Trio fails to rob him blind
IN “Don’t Breathe,” when three cocky millennial burglars break into a house to rob an elderly, blind Persian Gulf War vet, it really isn’t a fair fight. Really, what chance do they have?
A sinewy little cat-and-mice thriller directed with nerve-flaying gusto by Fede Alvarez, “Don’t Breathe” takes place mostly inside the house of the aging veteran (a terrifying Stephen Lang), whose safe is raided by Alex (Dylan Minnette), the son of the man who installed the security system. Alex and his partners Rocky (Jane Levy) and Money (Daniel Zovatto) expect an easy heist: Stroll in, clean out the safe and be home in time for Jimmy Fallon, right? Not quite.
Set in a ravaged and broken Detroit — a vast cemetery for housing — the film turns the Blind Man (as he is called in the credits) into a vengeful and nearly wordless Cyclops, whose keenly tuned senses of hearing and smell are all he needs to locate and attack the intruders, one by one. Moreover, the younglings quickly discover that breaking into the house is simpler than breaking out.
Alex and Rocky are mildly sympathetic. But for nearly half of this tight, intense claustrophobia trip, Alvarez doesn’t clarify whose side we should be on, adding another layer of suspense to an already spine-jangling story. Individual scenes, such as one that simulates total darkness with a woozy gray look are handled brilliantly, while Lang plays his part to the hilt. The old man may be blind, but he ain’t dumb.
Apart from occasional trite moments, as well as a silly attempt to set up a sequel, “Don’t Breathe” is just about perfect. It’s as lean and relentless as the best John Carpenter films.