Don't Breathe Review: Thrilling!

An old movie, but I had the pleasure of watching it only last night. Here's my take on the most thrilling film of 2016!

Language: English

Director: Fede Alvarez

Cast: Stephen Lang, Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, Daniel Zovatto Genre: Crime, Horror, Thriller

Explaining the brilliance of a movie such as Don't Breathe without spoiling it for the audience is nearly next to impossible. As the trailer suggests, the movie is the story of three burglars, Rocky (Jane Levy), Alex (Daniel Zovatto) and Money (Dylan Minette) entering the home of a blind war veteran, played by Stephen Lang. What appears to be a simple break in with a reward of USD 300,000 at stake, gets messed up when they find out the 'blind old man' is more than capable of taking them down.

The opening scene of the movie is a hook line and sinker and sets the mood for the next couple of hours – the camera zooms in from the sky to the chilly roads of Detroit as we see an old man dragging a woman by her hair along a secluded street. The protagonists, burglars, are given swift introductions, explaining why they stepped into the world of crime, just about enough for us to root for them. To retire from this line of work for good, the trio finds a house in the middle of nowhere for their last hit.

Although Don’t Breathe may appear like another home invasion thriller, there’s much more to it. Alvarez doesn’t rely on jump-scares; it’s the slow roll of dread that works wells. Each sequence is cleverer than the last, especially in how Alvarez ensures that we in the audience know what is going to happen before the characters, making the movie is more engaging. With masterful sound design, every small sound in the movie can be felt - the heavy breathing, the stifling of sobs, the footsteps, and the bone-crushing violence.

The beauty of Don’t Breathe is how minimalistic it looks, but once you pay close attention to the details you realize that everything has been executed to perfection. With not a sliver of overacting, the actors have brought each and every character to life. It is needless to say that the film executed its thrills to the tens, especially the climax, making you jump out of your seat every time.

This might just be the most thrills you have at the movies in 2016, go on.

Rating: 4 Stars