Intense Thriller with Great Performances

Rating: Null/10 (14 February 2017)

Don't Breathe (2016)
*** (out of 4)
Extremely well-made and intense thriller about three small-time criminals (Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, Daniel Zovatto) who make their money by breaking into homes. They decide to focus in on the home of an Iraqi vet who is blind because of a large settlement he received and they believe the cash is inside the house. It doesn't take long for them to realize they've made a major mistake.
Fede Alvarez directed and co-wrote this film, which is without question one of the best thrillers that I've seen from recent years. Everything about this movie is pretty darn good, although I will admit that once it was over I was able to pick apart several logical issues. With that said, while the movie is going on there's no question that it keeps you on the edge of your seat and also manages to make you not look away from everything that is happening.
I'm not going to go into many details because there are some twists and turns that shouldn't be ruined for anyone. I must admit that I thought the story worked perfectly well and I also thought that the director did a great job with the visual style of the picture and the fact that once he gets your pulse rate up he never lets go. The most impressive thing about the film is the fact that you're basically stuck inside the home and yet the director is able to get tension from every room in the house as well as every twist in the story.
Levy is wonderful in the lead role as the criminal who is trying to get one last score so that she can protect and move her sister out of a bad household. I also thought Minnette and Zovatto were effective in their roles playing two totally opposite characters. Then there's Stephen Lang who is downright magnificent as the old blind man. He's certainly a very threatening character and Lang plays him to perfection. Again, I'm not going to spoil anything but lets just say Lang plays everything wonderfully well.
I did have some issues with the picture including the fact that only in today's day and age could there be a story about three worthless criminals who break in on a war vet and they are the good guys. I must admit that I had a hard time cheering for these three lazy kids who went for crime instead of a real job. Some moral conflicts aside, DON'T BREATHE was a highly entertaining and very effective thriller.