“Don’t Breathe” is a thriller /horror film that has three thieves in Detroit plotting their biggest heist of an old blind man’s fortune. Rocky (Jane Levy) the female thief is the most desperate for this score, she has dreams of escaping the reality of her life and going far away to California with her younger sister. Her boyfriend Money (Daniel Zovatto) is simply in it for the cash. Alex (Dylan Minette) is doing all of this thievery for the love of Rocky.
This isn’t their first heist but it may be their last.
This old blind man played by Stephen Lang, had some tricks up his sleeve that I was not prepared for and neither were Rocky, Money and Alex.
This thriller felt slightly predictable with the basic plot but as the film went on it drew me in. Throughout the movie, scenes jumped quickly starting with the dog barking at the window of the thieves car to seeing their target for the first time whom underestimated the old blind man.
One of the biggest plot changing scenes was the dark and twisted secret that the old blind man was hiding in his basement. It took this movie from breath catching thriller to creepy psycho-infused thriller.
The movie picked up and got more intense after they found out what was in the basement. Classic chase scenes in this not-so-classic thriller continued on with the addition of a new character. Her purpose in the movie propelled the old man’s motives further than what was originally in store for the intruders.
It was towards the end of “Don’t Breathe” where everything seemed to come to a simple end. This was the most suspenseful and eye opening part of the movie, happening in the basement. This part had me grabbing the person next to me burying my face and peeking only one eye out to see what happened next.
This movie was filled with many moments of being on my toes, catching my breath and squeezing my eyes shut. Fede Alvarez knew what he was doing when he directed this movie. There was the perfect mix of violence and intensity with eerie silence that complimented the plot. Everything was aligned perfectly, it had everyone in the audience thinking, don’t breathe.
