Don't Breathe (2016)
[Reader disclaimer: there will be some spoilers discussed. This piece may also contains material of a mature/graphic/sensitive nature].
It's safe to say that I'm not particularly fond of modern horror films: I think that's pretty clear from my opinions on social media and on this blog. So, when I was recommended Don't Breathe (2016), I was sceptical. How do I know that this won't just be another 90 minutes of unnecessary jump-scares, poorly-lit or overly saturated shots because it's "trendy" or a skimpy blonde running through the dark, screaming her silly, little head off?
I'm pleased to say it wasn't that but I can't say that there was much more to it. As my flatmate put it afterwards, "it didn't get any worse, it just never got any better".
Don't Breathe, directed by Fede Alvarez, follows three, young burglars breaking into a war veteran's house to steal his settlement money, a fortune that he acquired after the death of his daughter by the hand's of a rich, entitled woman named Cindy (whose family paid him off). He is also blind, so a seemingly easy target for burglary.
I will say that the opening shot to this film immediately grabbed me: we are introduced through a drone shot of a long, desolate road and it pans down to show a man dragging a seemingly dead (or at least badly wounded and unconscious) woman. There is no diegetic sound, only the gradual increase of suspenseful music. It's a great introduction to a film because we are already on the edge of our seats, questioning the motives of the male character, intrigued by the unconscious one.
However, when you look at Don't Breathe under a magnifying glass (and trust me, you don't have to look hard), it's a painfully simplistic film. The premise itself is pretty vanilla but when you consider all of the factors that make this film the way it is, it's also borderline lazy in places.
The first thing that instantly bothered me was that there are so many extreme close-ups of objects e.g. a shard of glass, a hammer, a remote control, which are blatant signifiers for foreshadowing. It's a director's job to direct the audience, of course, but in this writer's opinion it should be more a gentle persuasion than clumsily yanking you by the wrist and shouting "look at this thing, it will be important later!" It's almost condescending, in a way.
Perhaps this is due to the fact that I watch horror films on a regular basis, and therefore can identify signifiers earlier than most people, but I digress.
The second thing, something that always rubs me up the wrong way, is jump-scares. When done properly, they are effective: Hereditary (2018) and Gerald's Game (2017) are clear, modern examples of such. But I couldn't help but feel that, for the entire duration of this film, the scares are a little obvious and generic, slapping them in places where you'll always expect them to be. This typical method usually drags me away from the world that the film is trying to establish and ends up boring me.
I will give credit to Stephen Lang's performance as the 'Blind Man', though. His character was unnerving and every time he was in a scene, everything felt incredibly intense and he managed to build suspense by just staring at other characters with his clouded, unsettling eyes. It takes a truly dedicated actor to pull off a performance like that with very little dialogue to work with and I commend him for it.
However, Lang's performance barely makes up for the rest of the film. The misdirection, the forcibly expositional dialogue, even the plot twist (which I would honestly not even consider a twist as much as it's just a disturbing addition to an already uneventful plot) ended up falling flat for me.
The inclusion of Rocky's character (played by Jane Levy), in retrospect, also feels insanely artificial and cliche: she is the only character who is given an explicit backstory, and even then we know that's because she is marked to be the 'final girl', and therefore the only character likely to survive. Because we are not given backstories for either of the other burglars, their deaths feel inconsequential and unimportant as a result.
All in all, I feel as though Don't Breathe tiptoes along the divide of mediocrity and a decent watch. I'm left feeling frustrated, because I feel if they had pushed the boat out a little more, it could've been a genuinely awesome horror flick but it just never got there, falling short of its own potential.
If you liked this film, I'd also recommend the following:
- See No Evil (1971)
- Panic Room (2002)
- The Strangers (2008)
- You're Next (2011)
- Hush (2016)
Overall rating: 6/10
- K
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