Movie Review 041 Don't Breathe

Don't Breathe (Ghost House Pictures)
[082516] 4/5

~ Synopsis ~

Hoping to walk away with a massive fortune, a trio of thieves break into the house of a blind man who isn't as helpless as he seems.

Cast
Stephen Lang - the Blind Man
Jane Levy - Rocky
Dylan Minnette - Alex
...

- 87%/ 85%, 7.8/10, 71, 6.9, wiki, official -

(Director Fede Alverez [Evil Dead {2013}], Budget $9.9 Millions = Box Office $35.6>> Millions [domestic], Duration 1hrs 28mns, Rating R, Genre - Home Invasion, Horror, Thriller)

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A simple premise but tricky to adapt, being executed adeptly as the director's sophomore feature effort with excellent pacing and heart-wrenching tone, with great twists on the home invasion sub-genre with the victim turning the table on criminals and a few unconventional takes on genre staples 

Suspenseful scenes with genuinely heart-thumping instances and inventive methods of shooting as the great balance between the short and fast element of horror thriller, with the gray moral areas behind each characters' actions and motivations allowing the viewers to root for everyone but the sharp turn through the third act could be divisive 

Effective setting of scenes with the constant wounding of tension playing to the antagonist's strengths with the well-placed and smart dropping in and out of soundtrack and sound design, evoking the sense of blindness with shallow depth of perspective and ultra close-ups 

Wonderful and believable performances by the antagonists with a standout role by the first vulnerable and then intimidating and downright terrifying antagonist that's working with only a few lines (delivered perfectly), a dominating and menacing presence with minute, perfect body languages and facial expression

+ Highlights: smart use of Go-Pro, the Panic Room inspired panning shot of the whole house with establishing and foreshadowing of events to come, the slow unveiling of the blind man's backstory that turns from tragic to downright twisted, the first scene together with every character and the start of the involuntary breath-holding for the audiences, misdirections aplenty, the effectively nightmarish scene in the dark, the introduction of the dog, sky glass scene, the claustrophobic ventilation shaft scene, the reveal of the victim, tar pit, everything being foreshadowed pays off in the end, great foil and expressiveness by the protagonists

- Lowlights: not a true depiction of Detroit population, a bit of heavy-handed background exposition of the protagonists in the opening, counter-intuitive alarm system, Chekhov's gun, trailer ruined audience's experience with the reveal of some of the surprises & the turkey baster insemnation scene and divisive nature the direction of the character in the third act that is there purely for shock value

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"I'm not a rapist." ~ the Blind Man