User blog:AustinDR/Don't Breathe (Review)

Don't Breathe is a 2016 horror film about three delinquents breaking into an elderly man's house when they learn that he had received a $300,000 settlement after his daughter was accidentally killed in a car accident. They realize that the elderly man (who's apparently named Norman Nordstrom, according to the director) is completely blind, so it seems he's an easy target. As they'll soon find out, they'll learn not to mess with the grandpa.

Much like Lights Out, this was another horror film that I absolutely wanted to see. The trailers alone made me invested in seeing it. After I had seen it, I thought it was pretty good, but I did have a few problems with the film.

One of the problems that I had with the film was, in fact, the characters. It's a relatively small cast of character - the three robbers, and the Blind Man respectively. There is a surprise character within the film, but stating what her role in the film is goes into spoiler territory. With that said, none of the characters are likable, with a few possible exceptions.

First is Rocky, the main character of the film. While true, her motivation for breaking into the old man's house was to collect enough money to escape her abusive household with her younger sister, I couldn't in all my honesty side with her. What's especially bad is how obsessed she was of acquiring the money, to the point that it leads to bad consequences, namely her friends dying by the Blind Man's hands. That, and she's partially responsible for killing off one of the only likable characters in the film. I would debate on whether or not the ending is a "happy" one, but it'd be too long to discuss.

Money, one of her cohorts, was the worst character for me. While breaking in and robbing people's houses is bad, he takes it a step further, outright breaking and vandalizing belongings for no other reason than to be a jerk. Seriously, he didn't even have the excuse of desiring to escape from an abusive household to consider. Really, out of everything the Blind Man had done in the film, I personally felt like congratulating the elderly man for killing him.

The only likable member of the band of misfits is Alex. He is actually the most competent out of the team of robbers, as well as being the only one to raise concern at the idea of robbing a blind man. Unfortunately, he makes the mistake of deciding to help his two friends with the robbery, and he must suffer the consequences for his decision.

Lastly, there was the Blind Man himself. From the looks of it in the trailers, he seemed as though he was protecting his house after it had been broken into. Sure, he resorts to pretty...drastic measures to protect his money, but you can chalk that up to self defense (after all, Money was threatening him with a gun). But, oh boy...is it ever averted in the actual film. I can't for the life of me say what he does in the film, partially because it's nauseating, and partially because it's a massive spoiler for the film. But, if you had seen the film, you'd know what I mean. On the plus side, the Blind Man (or Norman, according to the film director) is truly intimidating for being completely blind; he's surprisingly agile and strong for his age; it does help that he was a former U. S. Army veteran. The Blind Man is up there with Diana, Howard Stambler, and Valak as one of the most terrifying antagonists in a horror film.

Overall, the movie employs grey morality; all of the characters made mistakes that should be reviled, there isn't anyone to truly root for, a few get their happy endings when they don't deserve it....while not absolutely dark, the film is still pretty bleak.

The film builds suspense the further it runs. The most spine-chilling scenes definitely have to be whenever the Blind Man enters a room with the robbers in it. They have to keep completely quiet in order to avoid catching his attention. In fact, that's pretty much why the film's called Don't Breathe.

There are a few jumpscares here and there, but they don't overly use them. Rather, they use suspense to build up the horror. One scene in recent memory has Alex fall onto a window on the roof. The window slowly cracks, and you know that he would inevitably fall through it; you just don't know when. The scenes in which the Blind Man feels around his surroundings in order to search for the remaining delinquents is also intimidating.

Final score:

4 1/2 out of 5 stars