MOVIE REVIEW: Don't Breathe

Don't Breathe (2016)

Horror, Suspense

Directed By: Fede Alvarez

When I first saw writer/director Fede Alvarez take on the Evil Dead franchise three years ago I was blown away. It was one of the craziest horror experiences I had ever gotten to have on the big screen and even though it was technically a reboot of a beloved franchise, I could tell the guy behind the camera had something special to offer the horror world. He has a way of capturing the brutality of his carnage that makes it all feel totally real, even in a world of complete and utter insanity and if that wasn't displayed clear enough in his debut then his follow up film hammers that nail home in the biggest of ways. Don't Breathe, the second film from Fede Alvarez, is a master class in filmmaking that manages to capture the suspense and intensity we rarely get to see in movies in general.  

Focusing on a trio of petty thieves in the Detroit area, the movie couldn't have a more simple premise. Looking for a way out of their dump of a city Rocky (Jane Levy), her scummy boyfriend "Money" (Daniel Zovatto), and her good friend and literal "keys" to the operation Alex (Dylan Minnette) get a tip for a massive cash score that can single handedly get them out of their garbage lives. The job seems easy, the house belongs to an old man, and old blind man (Stephen Lang), who just happens to be sitting on a whole lot of cash. Unfortunately for our would be robbers this old timer still has some of his old military training up his sleeve and when the job goes wrong they wind up fighting just for a chance of survival, let alone the cash prize. 

The film plays as a hugely claustrophobic nightmare that takes little to no time getting into the bulk of the story. It takes all of fifteen minutes before they are in the house, tip-toeing around looking for a hidden stash. Fede doesn't take half of the film just to build the tension for a massive release, instead he gets the ball rolling fast by having them invade the house with the blind man still inside. Just knowing this makes the first ten minutes of rummaging in the dark so intense that when the first big payoff happens early on, you have already been gripping the edge of your seat in anticipation. From the moment they enter the home the suspense sucks you in entirely -and then the lights go out- creating one of the most intense and brilliantly shot horror sequences I have ever seen on the big screen. This movie is appropriately titled, as you rarely get a chance to breathe easy.

If you are wondering why it took three years to follow up his debut film it's made quite clear before the movie even starts, as Fede himself gives us a little message. He thanks us for coming to the movies but he also explains how he just simply wants to make good films that audiences will enjoy. He is making his movies into what they were meant to be, an experience. Between his Evil Dead and now this I have been given two of the best theater experiences I have ever had and it is because he cares more about how we feel in that dark room for ninety minutes than most anyone in attendance. This sentiment shines through his work and if it means I have to wait three years between each new Alvarez movie for this kind of quality then I am more than happy to do so. 

To get the best experience you can out of this go in with as little knowledge about it as possible. The trailers, as is so often the case, spoil just a little too much so if you have somehow avoided them keep doing so and go in cold. I'm sure most of you have seen the trailers though as they have been playing before countless movies this summer but even so, they hardly ruin the movie. There are a few big moments that would have been better served to see for the first time in the film but when something is made this masterfully it's near impossible for little details to ruin it all. 

Don't Breathe re-teams Jane Levy and Fede Alvarez and having now done two fantastic films with each other I wouldn't mind if the two kept going together. Levy is an incredible actor and her two vastly different roles in both Evil Dead and this prove she has huge range and can bring whatever Alvarez asks of her. His sophomore effort also brought him a little more star power in the form of the great Stephen Lang whose crazed performance brings much of the film's intensity. It was also nice to see Dylan Minnette, who impressed me a bunch in last October's Goosebump's movie, taking on some more serious fare. 

The latest from Fede Alvarez is just another in a rather long line of recent indie horror films made by incredible up and coming filmmakers that prove, while big studio movies may be in a bit of a rough spot, that the horror genre is in a way flourishing. The fact that this movie is in wide-release and is doing fantastic numbers is just further proof that not only is horror still as profitable as always, but that the people making it are just as talented as ever. In what many are calling a hugely disappointing summer of movies, us horror fans are being spoiled in the best of ways. Go see this on the biggest, loudest screen you can find and you'll be treated to one of the best movie going experiences of the summer. 

As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies, you can find em anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!