As a thriller, Don't Breathe has a nifty premise - burglars get into a blind veteran's house to steal the money he got from a settlement when his daughter was killed in a wrongful accident, and he turns out to be more than they can handle - but I think it's one of those movies whose logic, once you get out into the sunlight, starts to dissolve. While you're along for the ride, it seems pretty air-tight, give or take, but there are some sizable plot holes for anyone who dares ask questions (about the ending especially). Part of the magic is the sound design, which makes everything more prominent, somewhat putting us in the blind man's head, and ramps up the tension. The film might have been more interesting if the victim were sympathetic, but it fails to pull that switcheroo, with the blind man having a dark and lurid secret that's meant to make the burglary acceptable to the audience. I liked it, but the plot needed a few tweaks.
Falls into some horror movie type tropes but they're few and far between and the film really does a great job of reversing the home invasion roles and make you confused on who to root for. I was also tense as hell throughout the entire film. Don't Breathe and Green Room have been vastly surprising and intense films this year and I hope the trend continues.
sorry, relies way to heavily on 'looks dead but isn't' trope - over and over and ... imagine if 20% of Freddy's or Jason's 'victims' got back up and fought on.
While I do appreciate the challenge that this movie set out, I do feel like it is nearly unobtainable.
The world record for holding your breath is only 25 minutes and 3.45 seconds. It is tough to hold your breath during the entire run time of this movie (approximately 90 minutes) without taking a cheat breathe.
I do appreciate the challenge, however I was only able to last for 10 minutes before I had to leave the theatre in shame.
A burglary with a moral complex, a female burglar from a troubled home, a veteran who for unpredictable reasons has been able to find and kidnap his daughter's murderer even though he is blind (plot hole).
However, I really think it's a pretty successful movie. It would have been boring if the blind man was just an innocent badass, but instead his role is spiced up with a really twisted background story. The Cinematography is extremely outstanding and reminds me of Emmanuel Lubezki (Children of Men, Tree of Life and The Revenant), It's giving a good picture of today's Detroit and the creepy atmosphere in the Veteran's house. You should never ask questions about the blind man's motive, if you can ignore that, it's a great movie experience.
I’ll admit that the simple virtue of Jane Levy starring in “Don’t Breathe”, makes me biased in the films favor. But even disregarding my crush, this is a well crafted, stylishly shot and strongly acted Thriller. One that excels at keeping the momentum up and throwing out twists that keep an audience on it’s toes.
Stephen Lang may be playing a blind man in this movie, but he couldn’t be anything less than intimidating if he tried. There probably isn’t a better foil to be found for the young interlopers who wind up biting off way more than they can chew. And there are some genuinely frightening sequences where they are forced to play on his terms. (Some extra credit should go to Man’s Best Friend. One would expect a blind person to have a dog, but this one goes above and beyond.)
If I had to dock a few points, it would be for a lack of character development in the early going, with the film rushing to get to the good stuff. And outside of Levy and Lang, the other characters seem under-drawn. But none of this harms the film much. Especially when some of the weirder events are drawing your complete attention. You’ll never look at Turkey Basters the same way again.
Add your comment
Comments 1 - 11 of 11
Siskoid
As a thriller, Don't Breathe has a nifty premise - burglars get into a blind veteran's house to steal the money he got from a settlement when his daughter was killed in a wrongful accident, and he turns out to be more than they can handle - but I think it's one of those movies whose logic, once you get out into the sunlight, starts to dissolve. While you're along for the ride, it seems pretty air-tight, give or take, but there are some sizable plot holes for anyone who dares ask questions (about the ending especially). Part of the magic is the sound design, which makes everything more prominent, somewhat putting us in the blind man's head, and ramps up the tension. The film might have been more interesting if the victim were sympathetic, but it fails to pull that switcheroo, with the blind man having a dark and lurid secret that's meant to make the burglary acceptable to the audience. I liked it, but the plot needed a few tweaks.The_Comatorium
Falls into some horror movie type tropes but they're few and far between and the film really does a great job of reversing the home invasion roles and make you confused on who to root for. I was also tense as hell throughout the entire film. Don't Breathe and Green Room have been vastly surprising and intense films this year and I hope the trend continues.God
a blind guy has newspaper clippings- movie cancelledbuc86
How does a blind man kidnap someone?xianjiro
sorry, relies way to heavily on 'looks dead but isn't' trope - over and over and ... imagine if 20% of Freddy's or Jason's 'victims' got back up and fought on.Shidan
They had to make the old man really bad, because they need you to care for the main characters.The end was obvious,
Some tense moments, but still mediocre.
timoyster
While I do appreciate the challenge that this movie set out, I do feel like it is nearly unobtainable.The world record for holding your breath is only 25 minutes and 3.45 seconds. It is tough to hold your breath during the entire run time of this movie (approximately 90 minutes) without taking a cheat breathe.
I do appreciate the challenge, however I was only able to last for 10 minutes before I had to leave the theatre in shame.
4.5/5
Realenur
A burglary with a moral complex, a female burglar from a troubled home, a veteran who for unpredictable reasons has been able to find and kidnap his daughter's murderer even though he is blind (plot hole).However, I really think it's a pretty successful movie. It would have been boring if the blind man was just an innocent badass, but instead his role is spiced up with a really twisted background story. The Cinematography is extremely outstanding and reminds me of Emmanuel Lubezki (Children of Men, Tree of Life and The Revenant), It's giving a good picture of today's Detroit and the creepy atmosphere in the Veteran's house. You should never ask questions about the blind man's motive, if you can ignore that, it's a great movie experience.
Reira-chan
Loved the movie and premise but hated the last 3 minutes.Mrtrick
I’ll admit that the simple virtue of Jane Levy starring in “Don’t Breathe”, makes me biased in the films favor. But even disregarding my crush, this is a well crafted, stylishly shot and strongly acted Thriller. One that excels at keeping the momentum up and throwing out twists that keep an audience on it’s toes.Stephen Lang may be playing a blind man in this movie, but he couldn’t be anything less than intimidating if he tried. There probably isn’t a better foil to be found for the young interlopers who wind up biting off way more than they can chew. And there are some genuinely frightening sequences where they are forced to play on his terms. (Some extra credit should go to Man’s Best Friend. One would expect a blind person to have a dog, but this one goes above and beyond.)
If I had to dock a few points, it would be for a lack of character development in the early going, with the film rushing to get to the good stuff. And outside of Levy and Lang, the other characters seem under-drawn. But none of this harms the film much. Especially when some of the weirder events are drawing your complete attention. You’ll never look at Turkey Basters the same way again.
Slylingual24
More like Don't See