Review of Don't Breathe (2016) by Alex R — 01 Oct 2016

Don't Breath ended up being much more like Don't Watch. But, let's begin with some of the promising aspects of this film. First, some intriguing cinematography techniques were used from the beginning.

Compelling ariel views provide some great visuals for the senses and a feeling for the seedy area in which this creepy thriller takes place. I also thought that some of the mobile camera movement through the house to be rather gripping, even though reminiscent of a video game.

Another positive this film would've had going for it was the basic premise/storyline. Which you'd think would be a lot, and it would've been, but it gets buried under heaps of excessive visual muck.

Great thrillers don't have to rely on gratuitous viloence and sadistic sexual situations to attempt to thrill or frighten you. In fact, this film didn't thrill or scare me. A great, or even good, director could've used the positive aspects previously mentioned and thrilled the sh*t out of me with well chosen scenes, leaving out the needless viciousness and infusing more clever nuances.

A somewhat recent film such as Shutter Island uses dark nuisances and fantastic storytelling to twist and turn you into corners that haunt and thrill sans the in-your-face assaults of gross depravity.

The depravity of the human condition is depicted clear enough without pummeling you in the face unnecessarily. Which, by the way, for me, when overdone as in Don't Breath, renders the thrill efforts null and void.

Of course, with Shutter we have Scorsese at the controls and a great screenplay. But, again, there was a solid bases to this story, unfortunately also another director today that doesn't know that often less is more.

I will say that the line from the main antagonist, "if you believe there is no God, then you can do anything", is a worthy precept digest. Though, I don't think it's necessary to depict in gross detail how far men can go down into evil to make that point clear.

It surely didn't make for a better movie, or a better thriller for me.