Review of Don't Breathe (2016) by Jamie J — 15 Feb 2017
This obsession with 'twists' in horror films has to stop. Seriously. It's 2017 ferchrissake. In a film which (rightly) makes its main cast as thoroughly unlikeable as Don't Breathe I absolutely hate the thought that somehow, right at the end the rug has to be pulled out from under your feet.
Can't we have a film where the bad guy is justified in giving some spoilt kids a well deserved beat down? But then would that be a twist in itself? Imagine if Hard Candy had ended with Patrick Wilson being innocent. Now that would have been a twist.
Why am I writing this? When there is no twist whatsoever in Don't Breathe? Because some trumpet decided to write on the cover "best twist in years.".
Learn what a twist is mate. And then realise how unnecessary they are when it comes to making a tight and tense thriller. Steven Lang acts the spoilt brats off the screen to the point where you honestly want them to get stabbed. So it's a shame his character has to be made to look even worse than they do to make the audience swing back to their side. But hey ho. That doesn't stop Don't Breathe being one of the best and most innovative horror films since Green Room, or It Follows, or The Witch. Oh wait.
This review of Don't Breathe (2016) was written by Jamie J on 15 Feb 2017.
Don't Breathe has generally received positive reviews.
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