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Kaylin (39 KP) rated Don't Breathe (2016) in Movies
Feb 17, 2019 (Updated Feb 17, 2019)
Stephen Lang is excellent as the old man (2 more)
Pretty decent acting throughout
Has a genuinely tense atmosphere
When's it's good, it's good...
Don't Breathe is an interesting case of a horror movie. It's a home invasion movie, but our main character is not the home owner, it's the people who have broken into the house.
Our main character's, Rocky, Alex, and Money, have made a living breaking into houses. They are able to accomplish this due to Alex's father having the codes to all the alarm systems. Rocky is trying to get her sister out of their abusive home and Money promises her a big payout from this blind old man's house. Rocky agrees to one last job but things do not go as planned.
Don't Breathe has a pretty solid premise and delivers on a lot of it's scares. My main problem would be the twist which I'm not going to spoil for you here, but I'll say it's pretty unbelievable and took a lot of enjoyment out of the movie for me. All and All I'd say give it a view.
Our main character's, Rocky, Alex, and Money, have made a living breaking into houses. They are able to accomplish this due to Alex's father having the codes to all the alarm systems. Rocky is trying to get her sister out of their abusive home and Money promises her a big payout from this blind old man's house. Rocky agrees to one last job but things do not go as planned.
Don't Breathe has a pretty solid premise and delivers on a lot of it's scares. My main problem would be the twist which I'm not going to spoil for you here, but I'll say it's pretty unbelievable and took a lot of enjoyment out of the movie for me. All and All I'd say give it a view.
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) created a post
Apr 8, 2020
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Don't Breathe (2016) in Movies
Feb 22, 2020 (Updated Feb 22, 2020)
For the most part, Don't Breathe is a really tight gem of a thriller with some decent horror elements throughout.
The movie revolves around three thieves - Rocky (Jane Levy), Alex (Dylan Minnette) and Money (Daniel Zovatto) trying to steal themselves enough valuables to be able to move away from their home city of Detroit.
When they hear about a sizable stash of cash hidden in the house of a blind war veteran (Stephen Lang), they get to work on what they assume will be an easy score. Things go rapidly downhill as it becomes apparent that The Blind Man isn't as helpless as they thought, and they become Tangled in a game of cat and mouse as they try to escape with their lives.
Don't Breathe is an incredibly tense film. It's dimly lit set pieces and it's frequently silent atmosphere are hugely effective. Director Fede Alvarez provides continuously great shots throughout (there's an extended sequence around the mid point which takes place in total darkness which is a particular highlight) and utilizes the small set (95% of the film takes place in The Blind Man's house) fantastically.
The cast are pretty good as well. The three thieves are both likable and dislikable at the appropriate moments, and serve their purpose well. Jane Levy is the stand out of the three, playing the role of 'the final girl' with a satisfying mixture of being terrified, vulnerable, and a strong survivalist all at once.
Stephen Lang is the MVP here though. He steals the show as The Blind Man, and manages to portray a genuinely batshit-scary movie monster, well at the same time, being a tragic and sympathetic characters.
This is one of the main strengths if the whole movie actually. Both The Blind Man and the set of thieves are portrayed as characters we should be siding with at one point or another, and then it will flip it over and give us the reverse one point later. The moral compass of who is to root for is in constant flux, and lends the narrative a unique edge.
My main criticism here though is the films final third. After being a stupidly tense thriller and a fight for survival for an hour, Don't Breathe gets a little silly towards it's climax, and downright gratuitous in parts, (the turkey baster to the face ffs!?).
There's not a huge amount of gore in display, so it doesn't quite fall into torture-porn territory, but the vibe is quite similar, and it tarnishes what is otherwise a pretty decent horror.
Overall though, Don't Breathe is worth a watch if you have any passing interest at all in thrillers or horror. With the news of a sequel in the way, I'm excited to see where the story will go.
The movie revolves around three thieves - Rocky (Jane Levy), Alex (Dylan Minnette) and Money (Daniel Zovatto) trying to steal themselves enough valuables to be able to move away from their home city of Detroit.
When they hear about a sizable stash of cash hidden in the house of a blind war veteran (Stephen Lang), they get to work on what they assume will be an easy score. Things go rapidly downhill as it becomes apparent that The Blind Man isn't as helpless as they thought, and they become Tangled in a game of cat and mouse as they try to escape with their lives.
Don't Breathe is an incredibly tense film. It's dimly lit set pieces and it's frequently silent atmosphere are hugely effective. Director Fede Alvarez provides continuously great shots throughout (there's an extended sequence around the mid point which takes place in total darkness which is a particular highlight) and utilizes the small set (95% of the film takes place in The Blind Man's house) fantastically.
The cast are pretty good as well. The three thieves are both likable and dislikable at the appropriate moments, and serve their purpose well. Jane Levy is the stand out of the three, playing the role of 'the final girl' with a satisfying mixture of being terrified, vulnerable, and a strong survivalist all at once.
Stephen Lang is the MVP here though. He steals the show as The Blind Man, and manages to portray a genuinely batshit-scary movie monster, well at the same time, being a tragic and sympathetic characters.
This is one of the main strengths if the whole movie actually. Both The Blind Man and the set of thieves are portrayed as characters we should be siding with at one point or another, and then it will flip it over and give us the reverse one point later. The moral compass of who is to root for is in constant flux, and lends the narrative a unique edge.
My main criticism here though is the films final third. After being a stupidly tense thriller and a fight for survival for an hour, Don't Breathe gets a little silly towards it's climax, and downright gratuitous in parts, (the turkey baster to the face ffs!?).
There's not a huge amount of gore in display, so it doesn't quite fall into torture-porn territory, but the vibe is quite similar, and it tarnishes what is otherwise a pretty decent horror.
Overall though, Don't Breathe is worth a watch if you have any passing interest at all in thrillers or horror. With the news of a sequel in the way, I'm excited to see where the story will go.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated VFW (2019) in Movies
Jul 28, 2020
VFW feels like Hobo With a Shotgun mashed together with From Dusk Till Dawn, with a sprinkling of Mandy for good measure, all whilst accompanied by an atmospheric synthwave score. What's not to love?
Truthfully, it brings nothing new to the table. What we see in VFW has been done before, and Joe Begos just wallows in that fact. It's a good time.
It has a distinctive grindhouse feel to it throughout, it has a semi Terminator style 80s feel to it throughout, but still manages to carve out its own identity.
The cast are great - Stephen Lang, William Sadler, Fred Williamson, Martin , David Patrick Kelly - all actors that I thoroughly enjoy, here playing war veterans fighting back against a gang of leather clad drug addicts laying siege to their bar. It's a simple premise, mixed with a 90 minute runtime, ensuring that VFW packs a hyper violent punch.
When I say violent, I mean violent. It's gory as all hell and doesn't shy away from what it shows. It doesn't feel too over the top as the film is so fast paced, you hardly have time to process what just happened before something else ridiculous happens.
VFW is certainly not for everyone, but I found it to be an over the top and stylish horror gem. Check it out!
Truthfully, it brings nothing new to the table. What we see in VFW has been done before, and Joe Begos just wallows in that fact. It's a good time.
It has a distinctive grindhouse feel to it throughout, it has a semi Terminator style 80s feel to it throughout, but still manages to carve out its own identity.
The cast are great - Stephen Lang, William Sadler, Fred Williamson, Martin , David Patrick Kelly - all actors that I thoroughly enjoy, here playing war veterans fighting back against a gang of leather clad drug addicts laying siege to their bar. It's a simple premise, mixed with a 90 minute runtime, ensuring that VFW packs a hyper violent punch.
When I say violent, I mean violent. It's gory as all hell and doesn't shy away from what it shows. It doesn't feel too over the top as the film is so fast paced, you hardly have time to process what just happened before something else ridiculous happens.
VFW is certainly not for everyone, but I found it to be an over the top and stylish horror gem. Check it out!
JT (287 KP) rated Don't Breathe (2016) in Movies
Mar 10, 2020
Building suspense is considered a difficult task. Alfred Hitchcock was a master of this. You need look no further than the shower scene in Psycho for an example of his work. When a film delivers on suspense it can sometimes take the emphasis off a predictable twist ending. If the audience leaves the screening visibly shaken then a director has done his job.
Don’t Breathe, directed by Fede Alvarez, follows three amatuer burglers, Rocky (Jane Levy), Alex (Dylan Minnette), and the aptly named Money (Daniel Zovatto), who are looking for a big pay day. When they hear about a retired blind war veteran who lives alone, and who may have $300,000 in cash, the trio decide he would make easy prey – how wrong they were.
Rocky is the more cautious of the three, but having grown up in an abusive family she is looking for an escape plan and to take her sister Diddy (Emma Bercovici) to safety with her. This job is a means to an end for that scenario to happen.
If the audience leaves the screening visibly shaken then a director has done his job.
The opening doesn’t offer much other than setting the scene but once the doors are bolted and windows locked it’s game on. Alvarez has a solid understanding of this genre, no matter what you thought of his bloodthirsty Evil Dead remake? In the confines of this house of horrors he is able to let The Blind Man (Stephen Lang) run riot as he attempts to put a stop to the break-in.
There is a sense that Alvarez is toying with his audience, in a bid to starve off the ending. He’s having too much fun. The atmosphere is excruciatingly tense, particularly when The Blind Man levels the playing field in the basement by turning off all the lights. A neat twist in the story tries to create empathy, but it’s a little too late for that and the final act ramps up the suspense to Hitchcockian levels.
Any other person would have dropped the money and looked for a way out as quickly as possible. That is not the case here as each opportunity to escape is met with a roadblock that send the burglars back down a different path. The home invasion horror has been around for a while but done right it can be incredibly effective and in this case Don’t Breathe gets it spot on.
Don’t Breathe, directed by Fede Alvarez, follows three amatuer burglers, Rocky (Jane Levy), Alex (Dylan Minnette), and the aptly named Money (Daniel Zovatto), who are looking for a big pay day. When they hear about a retired blind war veteran who lives alone, and who may have $300,000 in cash, the trio decide he would make easy prey – how wrong they were.
Rocky is the more cautious of the three, but having grown up in an abusive family she is looking for an escape plan and to take her sister Diddy (Emma Bercovici) to safety with her. This job is a means to an end for that scenario to happen.
If the audience leaves the screening visibly shaken then a director has done his job.
The opening doesn’t offer much other than setting the scene but once the doors are bolted and windows locked it’s game on. Alvarez has a solid understanding of this genre, no matter what you thought of his bloodthirsty Evil Dead remake? In the confines of this house of horrors he is able to let The Blind Man (Stephen Lang) run riot as he attempts to put a stop to the break-in.
There is a sense that Alvarez is toying with his audience, in a bid to starve off the ending. He’s having too much fun. The atmosphere is excruciatingly tense, particularly when The Blind Man levels the playing field in the basement by turning off all the lights. A neat twist in the story tries to create empathy, but it’s a little too late for that and the final act ramps up the suspense to Hitchcockian levels.
Any other person would have dropped the money and looked for a way out as quickly as possible. That is not the case here as each opportunity to escape is met with a roadblock that send the burglars back down a different path. The home invasion horror has been around for a while but done right it can be incredibly effective and in this case Don’t Breathe gets it spot on.
Gareth von Kallenbach (965 KP) rated Conan the Barbarian (2011) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
Conan.
The name either evokes pictures of half naked body builders, and topless wenches, or a very tall man with red, quaffed hair. Well, hopefully the former is what you are all thinking about, because that is what you are going to get. Nobody goes to a Conan movie for the tall, red haired guy. Right?
Jason Momoa, who is not awful to look at for a couple of hours, plays Conan. Physically, he is much truer to the character in the original source material, than the former governor of California. He also has this interesting gravity that makes you sit up and pay attention. Or maybe that was because he was shirtless for most of the movie.
Conan’s story begins as a baby, who is “battle born” and whose first taste, a familiar narrator states, “is not his mother’s milk, but her blood.” He is better then many of his village’s best warrior candidates and joins in a test that ends up being a battle against savages. While the other candidates run back to camp; Conan stay and fights. Not only does he return to the camp having passed the test, but he carries three of the savage’s heads with him. His father (Ron Pearlman) decides it is time to forge a sword and begin to train, with the father imparting sage words like, “You cannot yield the sword until you understand it.”
Conan’s training is interrupted by the arrival of Khalar Zym (Stephen Lang), a ruthless warlord who brings death and destruction to Conan’s village. Zym’s on a a quest to to claim the final piece of a mask that will give him control of the magic of Asheron. Conan is left the sole survivor of his Cimmarian people, growing up to become a fierce warrior intent on avenging his father’s death. All the while, Zym and his daughter Marique continue on Zym’s quest to become a powerful god, in search of a “pureblood” – the one person whose blood will make the mask work. Inevitably, Zym and Conan’s paths cross again and swordfights ensue.
The best thing about this movie, for me, were the female leads. Rose McGowan as Marique and Rachel Nichols as Tamara (the pureblood) are both warriors. It was also excellent to have Conan acknowledge this in Tamara; even saying, “Cimmarian women are warriors, give her the leather and armor.” We would have never heard 1982’s Conan say anything like this.
Listening to people while leaving the movie I heard grumblings about how the Conan character never really had an origin story. This movie provides that, and because of this it also provides something that the original movies lacked: plot. Not that the plot is very rich, but again, nobody goes to a Conan movie for the story or the plot. Right?
The name either evokes pictures of half naked body builders, and topless wenches, or a very tall man with red, quaffed hair. Well, hopefully the former is what you are all thinking about, because that is what you are going to get. Nobody goes to a Conan movie for the tall, red haired guy. Right?
Jason Momoa, who is not awful to look at for a couple of hours, plays Conan. Physically, he is much truer to the character in the original source material, than the former governor of California. He also has this interesting gravity that makes you sit up and pay attention. Or maybe that was because he was shirtless for most of the movie.
Conan’s story begins as a baby, who is “battle born” and whose first taste, a familiar narrator states, “is not his mother’s milk, but her blood.” He is better then many of his village’s best warrior candidates and joins in a test that ends up being a battle against savages. While the other candidates run back to camp; Conan stay and fights. Not only does he return to the camp having passed the test, but he carries three of the savage’s heads with him. His father (Ron Pearlman) decides it is time to forge a sword and begin to train, with the father imparting sage words like, “You cannot yield the sword until you understand it.”
Conan’s training is interrupted by the arrival of Khalar Zym (Stephen Lang), a ruthless warlord who brings death and destruction to Conan’s village. Zym’s on a a quest to to claim the final piece of a mask that will give him control of the magic of Asheron. Conan is left the sole survivor of his Cimmarian people, growing up to become a fierce warrior intent on avenging his father’s death. All the while, Zym and his daughter Marique continue on Zym’s quest to become a powerful god, in search of a “pureblood” – the one person whose blood will make the mask work. Inevitably, Zym and Conan’s paths cross again and swordfights ensue.
The best thing about this movie, for me, were the female leads. Rose McGowan as Marique and Rachel Nichols as Tamara (the pureblood) are both warriors. It was also excellent to have Conan acknowledge this in Tamara; even saying, “Cimmarian women are warriors, give her the leather and armor.” We would have never heard 1982’s Conan say anything like this.
Listening to people while leaving the movie I heard grumblings about how the Conan character never really had an origin story. This movie provides that, and because of this it also provides something that the original movies lacked: plot. Not that the plot is very rich, but again, nobody goes to a Conan movie for the story or the plot. Right?
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Don't Breathe (2016) in Movies
Sep 29, 2021
Here comes Little Kevin, all grown up and blinded.
“Don’t Breathe” had a concept that appealed to me. Three Detroit teens are systematically robbing houses of goods to pawn with the aim of getting Rocky (Jane “Evil Dead” Levy) out of the clutches of her deadbeat family to start a new life in California with her younger sister. Dylan Minnette plays the cautious and intellectual Alex, hiding his crush on Rocky particularly badly. Daniel Zovatto plays the fruit-loopy stoner ‘Money’ – the loose cannon of the trio and Rocky’s boyfriend.
After a successful run, they unwisely pick on the home of a blind war veteran (“Avatar”‘s Stephen Lang). He is not just ‘Home Alone’ but ‘Neighbourhood Alone’ (reflecting, probably accurately, the demise of previously affluent suburbs in some industrially declining US cities). Blind or not, the vet (and friend) are a force to be reckoned with: with startling speed the tables are turned and the kids are fighting for their lives. And there are more surprises in store within the spooky old house.
As an audience member, there are certainly points at which the title becomes uncomfortably literal! On the tensionometer, there is a similarity here with last year’s “No Escape”. A scene where blindness is turned into a positive asset is particularly effective.
As is common with this genre, the film suffers from a plot-line that at times makes no sense and involves indestructible participants (with an incident involving garden shears being particularly incomprehensible).
A particularly unpleasant sexual-threat scene towards the end of the film is also nonsensical involving a level of -ahem – ‘preparation’ that the preceding plot simply doesn’t merit.
Inevitably though, the film lives or dies on whether you feel empathy for the disreputable kids in peril. The start of the film tries to balance the empathy scales by giving Rocky her backstory, throwing in the ‘little sister’ card. It also demonstrates that “The Blind Man” is a ‘bit of a bastard’ – or perhaps that should be a ‘bit of a baste-ard’ (LOL, in-joke)). Unfortunately however I hold the peculiarly unfashionable idea that if things are “mine” they are “mine” – not anyone elses: so, on balance, I wasn’t rooting for them and would be happy to let the thieving little sh*ts all get beaten to death!
Jane Levy (channelling a young Emma Stone) acquits herself admirably as the heroine in peril. Also of particular note is the highly effective atonal score by Roque Baños that ramps up the tension extremely effectively. Directed by “Evil Dead” director, Uruguayan Fede Alverez, the film does have a certain style and is an enjoyable roller-coaster ride, provided you park your brain at the (well locked) door.
After a successful run, they unwisely pick on the home of a blind war veteran (“Avatar”‘s Stephen Lang). He is not just ‘Home Alone’ but ‘Neighbourhood Alone’ (reflecting, probably accurately, the demise of previously affluent suburbs in some industrially declining US cities). Blind or not, the vet (and friend) are a force to be reckoned with: with startling speed the tables are turned and the kids are fighting for their lives. And there are more surprises in store within the spooky old house.
As an audience member, there are certainly points at which the title becomes uncomfortably literal! On the tensionometer, there is a similarity here with last year’s “No Escape”. A scene where blindness is turned into a positive asset is particularly effective.
As is common with this genre, the film suffers from a plot-line that at times makes no sense and involves indestructible participants (with an incident involving garden shears being particularly incomprehensible).
A particularly unpleasant sexual-threat scene towards the end of the film is also nonsensical involving a level of -ahem – ‘preparation’ that the preceding plot simply doesn’t merit.
Inevitably though, the film lives or dies on whether you feel empathy for the disreputable kids in peril. The start of the film tries to balance the empathy scales by giving Rocky her backstory, throwing in the ‘little sister’ card. It also demonstrates that “The Blind Man” is a ‘bit of a bastard’ – or perhaps that should be a ‘bit of a baste-ard’ (LOL, in-joke)). Unfortunately however I hold the peculiarly unfashionable idea that if things are “mine” they are “mine” – not anyone elses: so, on balance, I wasn’t rooting for them and would be happy to let the thieving little sh*ts all get beaten to death!
Jane Levy (channelling a young Emma Stone) acquits herself admirably as the heroine in peril. Also of particular note is the highly effective atonal score by Roque Baños that ramps up the tension extremely effectively. Directed by “Evil Dead” director, Uruguayan Fede Alverez, the film does have a certain style and is an enjoyable roller-coaster ride, provided you park your brain at the (well locked) door.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Stephen King's A Good Marriage (2014) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019
Story: A Good Marriage starts with the anniversary party of Darcy (Allen) and Bob Anderson (LaPaglia) with their grown up children Petra (Connolly) and Donnie (Stockman). Everything on the outside looks like it is going great for the couple and what could possibly be shocking about them? The couple seem to have a follower in Holt Ramsey (Lang) but why?
Darcy’s life takes a sudden change when searching for batteries she finds a hidden box with the drivers licences of woman who are found dead. As Darcy struggles to deal with the realisation that she is married to a serial killer we watch how Bob is tracking down him latest victim while away on business. We have to watch how Bob and Darcy try to work through the problems because spilling the secret could ruin the family.
A Good Marriage really does end up coming off very dull, the concept sounds very interesting. I feel this story should have been a hell of a lot tenser because of the action of the husband especially with the idea that the wife doesn’t want to destroy her children’s lives with the secret. I can honestly say I was expecting a look into the husband’s killing and an actual confrontation rather than just a calm talking about his actions. Overall the story doesn’t come off very well at all and I can honestly say this will disappoint any and all the Stephen King Fans out there. (2/10)
Actor Review
Joan Allen: Darcy Anderson is the loving mother and wife who discovers her husband’s secret. Darcy has to try and figure out what to do because talking will destroy the family but she also knows the next victim will now be here fault. Joan does a solid job but doesn’t reach the levels you would expect to make you feel like her character is scared or keeping a brave face. (5/10)
Anthony LaPaglia: Bob Anderson is the account husband of Darcy who has been living a different life behind his family’s back as a serial killer. When his wife discovers his secret he has to convince her not to go to the cops and ruin the life the children think they have had. Anthony is an actor I would expect to be able to play this role really well but he doesn’t seem to get into the role enough to make us believe he is a killer. (3/10)
Support Cast: A Good Marriage has a supporting cast that are mostly people Darcy is trying to protect from the truth, but it also has a man trying to find out the truth about the killer.
Director Review: Peter Askin – Peter doesn’t give us enough tension in a film that should be filled to the rim with tension because of the subject matter. (3/10)
Thriller: A Good Marriage is a film that should be filled with tension but this manages to let it all go without capitalising on the idea. (2/10)
Settings: A Good Marriage keeps the settings great because the idea would be that the killer is in plain sight living a normal life. (9/10)
Suggestion: A Good Marriage has to go down as one to avoid because it really does disappoint trying to tell an easy story. (Avoid)
Best Part: Hard to find anything.
Worst Part: No Tension.
Improve Ideas: High tension level.
Believability: The idea does come from a real serial killer but the outcome on film doesn’t really work. (3/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Runtime: 1 Hour 42 Minutes
Trivia: This is Stephen King’s first self-adapted screenplay since “Pet Sematary,” which was released 25 years earlier. The last feature film script he wrote was “Sleepwalkers,” released in 1992. Since then he has written TV movies, mini-series and shows, such as “The Stand,” “The Shining” and “Kingdom Hospital.”
Overall: Very disappointing thriller with no actual tension.
https://moviesreview101.com/2015/06/04/a-good-marriage-2014/
Darcy’s life takes a sudden change when searching for batteries she finds a hidden box with the drivers licences of woman who are found dead. As Darcy struggles to deal with the realisation that she is married to a serial killer we watch how Bob is tracking down him latest victim while away on business. We have to watch how Bob and Darcy try to work through the problems because spilling the secret could ruin the family.
A Good Marriage really does end up coming off very dull, the concept sounds very interesting. I feel this story should have been a hell of a lot tenser because of the action of the husband especially with the idea that the wife doesn’t want to destroy her children’s lives with the secret. I can honestly say I was expecting a look into the husband’s killing and an actual confrontation rather than just a calm talking about his actions. Overall the story doesn’t come off very well at all and I can honestly say this will disappoint any and all the Stephen King Fans out there. (2/10)
Actor Review
Joan Allen: Darcy Anderson is the loving mother and wife who discovers her husband’s secret. Darcy has to try and figure out what to do because talking will destroy the family but she also knows the next victim will now be here fault. Joan does a solid job but doesn’t reach the levels you would expect to make you feel like her character is scared or keeping a brave face. (5/10)
Anthony LaPaglia: Bob Anderson is the account husband of Darcy who has been living a different life behind his family’s back as a serial killer. When his wife discovers his secret he has to convince her not to go to the cops and ruin the life the children think they have had. Anthony is an actor I would expect to be able to play this role really well but he doesn’t seem to get into the role enough to make us believe he is a killer. (3/10)
Support Cast: A Good Marriage has a supporting cast that are mostly people Darcy is trying to protect from the truth, but it also has a man trying to find out the truth about the killer.
Director Review: Peter Askin – Peter doesn’t give us enough tension in a film that should be filled to the rim with tension because of the subject matter. (3/10)
Thriller: A Good Marriage is a film that should be filled with tension but this manages to let it all go without capitalising on the idea. (2/10)
Settings: A Good Marriage keeps the settings great because the idea would be that the killer is in plain sight living a normal life. (9/10)
Suggestion: A Good Marriage has to go down as one to avoid because it really does disappoint trying to tell an easy story. (Avoid)
Best Part: Hard to find anything.
Worst Part: No Tension.
Improve Ideas: High tension level.
Believability: The idea does come from a real serial killer but the outcome on film doesn’t really work. (3/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Runtime: 1 Hour 42 Minutes
Trivia: This is Stephen King’s first self-adapted screenplay since “Pet Sematary,” which was released 25 years earlier. The last feature film script he wrote was “Sleepwalkers,” released in 1992. Since then he has written TV movies, mini-series and shows, such as “The Stand,” “The Shining” and “Kingdom Hospital.”
Overall: Very disappointing thriller with no actual tension.
https://moviesreview101.com/2015/06/04/a-good-marriage-2014/
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Don't Breathe 2 (2021) in Movies
Aug 18, 2021
Nicely paced direction and non stop (bloody) action (1 more)
Madelyn Grace delivers a nice and professional performance
Not very original (1 more)
Should we be rooting for Norman at all?
That kid’ll need counselling for life!
I mean. If there was ever an opportunity to come up with a clever title for a sequel, this was it right? "Breathe Again"; "Hold it for a bit longer"; "Are You Turning Blue Yet?". But no... we just get a boring old "2" at the end!
Positives:
- Five years is an awfully long time to wait for a sequel! I have to admit I needed to read through my original review for "Don't Breathe" and the synopsis on IMDB before I went to see this. But, given that it is a fairly standard schlock-horror home-invasion movie, this is a nicely pieced together movie. Debut director Sayagues, who co-wrote the first film with original director Fede Alverez, moves the action along at a non-stop pace leaving you quite exhausted by the end of the (pleasantly short) 98 minutes.
- Stephen Lang nicely retreads his monster from the first movie as a besotted but anxious parent. But particularly good I thought was Madelyn Grace who plays the 11 year old Phoenix. I never once thought "there's a child actress doing a performance". Great job!
Negatives:
- It doesn't get many brownie points for originality: the blindness dice was already rolled in the original. So here we get some re-tread scenes of "the blind man being king", with red insecticide spray replacing the darkness.
- It never feels quite right that you are supposed to be cheering on Nordstrom: someone with virtually no redeeming features (other than a love for dogs).
- The original film had a decidedly icky moment with the whole baster thing. Here we have an equally icky, if ridiculous, plot-twist, taking us into a very dark place indeed. But what is supposed to be a shock-horror moment actually had me in fits of laughter, since all I could think of was a particular scene in "Monty Python and the Meaning of Life"!
Summary Thoughts on "Don't Breathe 2": We've been here so many times before that it's almost a (bloody) paint by numbers. But I have to admit that I thought this one was well done, and a cut above the norm. The first movie made $158M on a budget of just $10M. This one has a (restrained) $15M budget, and has already made that back. Good for them. The gore factor makes it not one for the illustrious Mrs Movie Man (who wisely didn't come). But for horror fans out for a nice gory little romp, this has its attractions.
And by the way, there is a 'monkey' (post-credit scene in One Mann's Movies speak) in this one. Well, Alvarez and Sayagues aren't going to dead-end their options for a "Don't Breathe 3" are they?
(For the full graphical review, please check out onemannsmovies on the web, Facebook and Tiktok. Thanks.)
Positives:
- Five years is an awfully long time to wait for a sequel! I have to admit I needed to read through my original review for "Don't Breathe" and the synopsis on IMDB before I went to see this. But, given that it is a fairly standard schlock-horror home-invasion movie, this is a nicely pieced together movie. Debut director Sayagues, who co-wrote the first film with original director Fede Alverez, moves the action along at a non-stop pace leaving you quite exhausted by the end of the (pleasantly short) 98 minutes.
- Stephen Lang nicely retreads his monster from the first movie as a besotted but anxious parent. But particularly good I thought was Madelyn Grace who plays the 11 year old Phoenix. I never once thought "there's a child actress doing a performance". Great job!
Negatives:
- It doesn't get many brownie points for originality: the blindness dice was already rolled in the original. So here we get some re-tread scenes of "the blind man being king", with red insecticide spray replacing the darkness.
- It never feels quite right that you are supposed to be cheering on Nordstrom: someone with virtually no redeeming features (other than a love for dogs).
- The original film had a decidedly icky moment with the whole baster thing. Here we have an equally icky, if ridiculous, plot-twist, taking us into a very dark place indeed. But what is supposed to be a shock-horror moment actually had me in fits of laughter, since all I could think of was a particular scene in "Monty Python and the Meaning of Life"!
Summary Thoughts on "Don't Breathe 2": We've been here so many times before that it's almost a (bloody) paint by numbers. But I have to admit that I thought this one was well done, and a cut above the norm. The first movie made $158M on a budget of just $10M. This one has a (restrained) $15M budget, and has already made that back. Good for them. The gore factor makes it not one for the illustrious Mrs Movie Man (who wisely didn't come). But for horror fans out for a nice gory little romp, this has its attractions.
And by the way, there is a 'monkey' (post-credit scene in One Mann's Movies speak) in this one. Well, Alvarez and Sayagues aren't going to dead-end their options for a "Don't Breathe 3" are they?
(For the full graphical review, please check out onemannsmovies on the web, Facebook and Tiktok. Thanks.)
