Film Review: Simple Yet Twisted, “Don’t Breathe” is Brutally Effective

By Editor August 26, 2016 09:07

By Anthony Hernandez

Aside from a few typical (though minor) horror-movie plot contrivances, Don’t Breathe is a genre-bending, wholly effective, skin-crawling psychological thriller that doesn’t rely so much on jump scares as it does on slow burning, Hitchcockian style horror. Not only does it earn nearly every scare, there is a deeper underlying social commentary on the state of modern economics and inner city turmoil.

The premise is incredibly simple: three small time crooks in Detroit – each with their own reasons for breaking into the homes of the rich and stealing “just enough” to keep them from committing grand larceny – decide on one last heist, bigger than the others, with the hopes of earning enough loot to never have to do it again. Unfortunately, their next victim – a blind, retired vet played by a seemingly frail Stephen Lang – is far more resourceful than they could have ever expected.

While it does rely on typical thriller plot devices to move from scene to scene, this this isn’t your typical thriller – it takes more than one unexpected turn and becomes something far darker and sinister than we’re initially led to believe. It has very little dialogue – even for its tight running time of just under 90 minutes. It turns all of the tropes upside down and moves at a breakneck pace. We’re not bogged down by unnecessary exposition. We get enough character development to understand our “heroes” and our “villain” – and yes, even the lines between the two in this movie are blurred.

Our setting is a character itself: a dark house situated in an abandoned neighborhood. Its windows are covered in thick iron bars; there is a network of security features, and a lot of twisting, dark hallways – and a huge basement… The neighborhood itself is run-down and broken and it has seen its fair share of crime and destitution because of economic collapse. In fact, it seems as though our heroes aren’t stealing because of a thrill – they’re really stealing so they can get out of Detroit and on to a “better life” somewhere else.

One issue with this movie is the decisions the characters make sometimes seem more like a plot convenience, necessary to move from point A to point B, in order to get to our twist at point C. Thankfully, these moments are fleeting and forgettable – and instead, all that remains at the end of this film is a feeling of total dread that lasts well after the last shot. Also, thankfully, this film is devoid of cheap thrills and “one-last-scare” moments that drag most modern horror movies down. It ends when it needs to. The twists occur naturally. And in the end, what we’re left with is a truly effective thriller that deserves a good showing at the box office.

If you’re looking for a good scare – Don’t Breathe will leave you breathless.