The Suspense Is High

Rating: 9/10 (28 August 2016)

Wow. Ever since I first heard of the concept for Don't Breathe, I immediately knew it had potential. I am personally not familiar with most of the cast for this film. The director, Fede Alvarez, had apparently worked on the Evil Dead remake which was released a few years ago. I had not seen this film or any other projects that this director has worked on. Additionally, I was not familiarized with most of the cast.
Point being, I did not have much background on this film, except for perhaps the concept, and I was pleasantly surprised. The movie grips you from, literally, the very first scene, and keeps you in suspense until the very end. One thing I found interesting was how the film had various objects and symbols which were briefly shown near the beginning, and had a large impact in the movie later on. If you watch this movie, pay attention to the dog and hammer, for example.
The acting as well, was top notch. I was a bit skeptical, seeing that most of the actors did not have an extensive background in the industry (except for maybe the blind man). However, these actors played their parts perfectly, only adding to the already extremely suspenseful atmosphere of the movie. In fact, I'm not sure whether to call this film a horror or a thriller. In fact, I think it takes the best of both worlds, as the camera angles and tone make it feel like a horror, yet the plot and characters make it feel like a thriller.
The movie did have some notable goofs here and there. Since the atmosphere is so suspenseful, I seriously doubt that it will make a difference. But, they are there. Additionally, what bothered me the most about this movie was I felt that at one point, the movie became too violent and disturbing, in a way. You will definitely understand what part I am referring to when you come across it. In fact, I don't think this specific part was too physically violent or disturbing, I just believe that this violence, lets call it, was misplaced. This killed the suspenseful atmosphere of the film.
Apart from this, the movie was excellent. Definitely worth a watch, one of the best of 2016.
9/10