Clearing the confusion first, this is not any ghost/spirit based scary movie as you might assume reading the word ‘Horror’ used in many ‘review quotes’ mentioned on its posters too. But confirming the word in its literal terms, DON’T BREATHE does have those immensely enjoyable elements of fear, panic and a disgusting shock too, we strongly expect from a horror film to be essentially watched in the theatre.
As per the plot, this is about a deliberate home intrusion by three young friends looking for their last heavy loot as the occupant is just an old blind man living with a dog. However the way director Fede Alvarez converts this simple one liner in approximate 90 minutes of a film full of many ‘Don’t Breathe’ moments without any ‘Speaking Conversations’ between its few characters is undoubtedly worth applauding by all means.
Being honest, the film does take time to pull you in. The first 30 minutes do have some restless moments as one expects something drastic to happen soon bringing in the horror element. As a result it actually enters into the superfine mode in the final 40-50 minutes of the narration only grabbing your complete attention.
To be specific, DON’T BREATHE plays two major tricks in its concluding section. The moment you become assured that this is all the film has got in terms of its basic plotline - a severely shocking twist converts it into a sick psycho tale changing your complete perception about the characters in just a couple of minutes (without any exception). So where at first, you are strictly on the side of the old helpless blind man being looted by the young team, post the revelation it’s the blind man who becomes the disgusting horrifying figure hurting the uninvited youngsters.
In short it’s the final hour of the film which truly turns it into a highly impressive watch forcing you to sit up straight without looking at your mobile phones. With notable performances by Jane Levy, Daniel Zovatto and Dylan Minnette (as the three burglars) and a remarkable act by Stephen Lang as the old blind man having a keen sense of smell, feel and guns too, DON’T BREATHE is well supported by an excellent camerawork and background score which keeps you glued despite roaming in the same household and mostly dark visuals right till the end.
Not getting into any kind of monotonous or boring zone, the few minuses include the old man moving around the entire house as well as the basement without any assisting prop (like a Stick) and everyone repeatedly getting up despite having some severe body injuries (falling from a height too).
Having said that, DON’T BREATHE turns out to be a perfect title of the film as it does force you to hold your breath and make no noise of any sort as the old man might hear it.
The Interesting Connections
Revolving around a sharp old blind man, shot in a single household, DON’T’ BREATHE readily reminded me of the classic WAIT UNTIL DARK (1967) wherein Audrey Hepburn also played a blind girl struggling with the three intruders in her house searching for their lost stuff.
In Hindi cinema, it made me recall an underrated gem featuring Sanjeev Kumar playing the clever blind man in QATL released in 1986 (though it had a completely different premise of an emotional revenge). An entertaining heist was later also staged by Amitabh Bachchan through a team of three blind men in his AANKHEN released in 2002.
Besides thinking about the film shot in a single home or room with just a handful of characters, I fondly remembered one of the most appreciated Hindi movies till date too featuring a whole group of exceptionally talented actors, which sadly was an unofficial remake of a famous English Classic.
Offering no prizes for guessing it right, do watch DON’T BREATHE (but) only in the theatres to get entertainingly spooked by its final 40 minutes executed superbly.
Rating : 3.5 / 5 (with the additional 0.5 for the specific scene where the old man is forced to get the taste of his own appalling sin.)
Tags :
Dont Breathe (English) Review by Bobby Sing, Dont Breathe Review by Bobby Sing, English Horror films reviews by Bobby Sing at bobbytalkscinema.com, Don't Breathe and its interesting connections, Must watch films in the theaters, Spooky films for the theatres, Dont Breathe Wait Until Dark, Sanjeev Kumar in Qatl.
