Blown Away

Rating: 9/10 (5 September 2016)

Filled with originality, timely jump scares, jaw-dropping twists, and terrific performances. Don't Breathe is meticulously well-paced and directed, as Fede Alvarez gives us the best horror flick of 2016.
I'm not a horror guy nor will I probably ever be. The genre never seems to stay good enough to grip me from film to film. But films like Don't Breathe do their best to turn my feelings around. Take for example the 'jump scare', something horror films tend to do provide a few too many of, is perfectly used in this film. I never felt that Alvarez was manipulating his audience into feeling scared in situations they didn't need to be. That's essentially what those 'jump scares' do, they make audiences scared because the story itself can't. It's lazy filmmaking. But when we do jump out of our seats in Don't Breathe, it feels earned.
The premise consists of a few low-life young adults who make their living on robbing houses and find themselves trapped inside the house of one of their 'supposedly helpless' victims. Their target was that of a blind man and Army veteran, played by Stephen Lang, living in a mostly abandoned Detroit neighborhood. I haven't seen a ton of horror, but this just seems like the perfect idea for a horror film. Plus, anything with Stephen Lang as the antagonist is worth watching. Not only can he pull off the physically intimidating side, but he also able to make it believable that he was blind.
And really, without much dialogue at all, all of the actors deserve a ton of credit. Jane Levy, who I never heard of, was a revelation. Both with what her character goes through physically and the emotional levels she was able to reach, I was greatly impressed. Even Dylan Minnette, who I wasn't a fan of in Goosebumps, did a fine job as a nice complement to Levy.
The actors were of course helped by Alvarez' unique vision and style of filmmaking showcased here. Minimal and timely use of lighting were a solid choice to set the mood, while long takes and close ups were also well oriented. I also have to give a shout-out to the sound department and the composer, Roque Banos. Sound is usually half of what makes a horror film, and Don't breathe doesn't disappoint in that area. Banos hits the right notes in all of the moments and the use of 'breathing' as a sound effect was extremely effective.
Without going into too much detail, I don't know how much more I can praise this film. It's truly a masterful directing job by Fede Alvarez with a star-making performance from Jane Levy and the great Stephen Lang.
94/100