Don't Breathe is director Fede Alvarez's follow up to 2013's Evil Dead remake, which wasn't a bad debut, especially for a remake of a much beloved property. More of a thriller than a straight forward horror flick, this pic tells the tale of a trio of young thieves looking to score big by robbing who they believe is a defenseless old blind man (Stephen Lang). However, they soon discover that he's not the easy target they initially thought he was and the blind man's going to make damn sure no one's leaving his home alive.

Naturally there are some similarities to other films here, with the most notable being the 1967 film Wait Until Dark (which basically has the same premise) and some minor similarities to Wes Craven's People Under the Stairs (a favorite of mine). Obviously the movie doesn't really offer anything an avid horror fan hasn't already seen before, but it's thanks to Fede Alvarez's great directing that it still manages to stand out among so many other home invasion thrillers like this.



The movie really wastes no time kicking into gear, as 15-minutes in and these thieves are already making their way to the guy's home. This leaves just enough room to establish that these are not likable people, so whether they make it out alive or not isn't a main concern. However, we still care about what happens, because we're right in there with these guys, leading to some seriously heavy suspense, along with some great atmosphere. Stephen Lang played a perfectly villainous and intimidating blind man who knows every inch of his home, so he's able to maneuver fine despite his condition and he's not holding back when he inevitably finds you.

It's no surprise that there's something more sinister afoot within the blind man's home, and we eventually learn the truth as to why he didn't simply call the cops. The reveal really isn't much of a surprise, but it offers some decent reasoning behind all that's going on (to an extent). Positive aside, things didn't quite end as I hoped it would and there are some plot holes and illogical character decisions here and there, but I suppose I can look passed them since they weren't huge issues for me and it's still one of the better genre films to hit theaters as of late.

Don't Breathe offers a slightly different approach towards the typical home invasion thriller and while it isn't the most original, it's still a step above what we normally get thanks to great directing, along with some heavy suspense and atmosphere. Plot holes and predictability aside, it's definitely worth a look, especially if you're into home invasion flicks.