With the intention of striking a massive fortune, a group of young thieves break into a helpless blind man’s house to rob him, but things take a sudden turn and the unexpected becomes reality. This is the premise of “Don’t Breathe,” which was released in theaters on Aug. 28, 2016.
The movie is set in modern Michigan and follows three teenage criminals as they attempt to steal from a helpless, aged, visually impaired man (Stephen Lang), whose house is in an abandoned neighborhood. Unfortunately for the teens, the man is not as helpless as they think. As a retired Iraq war veteran, the blind man retains defensive skills from the battlefield. Making matters worse, he turns out to be a psychopath with psychological scars that cut deeper than post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The characters’ backgrounds offer some explanation as to why they want to commit such a ruthless crime. Rocky (Jane Levy) has a dream of moving out of Detroit to escape her dysfunctional mother and home life. Money (Daniel Zovatto), Rocky’s boyfriend, is involved in other criminal activity. Alex (Dylan Minnette) is their friend and is reluctant about stealing from the retired war veteran but changes his mind.
A well-known short filmmaker, Frede Alvarez directs this new suspenseful and sometimes unintentionally humorous thriller. Co-written by Rodo Sayagues, “Don’t Breathe” is not an average home-invasion thriller. Alvarez adds unpredictable twists and turns throughout the film to revamp it from every other home invasion nail-biter.
Little do the burglars know, their target is not crippled or disabled as they assumed. He knows every crack and crevice in his home. Although he may not be able to see the invaders, he can sense and track them down solely by the sound of their footsteps and breathing.
When the old man is introduced, the audience may feel some sympathy for him, as it is revealed that his daughter was killed in a car crash; however, that sympathy does not last long when the trio of teens discover something in his basement that the audience will never see coming.
This movie is definitely worth the price of a ticket. As of Sep. 15, 2016, “Don’t Breathe” has showing times at the Regal and AMC theaters in Owings Mills, Hunt Valley and Security Square.
