A ton of potential, but failed in execution.

Rating: 6/10 (6 September 2016)

****This review tries to avoid specific spoilers, but does contain generic spoilers about how the plot goes****
The previews for "Don't Breathe" made it look like the viewer was going to be taken along for a wild ride in a psychological thriller. There was certainly a ton of potential for a thrill ride, but in the end, the execution, delivery, and some choices made in creating the movie fail.
Instead of the thriller I expected, I got a drama with no clear protagonist to root for. In my eyes, all of the characters have flaws that make it very easy to root against them. The original antagonists are simply trying to better their situation, even if the means they choose aren't accepted by societal norms. The original protagonist is quickly revealed to have issues that make him unlikable at first, and hate-able by the end. Even the dog in the movie, in doing what dogs do, is hard to cheer for the way it is portrayed.
The movie itself was decent, and does have a few "make you jump" moments, even if they were semi-predictable. But the movie is just as likely to make you say - in polite terms - "What did I just see?" instead of jump. While not a gore-fest, the movie does rely on gore for the scares and jumps as opposed to mentally scaring the viewer.
One other issue with the movie is there clear-cut ending in terms of how to feel. This movie left me with more confusion than anything - perhaps because there isn't a clear protagonist/antagonist relationship between the characters. Without the delineation between good and bad, there is no ending that truly works.
When the above are added to a few obvious continuity issues within the flow of the movie, the movie, as a whole, simply falls short of its potential.