Review of Don't Breathe (2016) by Benskylerhill — 30 May 2018

The home invasion thriller genre is one that has been beaten to death. It's difficult to not roll our eyes whenever we see yet another one come along. But Don't Breathe twists most of its genre tropes around to breathe (pun intended) a relieving amount of fresh air into this crowded group of films.

What's so refreshing about this film is the characters. I'm so used to seeing half-baked stories about a typical family being having to defend themselves against a group of underdeveloped baddies who either want to kill them or steal their stuff. But there's a great deal of depth to the characters in Don't Breathe, where everyone is a protagonist, while at the same time everyone is an antagonist. With the exception of one of the main thieves who is severely underdeveloped and actually quite annoying, every character is fleshed out in such a way that I felt at least some sort of connection to them all. They're complex, intelligent people that are worth becoming invested in, and the emotion-filled performances are mostly what bring such vibrant life to the characters that is rarely seen in horror movies today.

The plot is also surprisingly almost as intricate as the characters. It starts out with a paper-thin premise of breaking into a house to get money, but as we delve into the lives and hardships of the thieves and the blind man, the story becomes a rich exploration of morality and justice that almost makes up for the movies many flaws.

Getting to those flaws, the main plot points get more and more predictable as the story goes on, which leads to a very disappointing finale that was as cliché and expected as could be. In addition to that, the scares are quite a mixed bag. It's engaging and smart, to be sure, and there are some moments of very legitimate, well-thought-out suspense, but a great deal of the horror aspects do rely upon cheap jump scares and as a result the suspense that is built up is quickly dashed to pieces.

Don't Breathe is not as good as it could be. It's bogged down by some inescapable clichés and a clunky final act, but it's a film that revitalizes a dying genre with intelligent writing, more than competent direction style, and mostly solid performances.

Story: 6.

Acting: 8.

Script: 8.

Visuals/Sound: 8.5.

Entertainment Value: 7.5.

OVERALL SCORE: 7.