Don’t Breathe
Starring: Stephen Lang, Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette
Directed by: Fede Alvarez
Written by: Fede Alvarez, Rodo Sayagues
Reviewed by Michael Dalton
[rating: 3.5/5]
I remember wondering as I endured Fede Alvarez’s gross-out remake of Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead, how many gallons of fake blood did it take to dress up this mess? In the end, together with a brutally administered chainsaw, blood was all that unnecessary excursion had going for it. There was no technique, no atmosphere, and nothing for us to invest in (for splatter lovers the gore was of course enough). In his new film Don’t Breathe, Alvarez thankfully gives us plenty of atmosphere and demonstrates technique. Once he puts his foot on the pedal here there’s no stopping him.
In one of the worst years in cinema history, one inundated with torturous superhero films and ain’t it cool recyclables (even the brand new is feeling old), Alvarez has delivered unto us a machine. It’s efficient, brutal, frightening, dark, and cold but in this story of three petty criminals, Rocky (Jane Levy), Alex (Dylan Minnette), and Money (Daniel Zovatto), who have made a career out of breaking into houses in Detroit, finding empathy remains a challenge. Who should we barrack for? The tension holds us but the company repels as they decide their next hit will be a house in an abandoned area of the city where a huge wad of cash awaits. The resident, a blind soldier, lives there with his cranky dog, alone and vulnerable they believe; as Money rightfully declares, “Just because he’s blind, doesn’t mean he’s a saint”. The Blind Man, as he is titled, received the money in a settlement when his daughter was killed in a hit and run accident and he now lives the life of a recluse. It’s smoothly and economically set up, and the three thieves are painted adequately. Money is a loose cannon, Alex is vaguely conflicted, and Rocky is determined to make one big score and escape with her little sister to sunny California. What they don’t count on is that their target (played effectively by Stephen Lang) is not only remarkably resourceful, but that he has his own reasons for wanting no visitors. It’s worth mentioning that like all blind people, his remaining senses are heightened. He only has to smell your shoes to pick up your scent…
This is pure visual storytelling and Don’t Breathe comes off like a game. To be filed under haunted house thrillers, it evolves quickly into a merciless battle of one-upmanship and those familiar with the game will have fun guessing at the outcome. With this in mind, Alvarez, neatly flipping the home invasion thriller around, mines the territory of all its worth and he has one eye on us the whole time. In the film’s most memorable sequence, The Blind Man puts his prey at the same disadvantage as his own and Alvarez, reaching back to the climax in The Silence of The Lambs where Clarice Starling fought her way through the darkness, turns on all the jets. It’s a perfectly conceived sequence and we’re pulled right into the action. Alvarez and his cinematographer Pedro Luque squeeze the premise, and us, dry.
