Watch with bated breath.

Rating: 8/10 (8 October 2018)

While the 'Don't Breathe (2016)' focuses far more on suspense than gore, it also features a fair amount of visceral violence that feels incredibly impactful thanks mainly to its lasting consequences. This isn't surprising considering it comes from Fede Alvarez, the man behind several blood-splattered movies such as 'Evil Dead (2013)'. It's this brutality that makes its villain a fairly frightening, incredibly ruthless foe despite the fact that he's completely blind, something that he uses to his advantage on a number of occasions - especially during a few fantastic 'night-vision' sequences. The story actually owes somewhat of a debt to 'Wait Until Dark (1967)', a fantastically suspenseful feature in which Audrey Hepburn plays a blind woman terrorised by home-invaders, but the focal roles are here reversed. It certainly isn't predictable and it manages to open up its small situation in an interesting and unexpected way, bridging the gap between a more traditional crime-thriller and a straight-up horror in its second half. It also has the distinct difficulty of featuring generally 'unlikable' protagonists, which makes it all the more impressive that we come to care for (most of) them pretty quickly. The exciting and tense action sequences are expertly set-up to be as clear and propulsive as possible, which are what really drive this short but 'sweet' experience. 8/10