Sweet Manipulation

Rating: 7/10 (16 April 2017)

There is a special arrangement exclusive to the horror/thriller genre that audiences subconsciously agree to, we want to be manipulated. If manipulation is detected in any other style, it is met with incredulity and a sneer. The makers of "Don't Breathe" are shameless in their understanding of this paradigm. I surprised myself in how much I was willing to overlook the lazy writing of the first 20 minutes, and the gaping plot holes of the last 60, just to feel that enthralling sensation only a good thriller can provide. If you are such a stickler to continuity and details that "Don't Breathe" has no effect on you, it might make you a more astute viewer, but also a more pitiable one.
In simple terms this is an imperfect, but highly effective movie that sidesteps story structure to deliver one hellova setting. Once in that setting, we are given ample time to marinade in it, and believe it. 3 twenty somethings; Rocky, Alex, and Money (guess which one is the white guy with corn rows) start to grow more confident and desperate in their small burglary enterprise. Rocky is the stealthy blonde with doe eyes and small build, perfect for squeezing through tight entrances (or hiding places.) Alex is the brains and voice of reason; which doesn't amount to much as his breed of character never has enough confidence to be heard. And Money is the reckless muscle with an attitude who functions only to provide leads, break locks, and roll his eyes at good advice. When their most promising lead has a possible six-figure payday, aspirations of getting out of the gutters of Detroit bring them to a rundown suburban home with a plan that borders on incompetence. The reason for their frivolity, the target is blind. Stephen Lang is billed only as The Blind Man, a war veteran sitting on a possible fortune, hidden somewhere in a three-story pile of squeaky floorboards and crawlspaces.
This house has a familiar feel, like that of "The People Under the Stairs" and "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," where daylight does nothing to brighten it. Knowing the present state of Detroit, it's unsettling to know this house is far from one-of-a-kind. Once our young prowlers enter, we get our first clear glimpse of the blind man. He whimpers almost pathetically with a sotto voce "Who's There?" His eyes don't look blind-stricken, more like something exploded from inside the eyeball. With battle scars spreading like cracked glass from the socket. After he appears in a doorway, you will find it hard to believe him as a victim. Stephen Lang is 64 with a body MMA fighters train tirelessly for. He wears a wife- beater for the duration, intimidating arms half-cocked at his sides. It becomes clear why he's not billed as the blind "old" man. With his loyal Rottweiler and dilapidated abode, the blind man draws on a nearly universal fear of the house around the corner you don't dare sell cookies to.
As you might expect from the trailers, power roles reverse and you ping-pong between antagonists and protagonists. If the twists and turns were set only on this basis, it would still be a compelling thriller, but "Don't Breathe" has much more up its sleeve. There are a few moments where things stretch a bit too far for shock value, but it is praiseworthy how infrequently "Don't Breathe" relies on them. This is a technical achievement with beautifully choreographed long-takes and staging that you can't call natural, but certainly can't call ineffective. At 90 minutes and a $9 million budget, it's a welcome break from the 9 figure marathons Marvel produces every 9 months. And as a side note, you will undoubtedly have a few plot holes start nagging at your brain on the ride home. If you think they're enough to ruin the movie, just imagine telling them to Stephen Lang in a dark room.