30 in 30: A MONTH OF HORROR. DON’T BREATHE
DAY 8
DON’T BREATHE (2016)
Fede Alvarez creates a fun, tension-filled, horror thriller with the help of excellent cinematography and a great concept.
Alvarez will undoubtedly be around to bring us new scares in the coming years, his debut film EVIL DEAD (2013) and then his sophomore effort DON’T BREATHE (2016) have been successful with both audiences and critics.
But what makes this movie scary and unique?
First off, the concept is fun a full of possibilities. This is the story of three young criminals in Detroit who break in to rob a blind man’s home, only to discover that the blind man is not a defenceless grandpa, but a terrifying predator.
In terms of horror stylings, this movies is probably more similar to THE CONJURING than KAIRO, meaning that it’s an experience filled with jumps and screams, instead of one focused on a droning and creeping existential dread. In simple terms is FUN HORROR🙂 not SAD HORROR☹️.
That means that a lot of the movie relies on the filmmaking techniques deployed by the creative and technical team. Lucky for us, Alvarez knows how to create great tension-filled scenes that always manage to close with a punch.
What makes this movie particularly interesting to me is the idea of subverting expectations, like the concept of the film itself. The writers turn the disability of the old man into an advantage when he traps the kids into his dark and creaky house. The blind man doesn’t need his eyes to move around his house, the kids do. His senses are heightened, and the kids are clumsy. It’s like watching three mice trapped in a small box with a blind cat, a hungry and evil blind cat.
We also find in this film what appears to be the cardinal marks of horror: isolation and threat. The youngsters are trapped inside the house, and the old-man makes it very clear from the start that he has no problem killing any of them.
But, if to create horror, isolation and threat are almost always a must. Then there might be a close third: empathy. This film plays with the idea of empathy with characters. Them being criminals robbing a literal blind man, you might think it’ll be harder to empathise with, but the pain the man inflicts upon the kids is so horrific and over the top, that you can’t help but feel sympathy for the small-time criminals who are clearly over their heads. You connect to them very quickly after that.
All of this ideas are present in one of the best scenes of the film; the light’s out scene.
The movie has been very colorful up to that point which makes the switch to black and white jarring, it heightens the sense of danger. The lost faces of the character trying to find something to hang on to are haunting, especially how their eyes look hollow and empty. The single advantage they had against the old man is taken from them. From a screenwriting perspective, this is a great scene. You should always strive to make things as dangerous and difficult for your characters as you can.
DON’T BREATHE is scary because it shows us that anybody can be a dangerous psychopath.That the things you think give you an advantage or an edge can be quickly turned against you. But most of all, this movie is scary because the monster in it is just a human being, just an old man.
Maybe like your neighbour. Don’t you hear stuff coming out of his apartment at night?
Tomorrow: IT (2017)
Yesterday: HALLOWEEN (1978)
