Don't Breathe : La Maison des ténèbres

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.

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.

Three crooks. The usual cliche driven plot. These are nice crooks. They have a golden heart, well two of them do.

How they don't get busted after the initial robbery is beyond me. No masks. Fingerprints and DNA everywhere.

Expositions like they're going out of fashion.

Next on the list, the blind man's house.

Why would someone who has received a big settlement keep the cash in his house? Why would anyone assume he's got cash in the house? Why do compensation payouts/settlements always get covered in the news for everyone to see. More exposition.

Moronic crooks get a face off with a blind veteran who's hearing is ridiculously poor. I mean there's windows smashing, people crouching next to him and all sorts of sounds that are being failed to be picked up.

It's a daft film. Watch the first 20 mins. Fast forward to the last 15 minutes. It's dumb.

Three burglars find out about a blind army vet, living in an abandoned street, sitting on a huge amount of cash. The three burglars break their rule of not stealing cash and decide to rob the place, thinking it would be a piece of cake. And of course it isn't. The blind army vet isn't as helpless as they had hoped for.

Don't Breathe is directed by Fede Alvarez, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Rodo Sayagues. They obviously felt inspired by David Fincher's Panic Room (2002), and did come up with a great, suspenseful movie. The three burglars are played by Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette and Daniel Zovatto, who all do a great job. Stephen Lang however outshines everyone in this movie as the old blind man. He doesn't say a lot but his gestures and mimics were enough to be uncomfortably creepy. Even though he played a blind guy, he still made his character seem anything but helpless, on the contrary, his character was more menacing than any ghost, monster or murderer from your average horror movie. On the other hand however, you feel sorry for the blind man. He's simply a man trying to protect his house from burglars. Or is there more behind this man? The movie does a good job making you wonder about whether the blind man has something to hide or not. The movie does a poorer job however with Daniel Zovatto's character, he's the typical character every horror movie has: the asshole that talks too much and doesn't care about anything or anyone.

Besides one or two cheap jump scares, the movie succeeded at maintaining a lingering suspense throughout the entire movie. Once the three burglars are inside the house, there won't be a moment that you'll feel at ease. This is an edge-of-your-seat kind of movie. The movie opens with a scene that obviously takes place later in the movie, which alerts you that until that scene, the burglars will never be safe, and heightens the suspense even more.

As the movie progresses, the twists and turns in the story start to accumulate. Twists and turns in a story are great but not if there are too many, and not if these twist and turns are the ones you might expect from a horror movie. Throughout its course, the movie becomes more and more predictable. And this is where the suspense, although still being present, lessens.

'Don't Breathe' is a great horror movie, accessible for people who don't usually enjoy the genre. It has a great premise and is very suspenseful but becomes a bit too predictable over time.

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!