Don't Breathe

Rating: 7/10 (27 August 2016)

Don't Breathe, is a film that I thought within the first little while of watching it was setting itself up for what could be a really interesting horror film, but also one that had something interesting to say as well. Take for example that the film is set in the present time and takes place in Detroit, Michigan. The film shows dilapidated and run down houses and shows an economy that is far from booming and that basically the people who live there are living in shabby conditions and don't have a lot of money, or the best resources to support themselves. This is interesting by itself for the simple and honest fact that just a handful of years ago, Detroit did end up going bankrupt and the city was in dire need of an economic and financial rescue. The film could have really gone somewhere with this and made an interesting social commentary about it such as the fact that the main characters in the film basically support themselves by breaking and entering into houses and selling the goods they receive on the black market. They do this because this is the only way of life and the only way to make cash that they know of and it is their dream to eventually move out of this impoverished community and eventually head to California, where despite droughts and potential earthquakes, the economy is always booming and there are jobs in abundance, or so it seems in the film industry and movies themselves. This could have been an interesting social comment, or just a thoughtful look at how many people in the world are suffering now with little to no money and having to resort to desperate acts in order to take care of themselves. Something else that could have given food for thought, or added some much needed depth to the film was the character of the blind man. While, I am not going to say too much as to not give away any spoilers, I will say that he is a man tormented by inner demons which have all seemed to have befallen him through no fault of his own and now has made him the bitter and twisted person that he is. Things such as loss of loved ones plus the horrors and traumas of war also come into play here. As said earlier, these could have all made for the ingredients of an interesting film and one that has something to say, but unfortunately the film never really does anything with these interesting plot build ups, but instead just lets the film fall into familiar territory and become like so many horror films that we see on the mainstream market nowadays. The sad thing here is that the film is technically well made with excellent direction, cinematography, editing and the acting is better than most horror films these days allow for. I will even credit the film and say that there is certainly a fair bit of tension at least for the first little while of the film and it does have a couple of moments where it leaves the audience in actual fear, or suspense which is a job that is not easily done for horror filmmakers recently. These are all strong points of the film and for the first while the film really captured my interest from the second it started, but the unfortunate thing here again is that the film is basically a game of cat and mouse and even though the film is relatively short in it's running time, the sad thing is it becomes tiresome and I began to lose interest way before the end credits started to roll. Things in the film just kept getting more and more preposterous and hard to believe and it seems like they were just using all the old tricks in the book to keep this film going and trying to be interesting, but by that point I had long stopped caring and I was more, or less just waiting for the film to end, so I could go home again. This is a film that certainly showed potential with items and agendas that could have been really eye opening, but would also make not only a thrilling, but engaging film and yet the filmmakers seemed to have run out of steam early on and not really knew how to conclude this film, or elevate it to any higher levels of quality. While it stands it is far from the worst film of the year and it does have enough merits to it, but there have been better horror films lately and sadly this is far from one of them which makes this film more of a rental, or a television watch than to actually go and sink money into the theatre to see it.