by Jon Partridge
The world premiere of the Untitled Fede Alvarez/Ghost House Thriller here at SXSW2016 came with it’s official title which also serves as it’s mantra, Don’t Breathe. While many were expecting another gore fest in the vein of his Evil Dead reboot what awaited instead was a taut, harrowing and wickedly twisted thriller.
A trio of kids are looking for a way out of their shitty lives in a crumbling area of Detroit. Not content with small home robberies, they look for one big score to get themselves out and find it in an old news report of a blind local war veteran (Stephen Lang), who lost his daughter in an automobile accident and received a hefty cash settlement. Convinced he keeps the cash at home, a residence standing along in a long abandoned area of the city, they set out determined to take it from him. But what begins as a home invasion turns into a game of cat and mouse as the recluse turns out to be anything but harmless and seems to be hiding a few secrets of his own.
Don’t Breathe may sound like something from a Steven Moffat Doctor Who episode and the comparison is fair, like his work often does, screenwriters Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues have taken a simple concept and connected it to a very relatable fear. These kids, trapped as their plan falls apart know their very lives depend on stifling every movement, avoiding every floorboard creak, every gasp of horror and every whimper of pain.
What’s most impressive is how well the film immerses you in this situation, with skilled camera work, evocative lighting and exquisite sound design. Smart set pieces nestle comfortable within periods of extended suspense. You’re introduced to the house as if it were another member of the cast, made aware of it’s layout, history and quirks. It also serves as a window into the life and mind of Lang’s army vet, a haunting character who doesn’t even utter a line until late in the film.
Perhaps the only weakness of the film is that the three leads are somewhat underdeveloped. Money (Daniel Zovatto) fits into the typical bad boy mold, Alex (Dylan Minnette) fares a little better, coming across as more sympathetic. Together they form something of a love triangle with Jane Levy’s Rocky. Her’s is a standout role, much is down to her impressive acting abilities but again some comes from tried and tested methods to elicit empathy, estabishing a shitty childhood, trashy mother, absentee father and a younger sister in need of care. Her rapport with Lang is an intense one and one of the most successful facets of the movie. Overall though they accomplish what’s needed and work in nuanced performances being largely limited to expressens and body language. The writing also adds enough shades of grey to make it somewhat difficult to know exactly who to root for.
Lang himself is exceptional, vunerable and damaged but deadly. An impressive physical performance in which Lang puts a memorable stamp on the genre. Special mention goes out to whoever was the animal handler on this film as the dog work is exceptional, a scene involving the Levy trapped within a car by the beast being a standout.
Don’t Breathe is an impressively crafted thriller that builds great tension and a twisted feel as it progresses. A smart, simple concept executed with a directorial flourish. It’s a film you emerge from feeling exhausted and filthy. Don’t Breathe? You’re going to have to remind yourself to.