Don't Breathe

Don't Breathe (2016)

Somehow, it got 87% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 120 reviews)

Runtime: 88 minutes

Directed by: Not one of my favorite in Fede Alvarez

Starring: Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, Daniel Zovatto, Stephen Lang

From: Several companies owned by Sony

I hate to be this guy again, but... don't listen to the hype; I thought this was a pretty bad movie. The atrocious script and story sink it. I angrily explain why in my Letterboxd review below: 

One day, I'll watch the Evil Dead remake in order to give it a better review; in short, I thought that the story and most of the characters were complete crap, and no amount of gore could make up for that; why so many lost their mind over it I do not know. I always thought remaking that film was stupid but that was a minor deal when it came to me detesting it. Despite not like that movie, I heard so many strong things about Don't Breathe, even with a plot that seemed to strain credulity from description, I figured it was worth a shot.

Well, once again I wonder why so many have gone wild over this.

I haven't really talked about the infamous Devin Farachi before; like many people I think the guy is a complete pr*ck and a loathsome D-bag, a pitiful example of humanity. I figured this out on the CHUD messageboards, long before he did his clown act on Twitter, let alone posting what seems like trolling reviews on Birth Movies Death. The problem is, sometimes I happen to agree with him; it's happened on the occasions that I read what he writes, which is not too frequent. This afternoon I heard elsewhere that there was an uproar because in Devin's review for this film he gave away a big spoiler in the title for the review. That was a needless move so I did not even look at the Birth Movies Death site to see this controversial review until after I saw the film this late afternoon.

Unfortunately, on this occasion I have to agree with Mr. Farachi on the movie being pretty bad. He hated it even more than I did. I did not think the three young leads who try to rob Zatoichi to be intolerable, but otherwise... Devin brought up a number of fair complaints. And I thought while watching the movie that Stephen Lang's character might as well be Zatoichi due to some things that happen throughout... it was definitely before I read Devin's review and saw him make the same comparison. My main problems weren't how the story had potential but it was squandered instead of exploring some interesting themes and comparisons between various characters and what they had to deal with... although thinking about it, it is unfortunate they did not try to be smarter. Rather, a lot of it revolves around Zatoichi and how sometimes he has Zatoichi powers, and then there's the gross aspect of the movie... I won't be like Devin and spoil it. It's just unneeded & disgusting.

It's a shame as at first, I was enjoying the movie. While pretty dopey and silly, at least it was entertaining... at first. It was fun seeing the three young adults try to break into Zatoichi's house then steal all the cash he has without him hearing it. Then, the movie got stupider and stupider and my enjoyment lowered and lowered. I then realized that the movie's beginning did something quite dumb and unneeded; I didn't even realize it until the end. Come to think of it, giving this 2 stars may be awfully generous on my part. Yet, I guess I'll be nice and note that the performances were at least fine, with Lang being the standout, even if the character is rather muddled. It is nicely shot and there are some obvious Hitchcock moments. They weren't perfect but I do appreciate the attempt.

I wish I wasn't “that guy” when it came to too many modern films. The most egregious example is how I don't like Fury Road, and I saw it twice. In the horror genre, I only thought that It Follows and The Babadook were average, and I hated House of the Devil. I could be dishonest and go with the herd, but I have to tell the truth here. It's nice that this is popular and did better at the box office in an otherwise disastrous Summer 2016 movie season. Yet, to me this is yet another example in what I think is a HUGE problem in too many modern movies, no matter the genre: they are stupid and make no logical sense once you even take a glance at the plot or spend 30 seconds thinking about the events of the plot. It's a reason why I don't see as many modern movies as many people do, even here on Letterboxd. Seeing classics/older movies is preferable to me, and the foreign flicks don't seem as bad with the issue. I guess then I should cross off Fede Alvarez and avoid his work as I have with plenty of other directors; I'll list Ti West as another example in this genre. If only I could understand this movie's popularity.