Don't Breathe (C+ or 2.5/4 stars)
Opening with a grisly tease, 'Don't Breathe' (directed by Uruguay-born Fede Alvarez) actually winds up being a home-invasion thriller that follows 3 down-&-out teen robbers who find an adversary in their seemingly meek, but unexpectedly resourceful victim: a 60-something Iraq War vet, blinded in combat. Calculating & scheming just how much $$ they can snatch to avoid a grand larceny rap if caught, clean-cut Alex (Dylan Minnette, of Prisoners, Goosebumps) uses his dad's security-company connections so that he & his 'friends' can rob houses belonging to Detroit's upper crust. But his 2 'friends' aren't as careful. Rocky (Jane Levy) tries on fancy clothes, while her scuzzball boy toy, Money (irritating Daniel Zovatto), happily destroys valuables {jerk!}.
Rocky discovers that there is a Blind Man (Stephen Lang, of Avatar) with a large stash of $$ hidden in his dilapidated house on an isolated Motor City street. Said $$ is a settlement he received when his beloved daughter was killed by a reckless driver who was subsequently acquitted. Rocky figures that the $$ will enable her & her young sister to get outta Dodge (and head for California) -- far from the trailer park & their abusive mom. Sedating the Blind Man's Rottweiler isn't too hard, but once they get inside the house, they get WAY more than they bargained for. Ensnared in a menacing cat-&-mouse game when they discover the horrifying secret that the vengeful blind man is hiding in his basement, the hostile tension escalates to a fever pitch.
'Don't Breathe' is pretty intense, somewhat creepy, sometimes gripping, but mostly icky and kinda unsatisfying in the end; even though it hits many good notes along the way. You know, the 1st 3/4 of this film is pretty straightforward; thankfully so. But things kinda go off the rails in the last 30 minutes or so. Not only do matters go over-the-top, but images that splash across the scene are NOT for the faint of heart. Torture, torment, abuse, women being held hostage, women being artificially inseminated, and even more semen-related happenings occur -- ew!!! Furthermore, there are outlandish reveals that occur in that last segment of the film which made me shake my head in anger while sitting in the theater. Characters doing/not doing/saying/not saying things that would never occur in the moment of that situation. i.e., HOW could one character fall down a shaft, seemingly break her leg, then sprint down a street a while later? And HOW would a blind man know his way across a neighborhood (and THEN some) to then find the exact location of one of his victims a short while later? Grr.
Sure, there are some clever/interesting things going on. There's some nifty misdirection (in the plot). Every noise (creaks, cracks, hushed gasps) sounds deafening. The production design of the desolate Detroit locales & blind man's house is suitably claustrophobic & atmospheric. Utilizing some scintillating night-vision shocks, the cinematographer Pedro Luque's work goes a long way in making this scary movie, well, 'scary'. And the performances are fine. No, there is no real character depth to mention. But each character we encounter in the story is exactly as they should be: angry, vulnerable, likeable, vile, as far as that all goes. 'Don't Breathe' will delight audiences. Yes, I watched through my fingers at times. But overall, it needed more genuine scares, more common sense, & less gratuitous violence.
Rocky discovers that there is a Blind Man (Stephen Lang, of Avatar) with a large stash of $$ hidden in his dilapidated house on an isolated Motor City street. Said $$ is a settlement he received when his beloved daughter was killed by a reckless driver who was subsequently acquitted. Rocky figures that the $$ will enable her & her young sister to get outta Dodge (and head for California) -- far from the trailer park & their abusive mom. Sedating the Blind Man's Rottweiler isn't too hard, but once they get inside the house, they get WAY more than they bargained for. Ensnared in a menacing cat-&-mouse game when they discover the horrifying secret that the vengeful blind man is hiding in his basement, the hostile tension escalates to a fever pitch.
'Don't Breathe' is pretty intense, somewhat creepy, sometimes gripping, but mostly icky and kinda unsatisfying in the end; even though it hits many good notes along the way. You know, the 1st 3/4 of this film is pretty straightforward; thankfully so. But things kinda go off the rails in the last 30 minutes or so. Not only do matters go over-the-top, but images that splash across the scene are NOT for the faint of heart. Torture, torment, abuse, women being held hostage, women being artificially inseminated, and even more semen-related happenings occur -- ew!!! Furthermore, there are outlandish reveals that occur in that last segment of the film which made me shake my head in anger while sitting in the theater. Characters doing/not doing/saying/not saying things that would never occur in the moment of that situation. i.e., HOW could one character fall down a shaft, seemingly break her leg, then sprint down a street a while later? And HOW would a blind man know his way across a neighborhood (and THEN some) to then find the exact location of one of his victims a short while later? Grr.
Sure, there are some clever/interesting things going on. There's some nifty misdirection (in the plot). Every noise (creaks, cracks, hushed gasps) sounds deafening. The production design of the desolate Detroit locales & blind man's house is suitably claustrophobic & atmospheric. Utilizing some scintillating night-vision shocks, the cinematographer Pedro Luque's work goes a long way in making this scary movie, well, 'scary'. And the performances are fine. No, there is no real character depth to mention. But each character we encounter in the story is exactly as they should be: angry, vulnerable, likeable, vile, as far as that all goes. 'Don't Breathe' will delight audiences. Yes, I watched through my fingers at times. But overall, it needed more genuine scares, more common sense, & less gratuitous violence.