SPOILER-FREE MOVIE REVIEW
Hello from the UK, people! I am here in Newcastle on a student exchange programme for one semester, but clearly that hasn't stopped me from doing what I love very much which is watching and talking about movies.
Don't Breathe is a psychological thriller/horror film about these three young punks who burgle houses in Detroit encountering this one particular home of a blind war veteran in a house in a deserted area of the city.
It is there where all the shit starts happening, as the trio encounter one nasty mofo in the form of the blind war veteran (Stephen Lang) who resides in that very house.
I am not one of those people who would just casually watch a horror flick. In actuality, horror movies are probably the last genre I would consider watching because I just naturally do not enjoy them cos I cover my face half of the time.
More recently however, I forced myself to expand my horizons as someone who loves film because I can't truly be neutral and fair in me speaking about movies if I don't watch every genre of them.
Don't Breathe was the third horror film I've seen this year, after The Conjuring 2 and Lights Out. Prior to this year, I had only watched The Conjuring and nothing else.
Putting this film up against the others from the year isn't really fair, cos I'd say that Don't Breathe is a very different sort of horror film.
It wasn't so much of a jump scare fest as the others were, but more of a built-up suspense-kind of thriller, and I thought it was a very welcome breath of fresh air for the horror genre this year!
The film started in a very stylish manner, making use of foreshadowing to great effect. It also introduces the audience to the main trio of thieves right in the act of burgling a house, which was very interesting.
I also liked how each one of the three had some sort of backstory attached to them - why they got there, what made them become burglars, why are they doing this - it's all very interesting stuff, especially for the characters of Rocky (Jane Levy) and Alex (Dylan Minnette) who were perhaps the characters who had the purest of intentions for doing these completely impure acts in stealing.
It was a nice dynamic to establish that these burglars are also human, and it starts this clash of morals as to what and who is right and/or wrong the moment they break into the blind man's house.
Let's talk about the story, and I felt that the focus on the characters was crucial in making the audience feel for the burglars before the action happens. As the movie goes through the first third, you feel as though it's more of a drama than a horror flick, and I liked that.
It leaves the scary bits to later on, and focuses on this set-up of plot and character in order to make for a more compelling narrative overall. A much better approach (in my opinion) as compared to Lights Out, which was just jump scare after jump scare which just left me exasperated.
I also want to commend Stephen Lang as the blind man, cos I thought he was excellent. He played blind very convincingly and shit, he was scary as heck whenever he popped up in the dark. His physique also gave him an immensely fearful figure which for one is very impressive for an older man and two, made for an even more daunting characterisation.
My money's on Lang to be cast as Cable for the Deadpool sequel, and I'm sure many fans will agree with me on that!
Story-wise, I thought it was very impressive how they managed to make such a simple scenario of breaking into someone's house so interesting and suspenseful. Yes the film is short at 88 minutes but it certainly doesn't feel short like that at all.
The fact that everything happens within that one house also gives the film an element of claustrophobia which was very effective in making scenes even more suspenseful and uncomfortable to watch.
Complimenting all that is the immaculate camera work by director Fede Alvarez and cinematographer Pedro Luque, which was truly stunning.
I've repeatedly mentioned how the use of the "one continuous take" shot in mainstream cinema is excessive and unnecessary, especially for bigger budget productions or really small movies (like London Has Fallen, for example).
The use of the one-take here, however, was very effective and very well choreographed in terms of where they fitted little cuts in to still make it all look like it's the same shot, and how the one-take captures what the audience needs to know in real time and without deliberate cuts. A very good technique utilised well here.
All in all, Don't Breathe was a very entertaining and thrilling-as-heck film which left me on the edge of my seat for the most part.
It's not so much a horror film per se, as it doesn't tick your typical horror film boxes. For that, some may end up being disappointed due to their expectations not being met. However, I feel that the film has enough substance to at the very least be enjoyed by even those that are disappointed.
There will be more reviews to come in the near future, as I had just watched Sausage Party and Bridget Jones's Baby, with plans of watching The Magnificent Seven very soon. Stay tuned!
7.5/10.
More recently however, I forced myself to expand my horizons as someone who loves film because I can't truly be neutral and fair in me speaking about movies if I don't watch every genre of them.
Don't Breathe was the third horror film I've seen this year, after The Conjuring 2 and Lights Out. Prior to this year, I had only watched The Conjuring and nothing else.
Putting this film up against the others from the year isn't really fair, cos I'd say that Don't Breathe is a very different sort of horror film.
It wasn't so much of a jump scare fest as the others were, but more of a built-up suspense-kind of thriller, and I thought it was a very welcome breath of fresh air for the horror genre this year!
The film started in a very stylish manner, making use of foreshadowing to great effect. It also introduces the audience to the main trio of thieves right in the act of burgling a house, which was very interesting.
I also liked how each one of the three had some sort of backstory attached to them - why they got there, what made them become burglars, why are they doing this - it's all very interesting stuff, especially for the characters of Rocky (Jane Levy) and Alex (Dylan Minnette) who were perhaps the characters who had the purest of intentions for doing these completely impure acts in stealing.
It was a nice dynamic to establish that these burglars are also human, and it starts this clash of morals as to what and who is right and/or wrong the moment they break into the blind man's house.
Let's talk about the story, and I felt that the focus on the characters was crucial in making the audience feel for the burglars before the action happens. As the movie goes through the first third, you feel as though it's more of a drama than a horror flick, and I liked that.
It leaves the scary bits to later on, and focuses on this set-up of plot and character in order to make for a more compelling narrative overall. A much better approach (in my opinion) as compared to Lights Out, which was just jump scare after jump scare which just left me exasperated.
I also want to commend Stephen Lang as the blind man, cos I thought he was excellent. He played blind very convincingly and shit, he was scary as heck whenever he popped up in the dark. His physique also gave him an immensely fearful figure which for one is very impressive for an older man and two, made for an even more daunting characterisation.
My money's on Lang to be cast as Cable for the Deadpool sequel, and I'm sure many fans will agree with me on that!
Story-wise, I thought it was very impressive how they managed to make such a simple scenario of breaking into someone's house so interesting and suspenseful. Yes the film is short at 88 minutes but it certainly doesn't feel short like that at all.
The fact that everything happens within that one house also gives the film an element of claustrophobia which was very effective in making scenes even more suspenseful and uncomfortable to watch.
Complimenting all that is the immaculate camera work by director Fede Alvarez and cinematographer Pedro Luque, which was truly stunning.
I've repeatedly mentioned how the use of the "one continuous take" shot in mainstream cinema is excessive and unnecessary, especially for bigger budget productions or really small movies (like London Has Fallen, for example).
The use of the one-take here, however, was very effective and very well choreographed in terms of where they fitted little cuts in to still make it all look like it's the same shot, and how the one-take captures what the audience needs to know in real time and without deliberate cuts. A very good technique utilised well here.
All in all, Don't Breathe was a very entertaining and thrilling-as-heck film which left me on the edge of my seat for the most part.
It's not so much a horror film per se, as it doesn't tick your typical horror film boxes. For that, some may end up being disappointed due to their expectations not being met. However, I feel that the film has enough substance to at the very least be enjoyed by even those that are disappointed.
There will be more reviews to come in the near future, as I had just watched Sausage Party and Bridget Jones's Baby, with plans of watching The Magnificent Seven very soon. Stay tuned!
7.5/10.
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