A fresh new twist on the classic trapped-in-the-house plot

Rating: Null/10 (10 September 2016)

What's It About? In the new film, Don't Breathe, directed by Fede Alvarez (who also directed Evil Dead), three young thugs break into a house rumored to have an astounding amount of cash inside. However, as they are planning their burglary, they discover that this man is blind. Some of them are skeptical, but not enough to call off their plan. Once inside, they realize this is no ordinary house and they are dealing with no ordinary man.
Is it worth seeing? Why or why not? This thriller suspense film is unlike any before it. Usually in a scary or thrilling movie, it seems that all the anxiousness felt by the audience is brought about because they know the characters are in trouble. You want to scream at the character to run and hide and just pray they are faster and better than their predators. However, in this film, the blind man could not see the ones he was after. The only way they could escape was just to be quiet and hope he would move into the room. In the audience, nobody yelled or screamed, it was silent; everyone captivated. Alvarez did an excellent job of placing irony in a horror film. Why should anyone fear a blind man? Surely the characters with all their senses would have the upper hand.
The cinematography was another notable quality in this film. The camera weaved throughout the house, showing everything that would be of use at some point in the film, in one long take. It had a David-Fincher-like feel (for all the cinephiles out there).
Weaknesses? The one major critique of this film is that the protagonists are not nearly likable. Their motives are understood, but it is hard to feel a great deal of empathy for amateur robbers. Also, there is one child actress in this film that could have been better hand selected by going into a Chuck-E-Cheese and asking the kid at the nearest Whack-A- Mole machine if they wanted to be in a movie for 50 seconds.
In Conclusion This film is different than the average scary movie and is an incredibly unique idea for a movie. If you are in need of something to do on any upcoming Saturday night, this would not be a bad way to spend it.