Delayed Reaction: Don't Breathe

Premise: A few young people break into the house on an old blind man, only to find out that he's pretty damn dangerous with his other four senses.

I tend to prefer simple horror. Haunted house. Serial murderer chasing young people. Satanic possession. The kind of thing that can be covered in a line of dialogue. But there is a charm to a movie that has to bend over backwards to set up the specifics. Ready or Not is a great example. You're Next is too. Movies that have such an insanely specific premise that you just have to go with it (not ask any questions) or not watch the movie. Don't Breathe is one of those movies.

The simple idea of it is "a horror movie about not being able to make any noise". To get there though, this movie has to put in a lot of work. Establish criminals who we sympathize with. Have them rob a blind man. Make the blind man an insane survivalist who can lock down his otherwise inconspicuous house. Reveal that the blind man is a bigger monster than the people robbing him. The movie is entirely disinterested in selling any of this as plausible. It's just in a hurry to get to the part about needing to be quiet. And that part is pretty fun. They find a bunch of ways to shoot in and around the house. Stephen Lang was built to play this kind of villain. I like Jane Levy in this too. She's built quite a little horror resume. There's this, The Evil Dead, and Castle Rock on Hulu. It's fun to compare that to the part of her career dedicated to shows like Suburgatory and Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist.

This movie is a pleasant little distraction, much like Lights Out or Crawl. Just turn your brain off and enjoy the filmmaker playing around with an idea.

Side Thought: So, I know there's a difference between Dylan Minnette and Logan Lerman, but I can't find it. Which one is in The Maze Runner? ...Oh, that's Dylan O'Brien. OK. I give up.

Verdict: Weakly Recommend