Review #174: Don't Breathe (2016)

This review was originally written in 2022.

Gabe's 100 Bucket List Horror Films Review #29: Don't Breathe (2016)

This movie (along with It Follows two years prior, which I'll be reviewing soon) came from a period when Detroit was offering incentives for filmmakers to make movies there. As a native Detroiter, I'd be lying if I said that the setting wasn't one of the reasons I have a soft spot for this film- but believe me when I say, no matter where you're from, Don't Breathe is a fantastic thrillride from beginning to end!

The basic plot is simple: a group of ne'er-do-wells decide to break into a blind man's house to steal some money, but they get more than they bargained for. This movie pulls the rug out from under you with a twist though: not only is the man fully capable of defending himself, but he's got his own secrets far darker than anyone expected. The pacing in this movie is incredible- it's a roller coaster from beginning to end, constantly giving you the highest of hopes, and then dropping you down into the depths. Only for you to scratch and claw your way to the top again, just so the filmmakers can cut your legs out from under you. It may not be the most original idea in the world to have the protagonists be baddies until their victim turns out to be way worse, but this movie does it in a way that I guarantee you won't see coming. (I swear, that pun was not intended.)

I don't really have as much to say about this movie as I usually do (I'm not going to complain about it, it's a solid film and it did a ton of things really well), I'll just suggest that everyone go and watch Don't Breathe!

(I guess I can take a moment and ask, why'd they call it that? I guess it implies staying quiet, but there's no point in the movie that I recall someone needing to hold their breath so as not to get the guy's attention. The working title of the film was "A Man in the Dark", which I like a lot better.)

Overall Rating: 9/10 Locked Basement Doors

Fun Credits: Athos, Astor, and Nomad are all credited on IMDB as "Dog". What good boys!

(Also, a heads-up: The dog does not die in this film. It gets hit a couple times in self-defense, but doesn't die, and as a dog owner it looked far cuter and less vicious than maybe was intended.)