Three Blind Mice

Rating: 8/10 (6 September 2016)

(RATING: ☆☆☆☆ out of 5 ) THIS FILM IS RECOMMENDED. IN BRIEF: A nifty little thriller that relies on suspense rather than gore. GRADE: B SYNOPSIS: Three thugs decide to rob a home with unexpected results. JIM'S REVIEW: Let me begin my review by sharing one of my favorite movie-going experiences. As a child, we were visiting all the tourist sights of New York City. That afternoon, we were hustled to our seats at the cavernous Art Deco beauty known as Radio City Music Hall to see the Rockettes and their musical extravaganza, to be followed by a movie called Wait Until Dark. The thriller, about a group of robbers terrorizing a blind Audrey Hepburn was riveting to me. And during a climactic battle of wits between the defenseless victim and her stalker, the entire community of moviegoers gave out a loud primal scream, levitated from their seats, and then laughed at their own reactions. Like a well choreographed flash mob scene before its time, but totally unplanned. Wonderful, I thought, this is what movies can do! Which brings me to the film, Don't Breathe, which follows almost the exact same formula and plot. Not to the same desired effect, but still impressive by today's standards. The cat vs. mouse set-up is part of a time-worn tradition in a game-turning series of events. Strategically staged and with a hell-bent slyness, the film has more bumps in the night than most usual horror thrillers. This is due to the skills of its director, Fede Alvarez. With this being only his second film that he directed (the first being an awful remake of Evil Dead), Mr. Alvarez is a talent to watch. Vastly superior to his first venture where he seemed more obsessed with the grisly blood factor, this film is not as graphically violent as that first film (which detracted from the suspense). With this film, he is more restrained and in control as a director. The shock factor is still there, but handled with more finesse (except for a short detour into sexual abuse that is crass and disturbing). The premise is simple, more an outline than a story: Three thugs decide to rob a home with unexpected results. The trio includes Alex (Dylan Minette), a sensitive love-sick delinquent, Rocky (a fine Jane Levy), a desperate and savvy partner wanting to escape from her abusive and poverty-ridden lifestyle, and Money (Daniel Zovatto), a psychopath. Their victim is supposed to be the owner of the house, a blind ex-soldier who is nameless in the film. Effectively played by Stephen Lang, the stage is ready for twists and turns...perhaps too many, as it wears out its welcome with an overindulgence of multiple endings and strained confrontations that become contrived and threaten to impact on the film's credibility as the predators instantly become prey. Still Don't Breathe generates maximum tension with a minimum of modern-day gore, just enough which should suffice its Generation Z audience. The script, by the director and his writing partner, Rodo Sayagues, is formulaic and predictable, but it successfully maintains suspense and provides the thrills. Going in to this genre of movies you get what you expect, but there is some wit and cleverness in the film's visuals, particularly in a "lights-out segment" that is downright creepy and excitingly filmed by Pedro Luque . With the spooky sleeper hit, Don't Breathe, the tension builds in a logical and slightly claustrophobic way, as Mr. Alvarez and his cast notches up the suspense ratio in a nifty little thriller that delivers more goosebumps headed in your direction. So sit back and try to relax.