2016 has certainly been a pretty unimpressive year when it comes to movies. However, it's been a spot on year for the horror genre. And this is essentially an indictment of the Hollywood trend of remakes and sequels. The horror genre is really the only one making original movies. Films like Lights Out, Hush, The Invitation, The Shallows, and Green Room are giving us films that succeed in both terrifying us, as well as give us something original. Director Fede Alvarez showed us back in 2013 that he was capable of being a horror staple with his remake of Evil Dead. He was able to successfully take a beloved classic horror film (second, probably, to The Exorcist in cult status) and give us something that was both unique, but also a solid nod to the original. His next movie into the foray of mainstream horror is Don't Breathe, a film that illuminates Alvarez's skills as a horror director as well as provides horror lovers one last film at the end of summer to see. He's also shown that he's able to adapt to different types of horror as well. He's definitely toned down the gratuitous gore in favor of actual scares.
Don't Breathe has a very compelling premise (to go along with a terrifying trailer). Three young people-- Rocky (Jane Levy), Alex (Dylan Minette), and Money (Daniel Zovatto) who use keys from Alex's dad's security company to break into houses and steal goods with the end goal of getting out of Detroit for good. They're given a tip that an army vet, in the dregs of the city, is sitting on 300K from a lawsuit involving the accidental death of his daughter. Rocky, needing to get her little sister away from her abusive mother, pushes for one last job. However, (obviously) it's not that simple. The man is blind-- and goddamn petrifying. What starts as a simple job, ends with them trapped in the house, discovering something horrific, and being pursued by a man that doesn't need sight to be more than a formidable opponent.
Don't Breathe is tense as shit. The tension that is consistently built within the movie never slows. It's a constant that doesn't allow its protagonists or its audience breathe. What Alvarez does with a film that takes place in one central location for a solid 88 minutes is nothing short of impressive. He's able to create very clever and grisly twists and turns within the house that keeps the tension sky high. To go along with this is a very minimalist soundtrack consisting of low tones and pulsing beats that go along perfectly with your heart racing a mile a minute. And finally, the ability to manipulate sound within the film lends itself further to the dread. A loud creak, the fingers clenching a phone, the scrapes of feet on wooden floors-- all amplified so that they're the only thing you can hear in a dead silent theater. This makes for good horror.
Stephen Lang (best known as the crazy General from Avatar) is perfectly cast as the blind man. His mere presence is enough to give you nightmares. However, what I like best about his character is that he could've easily been written as a one-dimensional villain (blind man with super special skills to kill people who try to rob his house). But, what Alvarez has done is create an actual human being with deadly motivations that is more than a few layers added to his character. There are no heroes in this film, and while we root for our protagonists, the blind man (super-human as he is) is still very much human as well and gives you that little bit of subconscious wishing that he might actually win.
It's going to be a bleak next few couple of months with only a small handful of films that look like they could muster any sort of goodness from the trailer. End of summer movies don't always have the best track record. But, Don't Breathe is certainly worth your time.
B
No comments:
Post a Comment