Sunday, September 4, 2016

Don't Breathe

Rocky (Jane Levy) is living with her mother and young daughter in a trailer in Detroit.  She makes a living through burglary with Alex and Money.  Rocky wants to leave the life and get out of Detroit.  She, her daughter, and Money plan to go to California as soon as they amass the funds.  Their fence reveals a potential target, a blind man (Stephen Lang) who was awarded a six figure settlement when his daughter was killed in a car accident.  Rumor is that he has the money in cash in the house, which is located in an abandoned part of the city.  It is just the score they need.
 
Though the movie has a couple of jump scares, it is not generally scary.  I would put it firmly in the thriller genre, not horror.  Stephen Lang does prove to be extremely formidable despite being blind. The very act of Rocky, Alex, and Money breaking into his house makes them bad guys who richly earn any fate that befalls them.  This undermines a lot of the suspense since it is hard to have much sympathy for burglars who chose to rob a blind man.  That he isn't a good guy does not mitigate that fact.  Indeed, he is a very bad guy although I question how he managed to achieve his basement arrangement.  Also, it was a bit too convenient that every cell phone either had its battery die or was destroyed early on.  Cell phones are a growing problem for horror films.  In this day and age, it is all too easy to ask, "Why didn't he just call 911?"  Of course, that is probably why our 'heroes' are criminals, to prevent them from pressing the easy button.
 
It isn't bad but there is no rush to see this on the big screen.  Based on the budget and the box office receipts so far, this is a big hit and could result in a franchise, or at least a sequel.

No comments: