Is it possible to love yet be thoroughly angered by a film?

Rating: 7/10 (11 September 2016)

There are people saying that 'Don't Breath' is the best horror in years, and honestly it almost was. However one thing knocked the film down. From all the tension, and smart camera-work, and brilliant directing, one thing angered me so much that I almost walked out of the film three times towards the end of the film.
I did not care for Rocky aka the main protagonist of this story. Now it doesn't matter if your a horror, drama or action film, we need to care about our main character. There are three burglars, and the only likable one, is someone you know from the opening shot, is not going to be alive at the end. I won't spoil how, but from the beginning you know only Rocky will be left at the end.
Granted they give her a valid motivation, but I need more than a text message, and a two minute rushed scene with her daughter, to make me care and accept everything she does. The actress Jane Levy who plays her does a great job, but the way the character and story is written just ruined any care I had by the end of the film. This character goes full 80's Hollywood horror logic, and the selfish attitude, made me root for Stephen Lang's psychotic blind man character by the end, and there's a twist about that character that makes me feel sick knowing I wanted him to win even after the fact. Like Jesus Christ why can't horror characters ever at least knock out a human antagonist in this film. The character was selfish, stupid and not very fleshed out.
That aside. This was a fantastic horror movie. No false scares. Stephen Lang was intimidating as hell. The pacing was nice. The twists were disturbing. There was well built up tension.
That scene that in the trailer when everything's shot in night vision, is one of the most tense things I have ever seen, and was genuinely frightening. Alex played by Dylan Minnette, is the real likable character in this story, he fights, he isn't selfish, he steps up to the plate and is played brilliantly by Dylan. If he was the main character, I would have been on board until the end.
The sound design and cinematography were exactly what we need from a horror. It takes the show whats supposed to be scaring us approach and it works. Instead of a loud sound effect of bit of music making the audience jump every time the blind man suddenly appears, they let the lack of noise, or simply the sound of the door being slammed open when he enters do all the scaring. We see the blind man show up, and we as an audience freeze as soon as the characters do. This is the best sound design in a horror since 'The Babadook' that's how good the sound design is. All these long shots establishing the space and where everything is in the house, should be commended. Its great story telling, Hollywood has finally learned how to make a good horror movie.
This film could easily be a 4.5/5 had it not been for the unlike-able, generically stupid clique lead. Last few years we have seen 'The Conjuring 1 and 2', 'The Babadook' and 'Light's out' all being competent good horror movies, and none angered me because I cared about the characters.Thats why the character of Rocky, while played brilliantly, was just written so a bad that the anger it produced and the lack of care I had for the final 20 minutes, knocks this film down to just above the average just a movie rating
3.5/5 Stars