Mikes Film Talk

Co-written and directed by Fede Alvarez (Rodo Sayagues was the co-author on the project) Don’t Breathe is an exercise in scary disinterest. No one character is appealing or sympathetic enough for the audience to ever really care about the outcome of this odd home invasion film.

At its core, this is what the marginally scary film is all about.

the story

A wounded veteran, played by Stephen Lang, has been blinded in Iraq and been driven mad by the death of his only child. The vet is targeted by three vapid and unlikeable young people. The trio decide to rob the old man of his settlement money after knocking him out with chloroform.

The vet is apparently immune to the homemade gas bomb and his dog is as well. The first of the three goes down (Daniel Zovatto as “Money” dies in a particularly graphic and impressive way. He is shot in the face and his lips blow out in what looks like a very realistic display of the gun’s power.)

This leaves Rocky (Jane Levy) and “Good Guy” Alex  (Dylan Minnette) to battle things out with the blind vet. There is no doubt that Lang’s character will end up on top. (The very casting of Lang ensures that the “victim” of this piece will win.)

By the end of Don’t Breathe, Lang’s blind man has almost impregnated Rocky, with a turkey baster, and nearly killed the young home-breaker as well. As scary as some of this film was, it lacked much in the plot department and did not feature one character that the audience could really care about.

It works, barely

The best parts of Don’t Breathe are those that feature Lang’s cold blooded but decent vet. “I am not a rapist,” he says while filling the baster. He is a homicidal maniac who pulls out all the stops to defend his home and his self impregnated kidnap victim.

Don’t Breathe leaves things wide open for a sequel. One where presumably the blind man hunts down the trailer trash survivor who robs him of his replacement child and money.  He will have to travel to Los Angeles though. Turning him into a more grim version of that old blind warrior Zatoichi . A character re-imagined with Rutger Hauer in the 1989 action flick “Blind Fury. Hauer’s Zatoichi uses guns instead of a sword walking stick, however.

*Author’s note: There was indeed a sequel: Don’t Breathe 2 released in 2021.*

The sequel may be more affected but will still suffer from having shallow and unlikeable characters. Without any one to really cheer for, apart from Lang’s vet who dishes out some well deserved retribution. He uses his hidden skills to pay back those who would rob from a “helpless” veteran. This scary film’s second chapter will no doubt disappoint as well.

The Verdict

Lang kills it as the dangerous “cripple.” He almost silently dispatches his home invaders. The rest of the young cast are adequate considering the lack of depth given their characters. Minnette, who was quite good in Goosebumps does not really shine here. Although his character is the least offensive of the three “protagonists.” Sadly he is not really a good guy at all.

Fans of horror films may like Don’t Breathe.  It is a 3.5 star effort that has some jumpy moments, no nudity, a lot of violence and a close call with a turkey baster.

Don’t Breathe is on starz at the moment.

the trailer