Starring - Stephen Lang (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Avatar), Jane Levy (Evil Dead, Monster Trucks), and Dylan Minnette (Goosebumps, Let Me In)
Release Date - 2016
Genre - Horror/Crime
Tagline - "This house looked like an easy target. Until they found what was inside"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)
Rating (out of 5):
This year (2016) may have been a shitty year in terms of celebrity deaths, politics, and the like but it has been one hell of a year for movies. Not only with the new releases but the release of classic films on bluray and DVD. This year has seen the release of Green Room, 10 Cloverfield Lane, VVitch, Night of Something Strange, She Kills, and Don't Fuck in the Woods. All of which were great films. Sometime ago the Fede Alvarez film Don't Breathe was released in theaters where it was a hit. It was able to be certified fresh at Rotten Tomatoes and several horror critics exclaimed how great it was. This made me turn a blind eye to the film. When most horror fans like something I usually discover that it is shit so I assumed this one was. When I saw the movie hit store shelves a friend of mine told me he watched it in theaters and loved it. So much so that it was in the running to be best horror film of 2016 right behind Green Room. This really peaked my interested so I requested a review copy of the film. Thank you guys for sending one this way.
The film follows three thieves; Rocky(Levy), Alex (Minnette), and Money (Daniel Zovatto), who receive a tip about a man who won a six figure settlement when his daughter was ran over with a car belonging to a daughter of a wealthy family. He lives alone and has been hoarding the money in his home. They decide to break into his home and steal the money and quickly learn that even though he is blind he is the wrong person to knock over. 
This film was getting a lot of hype upon it's theatrical release and that continued up until the film was released on home video. As I said earlier, I usually skip films that catch that much praise because they tend to suck, in my opinion. I don't know how many times a film was hyped up only to be a complete let down. Don't Breathe was not that let down. The film was suspenseful and kept the viewer on their toes. The acting in this one is phenomenal. This is not a shocker considering the film's three focal points are amazing at what they do. Stephen Lang, everyone's favorite asshole in Avatar, is unrecognizable in his role as the sadistic blind man sitting on a pile of cash. He starts out as portraying the sweet, innocent old man that lives down the street from everyone before switching it up. He pulls a 180 and becomes a purely twisted piece of shit that is not on deranged but deadly. Jane Levy is also great in her role. Levy is know for her portrayal of Mia in the 2013 remake of Evil Dead which was also directed by Alvarez. She is a very strong female lead and it only makes sense that Alvarez would want to work with her again. Also, Dylan Minnette is great. This young actor has yet to let me down. I thought he was phenomenal opposite Jack Black in Goosebumps and he is very memorable for his small role in the remake Let the Right One In simply titled Let Me In. All three are great and work very well with each other. The story for this one is just as clever as it is simple. The story simply combines elements of urban crime films with elements of modern thrillers. The two work very well together. Sadly, the simplicity does not prevent this one from becoming predictable. You can see the twists and turns coming a mile away like a country road. With that being said, the moments of suspense is truly chilling. The film has a very slow build up which perfectly crafts the tension giving the viewer some claustrophobic atmosphere. Finally, if you are looking for gore then this one is not for you. This one is very story driven but that doesn't stop it from dishing out a little blood here and there but nothing you gorehounds would find appealing. Overall, Don't Breathe is one of the better big budgeted horror films of the year. It has some ups and downs but overall delivers a very terrifying experience. This one is worth checking out. 
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