Don't Breathe (B+) Movie Review
In director Fede Alvarez's follow up to his 2013 remake Evil Dead, three robbers attempt to steal over $300k from a retired army veteran, who happens to be blind. It turns out that their victim may not be as helpless as they suspected and a cat-and-mouse game ensues.
I can't write this review without discussing my love of Alvarez's 2013 Evil Dead remake in which Jane Levy also starred. It's masterful filmmaking and probably the best horror remake of the decade. Levy delivered one of the most underrated performances of the decade in that film, too. It's brutal, gory, relentless, shocking, and a blast. Fortunately, Don't Breathe isn't too different.
Storywise, the two films are quite different. Evil Dead is a completely paranormal story, while Don't Breathe is (more or less) realistic. But Fede Alvarez handles claustrophobia very well in each film, creating a very visceral sense of being trapped in these locations. It's an unsettling effect and is only one of the reasons why Alvarez is one of the current masters of his genre.
In fact, his direction is so impressive in Don't Breathe that I paid specific attention to it in the theater. He orchestrates his thrills so meticulously, leaving little that happens in the film to chance, and frankly he's showing off a little bit: the tracking shots, the narrative twists, the emphasis on items that'll come up later in the film. Alvarez also manages to pull off this tricky move of allowing the audience to invest in one of two evils. We have a group of robbers daring enough to rob a blind man and then we have a morally reprehensible blind man! Who do we have to root for? Alvarez gives us some protagonists that are surprisingly likable considering the circumstances.
The morals of Don't Breathe are tricky but compelling. The question of robbing a blind man is interesting enough but when all of these twists and wrenches are thrown in, things only get more complicated. When things turn serious, the question of "do we call the cops or try to get out and keep this money?" arises. What I'm trying to say is that Don't Breathe falls far from the empty-headed jump scare genre. Alvarez poses interesting questions that take a backseat to the film's relentless tension.
What makes Don't Breathe particularly thrilling lies in the film's performances. Jane Levy delivers another powerhouse performance. How come we're not seeing her in more films? She's able to instill such a sense of fear in the audience because she's so good at portraying fear. Her wide-eyed terror shtick is incredibly effective and I vote to make Jane Levy Hollywood's go-to scream queen. She was outstanding in Evil Dead and she is here as well.
And then we have another standout performance in the way of Stephen Lang. His near wordless performance relies so heavily on body language to create a menacing presence and Lang pulls this off insanely well. Lang might even deserve some awards consideration, though I doubt he'll get any. Without the convenience of being able to react to other peoples' expressions or even see them (Lang wore highly restrictive contact lenses), he builds a performance on body movement and vocal talent.
As if the pure technicality of Don't Breathe wasn't impressive enough. Pedro Luque's cinematography sweepingly glides throughout the house, allowing us to understand the geography and layout of this house while strategically emphasizing items we may see later in the film. It's a brilliant technique, if a little heavy handed, that keeps the audience on the same playing field as our main characters. And then we've got this terrific use of sound to build tension. There are some silent moments in the film, where the tension just builds and builds, and the small creaks of the floorboards only add to this. But when the score does break in, it's haunting and able to sustain this tension without breaking it.
Don't Breathe isn't really the surprise of the summer, as I trust Fede Alvarez, but proves itself to be a little gem at the tail end of a mediocre summer. It isn't particularly scary (don't expect to have a hard time falling asleep), but keeps the thrills coming. This lean 88-minute film rarely lets a moment slip by that isn't brimming with tension.
FINAL GRADE: B+
MPAA RATING: R for terror, violence, disturbing content, and language including sexual references
I can't write this review without discussing my love of Alvarez's 2013 Evil Dead remake in which Jane Levy also starred. It's masterful filmmaking and probably the best horror remake of the decade. Levy delivered one of the most underrated performances of the decade in that film, too. It's brutal, gory, relentless, shocking, and a blast. Fortunately, Don't Breathe isn't too different.
Storywise, the two films are quite different. Evil Dead is a completely paranormal story, while Don't Breathe is (more or less) realistic. But Fede Alvarez handles claustrophobia very well in each film, creating a very visceral sense of being trapped in these locations. It's an unsettling effect and is only one of the reasons why Alvarez is one of the current masters of his genre.
In fact, his direction is so impressive in Don't Breathe that I paid specific attention to it in the theater. He orchestrates his thrills so meticulously, leaving little that happens in the film to chance, and frankly he's showing off a little bit: the tracking shots, the narrative twists, the emphasis on items that'll come up later in the film. Alvarez also manages to pull off this tricky move of allowing the audience to invest in one of two evils. We have a group of robbers daring enough to rob a blind man and then we have a morally reprehensible blind man! Who do we have to root for? Alvarez gives us some protagonists that are surprisingly likable considering the circumstances.
The morals of Don't Breathe are tricky but compelling. The question of robbing a blind man is interesting enough but when all of these twists and wrenches are thrown in, things only get more complicated. When things turn serious, the question of "do we call the cops or try to get out and keep this money?" arises. What I'm trying to say is that Don't Breathe falls far from the empty-headed jump scare genre. Alvarez poses interesting questions that take a backseat to the film's relentless tension.
What makes Don't Breathe particularly thrilling lies in the film's performances. Jane Levy delivers another powerhouse performance. How come we're not seeing her in more films? She's able to instill such a sense of fear in the audience because she's so good at portraying fear. Her wide-eyed terror shtick is incredibly effective and I vote to make Jane Levy Hollywood's go-to scream queen. She was outstanding in Evil Dead and she is here as well.
And then we have another standout performance in the way of Stephen Lang. His near wordless performance relies so heavily on body language to create a menacing presence and Lang pulls this off insanely well. Lang might even deserve some awards consideration, though I doubt he'll get any. Without the convenience of being able to react to other peoples' expressions or even see them (Lang wore highly restrictive contact lenses), he builds a performance on body movement and vocal talent.
As if the pure technicality of Don't Breathe wasn't impressive enough. Pedro Luque's cinematography sweepingly glides throughout the house, allowing us to understand the geography and layout of this house while strategically emphasizing items we may see later in the film. It's a brilliant technique, if a little heavy handed, that keeps the audience on the same playing field as our main characters. And then we've got this terrific use of sound to build tension. There are some silent moments in the film, where the tension just builds and builds, and the small creaks of the floorboards only add to this. But when the score does break in, it's haunting and able to sustain this tension without breaking it.
Don't Breathe isn't really the surprise of the summer, as I trust Fede Alvarez, but proves itself to be a little gem at the tail end of a mediocre summer. It isn't particularly scary (don't expect to have a hard time falling asleep), but keeps the thrills coming. This lean 88-minute film rarely lets a moment slip by that isn't brimming with tension.
FINAL GRADE: B+
MPAA RATING: R for terror, violence, disturbing content, and language including sexual references