Despite the numerous home invasion films done before, Don’t Breathe is an original nerve-racking thrill ride that doesn’t stop coming at you until its final moments.
From the director of 2013’s Evil Dead remake, Fede Alvarez brings us a horror/thriller about a trio of petty burglars (Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, Daniel Zovatto) who invade the home of a blind Iraq war veteran (Stephen Lang) in search of the $300,000 in cash they’re convinced he keeps in his home. Their plan backfires when the soldier awakes and he and his foaming Rottweiler have the young thieves cowering in fear throughout one of the most suspenseful films of the year.
Where this concept differs from other home invasion films is the juxtaposition of the protagonist and antagonist. The protagonist consistently is usually the person inside the house being robbed, while the antagonist is those doing the breaking in. What this film does well is by switching your perception on the individuals and who to root for during its entirety.
As the trio first enters the army vet’s home, a man who has taken blow after blow from life, you empathize for the man as he lives in isolation without intent or malice to hurt anyone. It is hard not to feel sorry for the grizzled army vet. However, once you continue to learn about these characters, that grizzled army vet becomes a menacing, fear inducing maniac that takes his rightful place as the villain of the film.
To say that there is tension in this film is an understatement. Alvarez consistently uses excellent sound design, visuals, score, and editing to assist in building the tension throughout the film. None more potent than when the blind man shuts off the lights in the basement of the house and for the first time, the survivors see the same thing the blind man sees on an everyday basis – darkness. As they are now on an even playing field, this scene executes its goal of producing stress, anxiety, and fear perfectly for both the characters and the audience. You can’t help but want to scream at the screen and assist in evading the blind man.
Jump scares also play a factor; however, unlike cliche horror films where the jump scares are done with no motive, out of context, and done as if they know they are playing to an audience, this film’s jump scares add to the suspense and are done in an effective manner.
While I loved the film as a whole, there is one issue that has bugged me since I finished watching, which was the ending. Despite its originality throughout, the conclusion of the film takes its cues from similar endings of past horror films and is not as conclusive as I would have liked.
Despite that, Don’t Breathe is the ideal title for this film as not only its characters, but the audience spends a part of the film holding their own breath rooting against the blind man and hoping the protagonists are able to escape. A film that its horror does not come from ghosts, goblins, and mythical figures, but from the most fearful of all, human beings.
Reel Talk gives Don’t Breathe 3.5 reels
