This weekend I had the chance to check out Fede Alvarez's "Don't Breathe" in theaters. Alvarez did a phenomenal job with "Evil Dead" back in 2013, so I was excited to see what his latest project would be like. I had my popcorn, soda, and was sitting in the most comfortable reclining theater chair -- I was all set to get my scare on! Sadly, that wasn't the case.
SPOILER ALERT: I'll try not to give too much away, but I can't promise anything!
"Don't Breathe" starts out in media res, showing its main character Rocky (Jane Levy) being dragged down the middle of the street unconscious by a mystery man. Immediately I was curious as to what happened to cause her to be in this situation. But the scene quickly changed, and we now learn how Rocky, Alex (Dylan Minnette), & Money (Daniel Zovatto) make their money to survive. We also see Rocky's home life, and her desire to escape her life in Detroit with her younger sister. Rocky, Alex, and Money are burglars, but decide to pull off their biggest burglary of all: robbing a blind man (Stephen Lang) in a deserted part of town for thousands of dollars. Why the blind man has such a large quantity of money will remain a secret for this article (can't spoil too much!), but Rocky realizes that having this money will help secure her escape to California with her younger sister to leave her horrible home life forever.
Shortly after they break into the blind man's home, their burglary goes awry. The blind man turns out to be a former army veteran who quickly showed viewers that despite his inability to see, his other senses were highly heightened.
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is where the movie went sour for me.
First off... why rob a blind man?! More importantly... why be a burglar at all?! What's wrong with getting a legal job, earning a wage, and save money to move away? By doing the actions that Rocky, Alex, and Money did, it proved that the 'get rich quick' scheme never works out. The entire movie was just a little too far-fetched for me, although I know this was just a movie, and movies are allowed to be as far-fetched as possible thanks to creative imaginations! But when it's supposed to be a realistic film, "Don't Breathe" didn't have the scare-factor that I hoped it would bring me -- even causing laughter in the theater when I should've been gripping the arm rest in fear!
Despite all of this, I have to praise Jane Levy & Stephen Lang. While I'm used to watching Levy in "Suburgatory", she was phenomenal in "Don't Breathe". Her 'final girl' character was believable as a struggling young woman wanting a better life for herself & her sister. Lang, a veteran actor, portrayed his character very well -- something he does well in everything. Dylan Minnette & Daniel Zovatto, however, were cliché characters & were quickly forgettable.
With the way "Don't Breathe" ended, it opened the door for Fede Alvarez to make a possible sequel down the line. However, if he's smart, he'll avoid the mistake that many movies make and make pointless sequels. Apart from its flaws, "Don't Breathe" was a breath of fresh air with its original storyline in a land where sequels & prequels are king. I doubt this will be something I'll be lining up at the store the day of its Blu-Ray release to purchase -- maybe wait for it to go on sale at a rather low price.
