this genre.
I left the film feeling quite indifferent towards the character, which is unusual for such a film. It would have been more effective to add another layer to the character’s persona to help create the ultimate villain. Will Rocky, Money and Alex escape with the veteran’s fortune or will he pick them off one by one.
I personally thought this film was more of a thriller than a horror film as I feel there wasn’t enough of a ‘gore’ factor in this to classify it as a horror. For the main content of Don’t Breathe, the main location is a house which is filmed predominately in the dark with little dialect and a heap of bated breath. The lack of dialect adds to the thrilling nature of the film, it creates a tense feeling for the audience as they wait for the moment they will be plunged deeper into the darkness. The plot of the film could have been developed more by interjecting more horror into the scenes to create more depth and detail.
Overall, it is a great film for fans of thriller movies however those hardcore horror lovers may be waiting with bated breath for the gore to arrive. Don’t Breathe or he may just hear you…
