Don't Breathe - directed by Fede Alvarez
**spoiler free**
Rolling Stone began their review for "Don't Breathe"with the line - 'This is some weird, twisted shit!' (source)
I saw the quote on a poster before I saw the film and it was in my mind as I watched the movie tonight.
It would be a pretty decent chunk of the way into the lean 88 minute running time until I thought to myself - 'Oh, I see what Rolling Stone meant'.
It is intense for all but a scant few moments and builds and build and builds.
And then it hits you with the sort of revelation that shouldn't delight you because it is indeed twisted and weird but it is also so clever a kink (not a twist) that how can you not just appreciate the hell out of the wonderfully sinister genius of it?
Yes, this is quite a demented little thriller.
And I loved it so, so much.
This is the simple tale of a trio of young people who want to raise enough money to get out of Detroit and head to California.
Rocky (Jane Levy) and Money (Daniel Zovatto) are a couple.
The third - Alex (Dylan Minnette) is the son of a security installer and has access to codes and keys to doors and alarms which they use to rob houses.
We see them pulling off one such job in the opening scene.
When they don't get quite the return they need from their friendly neighbourhood fence they need to pull of one more job.
And as any movie fan knows the phrase 'one more' be it applied before 'day as a cop before retirement' or 'job and then we quit' always spells disaster.
Targeting a blind war veteran (Stephen Lang) who lives in a deserted area of town in a house that apparently contains several hundred thousand dollars obtained from a settlement over the vehicular death of his young daughter disaster is exactly what they get.
Now, the promotional material for this film wants you to think that this is a horror film.
Fede Alvarez is the director of the highly regarded 2013 "Evil Dead" remake (review) and this is trumpeted on the poster.
Review quotes scattered on adverts ranged from 'artfully terrifying' to 'effective scares' but this is not a horror film.
It's a thriller.
And it isn't scary.
I have complained about recent flicks "Blair Witch", "Lights Out" and "The Conjuring 2" not being very scary (if at all) and "Don't Breathe" joins them in this regard.
But.... and this is a huge but - "Don't Breathe" isn't trying to be scary.
It is trying to be tense.
And boy oh boy is it!
This had moments that reminded me of Hitchcock's "Notorious".
The two films don't share any common ground generally but the way in which Alvarez sets up a scene and milks it for every drop of tension possible is very Hitchcockian.
Refer to the scene in "Notorious" where upstairs the wine is running out as Cary Grant is downstairs in the wine cellar snooping around.
In "Don't Breathe" there are several moment of similar tension.
It makes the film seem longer than its 88 minutes but for once this is a positive sign.
There is a relentlessness to the events and that they are pretty much confined to one grimy, dark house with a bunch of rooms and passages only adds to the claustrophobic nature of the film.
I like that the actions of the characters seem reasonable within the context of the sort of film that this is.
And I love Stephen Lang as the blind man from whom our 'heroes' are looking to steal.
He is truly intimidating and not without some secrets himself.
So - yes - "Don't Breathe" is a very, very nicely created thrill show.
There are a few jump scares but they are used sparingly and each and every one is earned.
They don't feel tacked on as a cheap scare (I am looking at you "Blair Witch"!)
Alvarez (who also co-wrote) winds up the tension a notch at a time but always with an eye to keeping things fun.
He throws in a bunch of elements that frequently had me trying to second guess the events - something I failed at more than I succeeded.
The lovely Jane Levy (also the star of Alvarez's "Evil Dead") makes an appealing heroine.
She, like everyone in the film goes through some pretty rough stuff but the sure hand of Alvarez makes this more like a rollercoaster ride than an ordeal.
Utilising some fabulous framing, masterful use of sound and often silence and an ingenious sequence where night vision is employed it's intense, grim stuff.
But always, always delightful, crowd pleasing fun.
That is a tough thing to pull off.
Anyone who has seen "Green Room" will have an appreciation for the tone of this film but clearly "Don't Breathe" is at once the darker film and also the more enjoyable.
I sat in my seat thoroughly entertained by this film for every single second.
That in itself is all that really needs to be said other than to suggest that you get yourself to a showing of this superbly f*&$ed up little treat quick smart!
RATING: 86 / 100
CONCLUSION: A slick, twisted thrill show that reveals that Alvarez is clearly a director going places. This review is shorter than most simply because you only need to know that this film is goooood and not any of its secrets. See this!
**spoiler free**
Starring: Stephen Lang, Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, Daniel Zovatto, Emma Bercovici, Franciska Torocsik, Christian Zagia, Katia Bokor, Sergej Onopko, Olivia Gillies, Dayna Clark, Brak Little, Jimmie Chiapelli, Jane May Graves, Michael Haase
Screenplay: Fede Alvarez & Rodo Sayagues
Music Score by: Roque Banos
Cinematography: Pedro Luque
Cinematography: Pedro Luque
Edited by: Eric L Beason, Louise Ford & Gardner Gould
Running Time: 88 minutes
Language: English
Rated: R18 - Language and Violence (R16 would have done really)
Running Time: 88 minutes
Language: English
Rated: R18 - Language and Violence (R16 would have done really)
Rolling Stone began their review for "Don't Breathe"with the line - 'This is some weird, twisted shit!' (source)
I saw the quote on a poster before I saw the film and it was in my mind as I watched the movie tonight.
It would be a pretty decent chunk of the way into the lean 88 minute running time until I thought to myself - 'Oh, I see what Rolling Stone meant'.
It is intense for all but a scant few moments and builds and build and builds.
And then it hits you with the sort of revelation that shouldn't delight you because it is indeed twisted and weird but it is also so clever a kink (not a twist) that how can you not just appreciate the hell out of the wonderfully sinister genius of it?
Yes, this is quite a demented little thriller.
And I loved it so, so much.
This is the simple tale of a trio of young people who want to raise enough money to get out of Detroit and head to California.
Rocky (Jane Levy) and Money (Daniel Zovatto) are a couple.
The third - Alex (Dylan Minnette) is the son of a security installer and has access to codes and keys to doors and alarms which they use to rob houses.
We see them pulling off one such job in the opening scene.
When they don't get quite the return they need from their friendly neighbourhood fence they need to pull of one more job.
And as any movie fan knows the phrase 'one more' be it applied before 'day as a cop before retirement' or 'job and then we quit' always spells disaster.
Targeting a blind war veteran (Stephen Lang) who lives in a deserted area of town in a house that apparently contains several hundred thousand dollars obtained from a settlement over the vehicular death of his young daughter disaster is exactly what they get.
 |
| "Don't Breathe" is a remarkably well made, highly effective thriller |
Fede Alvarez is the director of the highly regarded 2013 "Evil Dead" remake (review) and this is trumpeted on the poster.
Review quotes scattered on adverts ranged from 'artfully terrifying' to 'effective scares' but this is not a horror film.
It's a thriller.
And it isn't scary.
I have complained about recent flicks "Blair Witch", "Lights Out" and "The Conjuring 2" not being very scary (if at all) and "Don't Breathe" joins them in this regard.
But.... and this is a huge but - "Don't Breathe" isn't trying to be scary.
It is trying to be tense.
And boy oh boy is it!
This had moments that reminded me of Hitchcock's "Notorious".
The two films don't share any common ground generally but the way in which Alvarez sets up a scene and milks it for every drop of tension possible is very Hitchcockian.
Refer to the scene in "Notorious" where upstairs the wine is running out as Cary Grant is downstairs in the wine cellar snooping around.
In "Don't Breathe" there are several moment of similar tension.
It makes the film seem longer than its 88 minutes but for once this is a positive sign.
There is a relentlessness to the events and that they are pretty much confined to one grimy, dark house with a bunch of rooms and passages only adds to the claustrophobic nature of the film.
I like that the actions of the characters seem reasonable within the context of the sort of film that this is.
And I love Stephen Lang as the blind man from whom our 'heroes' are looking to steal.
He is truly intimidating and not without some secrets himself.
 |
| Framing is done exceptionally well |
There are a few jump scares but they are used sparingly and each and every one is earned.
They don't feel tacked on as a cheap scare (I am looking at you "Blair Witch"!)
Alvarez (who also co-wrote) winds up the tension a notch at a time but always with an eye to keeping things fun.
He throws in a bunch of elements that frequently had me trying to second guess the events - something I failed at more than I succeeded.
The lovely Jane Levy (also the star of Alvarez's "Evil Dead") makes an appealing heroine.
She, like everyone in the film goes through some pretty rough stuff but the sure hand of Alvarez makes this more like a rollercoaster ride than an ordeal.
Utilising some fabulous framing, masterful use of sound and often silence and an ingenious sequence where night vision is employed it's intense, grim stuff.
But always, always delightful, crowd pleasing fun.
That is a tough thing to pull off.
Anyone who has seen "Green Room" will have an appreciation for the tone of this film but clearly "Don't Breathe" is at once the darker film and also the more enjoyable.
I sat in my seat thoroughly entertained by this film for every single second.
That in itself is all that really needs to be said other than to suggest that you get yourself to a showing of this superbly f*&$ed up little treat quick smart!
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