"Don't Breathe," one of the big horror films to come out this summer, released on August 26th in U.S. theaters. Revolving around three friends who spend their time robbing wealthy homes in exchange for money, the real story begins when they decide to break into a blind veteran's home for the major cash settlement they hear is stashed inside his home.
This past Wednesday night, I was able to watch "Don't Breathe" at the theater with my mom and older brother and at the end of it, we all walked out of the entrance door with intrigued discussions during the car ride home. Aside from technical critiques of the film – which is incredible – we talked about the lessons we had interpreted from it as well.
1. Don't steal.
As obvious as this one sounds, the money, or idealized prize at the end may still lure a few of those who are willing to go after it in the wrong way. The entire plot of "Don't Breathe," follows a group of friends attempting to get their hands on a large sum of cash stocked away in an old man’s isolated home, and the moments they experience throughout the film make you continuously wish they'd never been so driven to get the money in the first place. (You'll have to watch it for yourself to find out how they end up!) It clearly shows how stealing will lead us into more unnecessary stress and worry we could’ve avoided in the first place.
2. Mind your own business.
Don’t let a person’s physical traits fool you. Just because someone may seem more disadvantaged than you are doesn’t mean they are any less smarter or stronger. They may even possess a strong skill that you can’t compete with. Underestimating a person may lead us into lowering our guard, thus allowing others to attack us when we least expect it. There’s no black and white when it comes to people. Every person has positive and negative features in them.
3. There's always another side to every story.
Going together with the previous lesson of not judging people by their outer appearance, a person’s well-known backstory may only be a small piece to the full story. We shouldn’t completely trust outside opinions and perceptions about a person until the entire story is discovered and known.
4. When you're given a good opportunity, don't dismiss it.
Sometimes when we want something and are actually given the opportunity to get it, we ignore it and assume another chance will come again. Horror movies make a clear point that you only have one shot and you better take it!
5. Near-death experiences bring out an invincible confidence from inside of you. #Fearless #SurvivalMode
When you’re on the verge of being killed, your natural survival instincts come out of you because all that’s on your mind is fighting the enemy, escaping and surviving. Fear can’t exist in your mind when you’re too busy knocking every obstacle out and focusing on how to get out alive!
I think it's ironic how the characters had to hold in their breath and not breathe in order to survive; rather than the opposite, of usually breathing in more oxygen to live.
