No respires

The central theme lying at the heart of 'Don't Breathe' is the sense of claustrophobia, a sense of being trapped/imprisoned. The director shows us a number of appropriate images like window bars, bars outside gates, prison like shadows being cast by Venetian blinds,etc. to drive home the theme. This theme resonates both in a literal sense with the kids being imprisoned in the house that they had planned to rob in the first place, as well as on a broader symbolic level because it is made clear that these youngsters aspire to break out of the 'prison' of life in a financially ailing Detroit and head for California.

This film at the heart of it is an exploitation film and certain details get revealed with the passage of time that in keeping with the genre of exploitation cinema, flirt with lack of realism and force you to suspend disbelief a bit. But what made it very easy for me to suspend disbelief and go along with the ride was Fede Alvarez's direction. Without his masterful directorial skills and storytelling, this film will not work, full stop. He elevates the film. The Giallo inspired visual texture that he uses with the red and green neon lights not just makes the film look vibrant, but also serves a thematic purpose. His camera is extremely active and he makes use of space in the interiors of the house skilfully. He uses extended long takes to raise the tension and his use of ambient noises and music is subtle and brilliant. The very first shot of the film itself is masterful in the way the camera moves from an overhead position gradually to a ground level one to reveal what's happening along with a gradual rise in the volume of the music.

Stephen Lang has to be admired for his performance. He brings a very raw, masculine physicality to his demeanour that truly makes him terrifying at times.

I think this is one of the best directed horror/thriller films I have seen for some time. It doesn't spend too much time in developing its characters. Both the sides in the conflict are not worth unconditional sympathy. The youngsters are low time criminals and the blind man is not someone worth sympathy either once certain details about his life and mental condition get revealed. I guess it was intentional on the director's part to stage the film with a degree of moral ambiguity where the viewer doesn't fully care for either of the two parties and in the end it works within the exploitation film framework.

To end, I'll say 'Don't Breathe' is a film that I would recommend more for the direction than for the script itself.

I was expecting this film to be cheesy and well, crap! But I was surprised. I feel it grips the audience really well.

When a group of teenagers decide to rob the house of a blind man, they get more than they bargained for when they realise this won't be like taking candy from a baby. This film was made on a relatively small budget and for that it deserves to be applauded. The central idea about the blind man and the way he uses his environment compared to the thieves is a good concept. In theory, with light they have the advantage, but without it the advantage switches. And the way this theme was developed wasn't bad. However, it's not as engaging as it could have been as I felt a certain disinterest in the outcome of the thieves. I think it's because of a lack of character development. We see Rocky and her sister living in not great conditions at the start of the movie so we know she wants the money to create a better life for her and her sister. But this section is brief. As for the boys, their back story was little to nothing. Enough time wasn't spent to let us get to know the teenagers before the action began, which meant that I didn't really care too much about what happened to them. There is also a big problem with plot holes. There were probably at least 4 or 5 times during the film where I thought "why would the characters do this? Or how the hell is that possible?" Another issue relates to a revealing scene later in the movie where the film loses its conviction in its own idea and goes more mainstream. The funny thing is, that was when the film was at its most interesting. But it was because of the shocking reveal that the viewer could finally understand something about the blind man that made him more than just what he'd been shown to be to that point. It's an extreme scene and somewhat uncomfortable to watch, but it provided some motive for what was happening up to that point.

Overall the film had potential. It's only 88 mins which means there was room to extend it a little to give us more of a back story to the main characters. That said, The cinematography, score and cast performance are all terrific.

Don't Breathe: That rare modern horror film that uses tension building and atmosphere. With an unsettiling preformance from Stephan Lang and a totaly original story while being full of hitchcocking suspence and twists to create real modern horror, Don't Breathe is that rare modern horor film that succeds Intellectually as well as viscerally. if you like horror it is a must watch!

Not being a massive fan of horror films I'm quite selective in which ones I watch . The reviews for this were pretty good so I gave it a go and I have to say I really enjoyed it. It's the story of three friends who decide to rob the home of a blind war veteran but things go terribly wrong when they find out that there is more to this man than they first thought. What I like about this is that it doesn't have any supernatural aspect to the story so it feels more real than most horrors. There are some quite disturbing scenes so it's not for the faint hearted . One especially involving a turkey baster but you will have to see the film to find out what that's all about ! All in all it's well worth a watch but not with granny at Christmas.