Don't Breathe

This is an intense rush that has such strong tension that I would have guessed that the film was from the old continent. However, Sam Raimi has sniffed out a distinctive talent on the other side of the ocean who wields a clear vision and rarely agrees to compromise, perhaps by trimming believability in favor of plot development. Yet Lang's tragic protagonist and the atmosphere that cuts under your skin reign supreme, not to mention the few minutes in "absolute darkness." 4 ½. (17/10/2016)

At last! A horror/thriller which doesn't send a bunch of students into the woods to die. It just sends three thieves to fight a blind war veteran. The film has a very decent plot, a great suspenseful atmosphere, and a fair amount of brutality and insemination. The only thing that didn't work for me was the attempt to convince me that if you steal to give your little sister a better life you are actually in the right. For me personally, the main good guy was the blind man who was just trying to defend his property from invasion by local raiders. I enjoyed the film from start to finish. (15/11/2016)

A great genre exercise that excels at exactly what the given jewelry box needs, namely that for all the little ideas, suspenseful scenes, unexpected reversals, and overall intensity, you completely fail to perceive more than one logical barrier. Detroit is also starting to become my favorite horror destination after It Follows or Only Lovers Left Alive. Empty houses, empty streets, empty people, and the feeling that if you get lost you'll never be found again, all set against the backdrop of the hardscrabble fresh socio-economic history of the whole place. Suck it Blumhouse, this is how it's supposed to be. (26/12/2016)

Fede Alvarez really captured my attention since Panic Attack!. But at the time, I had no idea that his creative skills would take a turn towards Sam Raimi and Timur Rodrigez. I am not saying that it’s bad, I just think that he could do better. That is very visible in this movie. Even though it pretends to be a horror movie, I would describe it rather as a thriller with illogical situations similar to those in horror movies. In this case, though, I don’t really care because the movie is mostly about the idea and the atmosphere, so it is fine when the director helps himself out with some illogicality. For example, I have to say that two of the three thieves in this movie have nine lives like a cat, because what they survive would be impossible even for Chuck Norrisʼs third cousin. But well... yeah, at least there is something to watch. (31/12/2016)

I'm a little perplexed by Fede Alvarez's praised new release this year. Don't Breathe won both me and most fans over with its stylish trailer, but the film, although good, failed to captivate me much. I took the top-notch visuals and brisk pace for granted here, so I don't take these as plus points, translating more into minor downsides that distracted me while watching. Stephen Lang looks tough and commands respect, but he hardly speaks for the whole film, which bothered me, they could have given teasing dialogues threatening the thieves. Also, the guy who handled the sound would have deserved a slap, which at least for me took away the jump scares (for example, the scene with the dog, we see it three seconds before it barks, which lost the effect in me). The film is hardly brutal at all, compared to Evil Dead it keeps very low key, which also irritated me. None of the deaths are effective or interesting, and in fact there was a memorable scene missing that made me want to watch it again. The one twist that flickers throughout also doesn't hold much interest. All in all, an entertaining and at times suspenseful home invasion flick that masks its ordinariness with an original villain, but Evil Dead was a tribute much closer to my heart. Story 6/10, Atmosphere 8/10, Gore 2/10, Visuals 8/10, Action 6/10, Suspense 7/10, Humor 0/10. Entertainment 8/10, Scares 1/10. 70%. (19/10/2016)