STARRING: Stephen Lang, Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette and Daniel Zovatto
DIRECTOR: Fede Alvarez
RELEASE DATE: August 25, 2016
Don’t Breathe is the latest suspense thriller brought to the viewing public by director Fede Alvarez. The movie’s twists and turns will definitely keep the audience on the edge of their seats. Thus far Don’t Breathe has grossed $129.3 million worldwide which has made it a huge blockbuster success being that it only had a budget of $9.9 million. Like many other successful surprise films Hollywood will certainly be making a Don’t Breathe II very soon.
The movie begins with three friends Rocky (Jane Levy), Money (Daniel Zovatto) and Alex (Dylan Minnette), who are petty thieves, breaking into a wealthy occupant’s home and robbing it. The three realize that they need a larger score if they’re ever going to fulfill their dream of moving to California. As luck would have it one of Money’s friends tells him about a blind Army vet (Stephen Lang) who received a $300,000 settlement from a rich family who inadvertently killed his daughter. Once Money relays this tidbit of news to the others the three plot to rob the blind man of his fortune.
The mindset of the group is that the blind man’s home will be easy to break into because Alex’s father is a home security officer and he has the codes to most of the home’s alarm systems within the city which makes their job as burglars quite easy. Once inside, the group encounters the homeowner’s angry guard dog which they quickly put down with a tranquilizer wrapped inside of some food which the dog devours. Once the dog has been neutralized the three find the room where the money is being hidden and shoots off the lock with a muffled 9mm which alerts the blind man that someone is in his home.
Upon discovering this, the blind man approaches the group and fights with Money until he kills him. Rocky and Alex are in complete shock as they attempt to remain quiet as possible so that the blind man will not hear them. At this point in the movie the ominous music begins to play and the only illumination in the home are a few light bulbs which are scattered strategically throughout. The roles of the three individuals have dramatically changed as the blind man has become the hunter and Rocky and Alex have become the prey.
As the two continue to search for a way out of the home they stumble across a female prisoner named Ginger (Katia Bokor) in the blind man’s basement who has been chained to the floor and gagged. Rocky and Alex release her and as they are attempting to escape the blind man shots and kills Ginger. From here on out the movie takes a 180 degree turn into a much sinister plot twist.
Don’t Breathe is not only meticulously paced but also remarkably clever in how it handles its characters and their motivations and its audience and their expectations but never quite letting either have exactly what they want. The film receives 8 stars out of 10 stars.