Don't Breathe 2

An unwanted, unwarranted & unnecessary sequel to Fede Alvarez's tense, thrilling & terrifying original, Don't Breathe 2 is a dull, derivative & disappointing follow-up that sacrifices the nail-bitingly intense atmosphere & clever setup of the 2016 home-invasion horror, and attempts to make up for it by upping the violence & brutality without first rectifying the glaring problems in the script.

Co-written & directed by Rodo Sayagues in his directorial debut, the film neither exhibits any potential nor is able to validate its existence at any given time, and treads a route that's very predictable from afar. Where the previous chapter invoked terror & suspense by tapping into the viewers' primal fears, this one takes an action-oriented approach and is severely lacking the unsettling aura of the first film.

The new characters are awfully sketched while the reprising one's arc goes nowhere, and its attempt to rehabilitate the protagonist is absurd, for all the story does is make him the lesser of two evils. Stephen Lang still delivers a solid input and retains his intimidating presence but the rest are simply forgettable in their caricature roles. And also not helping the cause are its generic plot, cartoonish characters & dumb twists.

Overall, Don't Breathe 2 is downright inferior to its predecessor and has none of the qualities that made the last effort such an effective & impressive entry in the home-invasion subgenre of horror-thrillers. It is only during the first half that the film is able to create a sort of interest but it is only brief, short-lived & fizzles out just as quick. There is a bleak, nihilistic element at play here but the storytelling is too bland & uninspiring for it to amount to much.

Just finished Don't Breath 2, I didn't hate it despite the bad reviews. I enjoyed the first film which I thought was an above average home invasion horror. Interestingly, I guess Stephen Lang and the creators knew there was no rational way they'd be able to match the setup of the original. Instead they've gone for an old-school 90s type action thriller with little to do with the first film besides a vague backstory for the villain turned avenging angel. It's a Taken-Blind Fury mashup with a bigger budget which allows it some pretty cool set pieces and photography. This combined with the cheesy dialogue, eye-gouging, bone snapping, and just general 'why has no one called the police, and how could anyone survive that?', makes a bad film atleast fun to watch.

I didn't really feel the terror in this movie that I felt in the 1st one. I remember being scrunched up on my sofa with my hand over my mouth, thinking "Girl, DON'T BREATHE, THAT BLIND DUDE WILL HEAR YOU!" HA hahahaha Didn't feel that this time, it was just a whole lotta escalating violence and I didn't know why it was even happening at first. Then I was cheering for the blind dude and the kid and Shadow this time. But it didn't seem to match the ending of the 1st movie????

It's a one and done for me. I've re-watched the 1st movie at least 4 times over the years, and will probably re-watch it again in the future. But this one, NAH!

A decent sequel to the 1st one with the protagonist being the only character coming back with a fresh story which is not directly related to the 1st one. As I expected from the trailer this one is a taut and well made thriller with the key setup being similar to the 1st film. The film is enjoyable throughout although it does goes down in some places along the story. Cinematography is very cool and gives great angles to the viewers. The story, screenplay and writing are good. Editing is crisp and the music lends solidarity to the overall setting of the film. I'm not sure this sequel was necessary because frankly both films don't connect apart from just the character of the protagonist. But I could see this as a redemption arc for the protagonist's character briefly. All in a this is a good film and you will enjoy watching this one. The 1st film was miles better though.

Several years on from the home invasion, Norman Nordstrom has her another attack to deal with.

As a stand alone film, it's actually pretty decent, as a follow up, it perhaps doesn't quite work, the whole concept of 'don't breathe,' just doesn't really apply. The first had originality, that's what's missing from this.

In fairness there are some tense, and quite exciting moments, though to be fair it lacks the true horror and gruesomeness of the first. Expect twists and turns, and all sorts of revelations, some well imagined, some a little bit of a stretch.

It's well acted, it's well produced, definitely not just cobbled together. I can appreciate what they tried to do, which was to flip the ideas from the first film on their head, challenge you into seeing enemies and friends differently, but ultimately it's a movie that never needed to be made, the first didn't need a sequel.

Fiona O'Shaughnessy stole it for me as the cruel, pretty awful mother, I wasn't expecting her to pop up in this, boy her character was twisted.

6/10.