and ups the ante with each passing moment. Once the characters enter the house, the film always has you in a vice grip and never lets go. It makes you feel what the characters are feeling; their dread, their helplessness; and that is a testament to how great a director, Fede is.Let's move on to the actors. So the main cast consists of Stephen Lang, Jane Levy and Dylan Minnette, and each of them nailed their role. Stephen Lang, sir, hats off to you. The man looks like a bad ass without even trying. That's just what Mr. Lang is, a bad ass. But his performance in this film was much more nuanced. You could see that he was a much more complex character. He showed vulnerability, sadness, anger, depression and hopelessness, all through facial expressions, as his role did not require extensive dialogue. He was the star of the film. But equally so was Jane Levy. Now if you're a huge fan of her, like me, you've probably seen Evil Dead and all three seasons of Suburgatory, and you already know that she's a very diverse actress. But in this film, she took her performance to another level. The dread in her eyes, the anguish, as well as the determination to do what she had to do in the film, all were portrayed so well through physical acting and body language, and the same could be said for Dylan Minette's performance. A+'s all around. Overall, I can confidently say, this is the best film I've experienced in the cinema, this year. Give this film all the money you can. These people deserve it. Thank you to everyone involved, for this experience.

man's house for the money and then come to know about his blindness. Expecting no fight, the three enter his house and from then on, starts the horrible night events. The blind man knows how to live his lonely life despite daughter's accident and knows how to have a happy future. The blind man believes in life for life. Terrific movie. Extremely well directed. Terrific acting by Stephen Lang and Jane Levy. I am not a dog lover and the dog in the movie did a good , ferocious, vicious animal role part very well. excellent cinematography. Good Editing. Overall , a very good scary movie. Do not underestimate a war vet. I enjoyed every scene in the movie. Highly recommended.

terrifying, as the blind old man fights back, quite viciously, even more ferociously than his guard dog. Every character, even the aforementioned dog, has moments of sympathy and compassion, as well as moments of contempt and disdain. We alternately feel empathy and scorn, as the lines between hero and villain, antihero and anti-villain become progressively blurred. Not an easy feat to achieve. Several times, we, the audience, and the characters themselves, hope to have found a way out, a potential escape, only to find we are now in an even worse situation than the previous scene.Interesting, exceptional cinematography, with some long, wide angle shot, and some interesting uses of focus, the film never sinks to using shaky cam, or high contrast/ colour saturation.The film does begin to go off the rails in the final scenes, and ultimately goes on one scene too long film should have ended as Rocky is running from the house, and the police are finally arriving but this is still a first class, top tier horror/ thriller, and it, along with this year's earlier Green Room, gives me renewed hope for the horror genre. I am genuinely thrilled by new horror films using an actual, physical villain, rather than more ghost stories and demonic possessions, which I am thoroughly, incredibly bored with.This is the 48th new release film I've seen in a cinema in 2016, and it is the first 10/ 10 I've given thus far in 2016.

little as possible.This is Alvarez's first film in three years since his violent and solid remake of Evil Dead, and it is with this sophomoric debut that solidifies the genre filmmaker as someone with obvious talent. Inspirations are drawn from the best - Hitchcock, Fincher, and Wait Until Dark are a few - but Alvarez provides his own unique vision that truly makes the film his own. Like the masters before him, Don't Breathe is purely cinematic, relying less on dialogue and more on visual storytelling and sound to drive the film. The cinematography is amazing as well as the creative sound design, so much so they are characters within the film themselves.The cast, while small, is great too, including Jane Levy, who can pretty much be titled this generation's scream queen after this and Evil Dead. Dylan Minnette is good in his role as well, providing enough sympathy for his character. Both young actors are put through hell, and their physical performances sell their tumultuous ordeal convincingly. However, it is Stephen Lang who is the film's shining beacon. As the antagonist, Lang is instantly memorable and frightening, an intimidating force that permeates throughout the film even in scenes without his presence.If there's one gripe about the film, there's a plot twist that doesn't quite work, but that itself is a minor complaint compared to the many things the film gets right and does so well. I won't say more. Don't Breathe is a technical achievement, the rare studio film that actually pushes what film can do as a medium. However, like with Green Room, try not to get caught up in the hype, even with my glowing review. Set your expectations appropriately, and remember to avoid watching the trailer.

movie theater. There are some scenes that you don't want the kids to watch.

financially ailing Detroit and head for California. This film at the heart of it is an exploitation film and certain details get revealed with the passage of time that in keeping with the genre of exploitation cinema, flirt with lack of realism and force you to suspend disbelief a bit. But what made it very easy for me to suspend disbelief and go along with the ride was Fede Alvarez's direction. Without his masterful directorial skills and storytelling, this film will not work, full stop. He elevates the film. The Giallo inspired visual texture that he uses with the red and green neon lights not just makes the film look vibrant, but also serves a thematic purpose. His camera is extremely active and he makes use of space in the interiors of the house skilfully. He uses extended long takes to raise the tension and his use of ambient noises and music is subtle and brilliant. The very first shot of the film itself is masterful in the way the camera moves from an overhead position gradually to a ground level one to reveal what's happening along with a gradual rise in the volume of the music. Stephen Lang has to be admired for his performance. He brings a very raw, masculine physicality to his demeanour that truly makes him terrifying at times.I think this is one of the best directed horror/thriller films I have seen for some time. It doesn't spend too much time in developing its characters. Both the sides in the conflict are not worth unconditional sympathy. The youngsters are low time criminals and the blind man is not someone worth sympathy either once certain details about his life and mental condition get revealed. I guess it was intentional on the director's part to stage the film with a degree of moral ambiguity where the viewer doesn't fully care for either of the two parties and in the end it works within the exploitation film framework. To end, I'll say 'Don't Breathe' is a film that I would recommend more for the direction than for the script itself.

to reunite himself with the star of "Evil Dead," Jane Levy, an actress who is fearless at any given situation, and he was even wiser to cast Stephen Lang, an astounding actor for decades, who brilliantly portrays quite a challenging role here. Alvarez and his team give a remarkable visual representation of the story just by the exquisite sense of geography throughout the film, keeping in mind almost the whole film is a one- setting implementation thriller. Here is a short insight of the film and what you're going to expect. The story starts off with the audience getting to know the three protagonists of the film: Rocky Levy , her boy friend Money Daniel Zovatto , and wanna-be boyfriend, Alex Dylan Minnette . These three teen crooks rob houses in the wealthy suburbs in Detroit for some easy cash, however Alex's dad manages a security company that gives them the access to most of the alarm systems installed in houses they plan to rob, which means a lot less of "breaking" in breaking & entering. Rocky lives in a dump with her innocent sister, corrupt mother, and her mother's formidable boyfriend. Since we're discussing the insights on individual characters of the story, it would be the perfect time to point out one of the drawbacks to this film. The reason many horror films always feel incomplete is because they don't have a solid background story to build up to an intense climax; rather they're just a continuity of techniques to give a sense of fear to the audience. This is what distinguished "Don't Breathe" compared to the other horror films… till this point. Even though Alvarez shed a good amount of light on Rocky, and the blind man Lang later on, he didn't give enough insight on Alex and Money and that's to the film's disadvantage since the audience was not able to fully understand the character traits that define that specific role. You could feel Alvarez was rushing to the "good part" of the story however the "good part" could have been better if he took time to give an understanding on these two protagonists. Getting back to the gist of the film, the three teenagers are sick of quickie robberies so they hope for a better job that could possibly change their future and to their luck, Money uncovered an easy gig, which is to steal a good amount of money that sits in a safe in a blind veteran's house. With this money, Money and Rocky, along with her sister, plan to move away to California in hope for a better life. It seems like an easy job to rob a blind old man who lives alone with the access to his alarm system; what could go wrong? As mentioned before, the integrity of the audience is at question throughout the film since you wouldn't opt for teenagers to rob a helpless blind old man. But is he that helpless? The low-level criminals underestimated the blind veteran and that resulted in a not very fruitful situation for Rocky, Alex, and Money. However the moral complexity takes a back seat after a significant plot twist towards the end of the story. Trying to refrain from any spoilers, let's just say that the blind old man is a definite villain for a very disturbing situation. Overall this has been a great thriller that you will surely love to watch again and again without losing even a bit of interest every time you watch it. The battle of wills between the protagonists and the antagonists is the headline of the film and the wonderful cinematography creates a frightful atmosphere for the audience to get engaged in. The icing on the cake has to be the various plot twists here and there, which keep you wondering what would happen next and of course have you hold your breath.

because the dude is blind. How wrong they are.Stephen Lang is going to be that new Horror Icon we all need to talk about. He was amazing as the blind man. From the moment he starts his rampage he sets a good example for all blind people who wish to be psychopathic killers. It's like stinkmeaner from the Boondocks, but he's white.I like to point out how the filmmaker seemed to use a camera that made closed space look even bigger. It's important because it really made you jump when the Blind man, or his sidekick dog would just appear in the shot.Three people stuck in a house with a maniac who can't see you, but knows you are there and wants you out dead or alive.Absolutely perfect.http://cinemagardens.com