Movie Review--Don't Breathe

"There is nothing a man cannot do once he accepts the fact that there is no God."
--The Blind Man, Don't Breathe


An impressive 90 minute horror thriller I did not even learn of until recently, Don't Breathe pleasantly surprised me with its intelligent structure and intriguing villain, not to mention the disturbing but clever and shocking plot twists in the later half.


Production Values

First, I have to comment on the way the Blind Man shown in the trailer was presented.  Veteran actor Stephen Lang (Gettysburg, Gods and Generals, Avatar) performs terrifically as the unnamed blind owner of the house much of the movie elapses in.  When he begins feeling around or slowly advancing, especially when trying to attack someone, he exudes a truly chilling aura and for the entire movie he was exceptionally believable as his casted character.  He did an amazing job with the character, which could have been another generic horror/thriller villain.

The script of the film is excellent though it has very little actual dialogue but a great emphasis on story progression.  And though almost the whole movie occurs in one location, the location is utilized in the story to great effect and the film brims with suspense and clever plot development.  The cinematography was effective and great camera shots subtly notice important items returned to later, such as certain locks . . .

In short, it had great production values.


Story

A group of young thieves seeks to leave Detroit once they obtain sufficient funds, and their last target proves far more deceptively difficult than they would have expected.  A blind war veteran inhabits a small house along with a rumored $300,000.  Attracted to the lure of such a large amount of money in the possession of a defenseless blind man, the three thieves, among them the female protagonist Rocky, decide to enter his house and find his savings.  Of course, as depicted in the trailers, the old man does not submit to this invasion and aggressively defends himself.  To betray more story details here might honestly diminish the enjoyment derived from watching this movie, and I certainly won't mention the plot twist in this section.


Intellectual Content

The morality of the behavior of various characters is certainly the greatest intellectual theme in Don't Breathe, especially the morality of self-defense and the behaviors of each character.  Interestingly, the Old Testament mentions the moral parameters involving the very scenario in the movie--a thief or thieves entering someone's home at night and the defender killing the intruders.


--Exodus 22:2-3--"If a thief is caught breaking in and is struck so that he dies, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed; but if it happens after sunrise, he is guilty of bloodshed."


It wouldn't have been immoral for the Blind Man to kill one of the invaders out of shock or concern for his safety.  He is blind, after all, and the thieves did enter his house at night.  But even before the major plot revelation nearer to the end, I lost sympathy for him because of how he maliciously hunted all the remaining thieves and intentionally prevented them from escaping.  Killing in justified self-defense is permissible, but purposefully attempting to kill someone in the act of fleeing and then doing one's best to forcefully render them unable to depart is not admirable or just.

(SPOILERS BELOW!!!!)

The great twist of the film obviously revolves around the revelation that the Blind Man kidnapped a woman who accidentally killed his daughter in a vehicle accident caused by drunk driving, impregnated her against her will, and incarcerated her in his basement for months.  Clearly this changes how the viewer morally judges his character.

One of the most fascinating moments was a brief scene of dialogue between the captured Rocky and the Blind Man which reveals that the blind homeowner is an atheist who simultaneously rejects God because of tragedy ("What kind of God would allow this?", he asks, likely in reference to his loss) while admitting that there is "nothing a man cannot do once he accepts the fact that there is no God".  Similar to the quote frequently attributed to Dostoevsky--"If God does not exist, everything is permissible"--this line, though short, shows that the surprisingly honest antagonist lives in blatant contradiction, raging against an alleged evil and then dismissing the existence of evil the next moment.

The thieves seem like moral failures until the movie exposes how the Blind Man is a kidnapper, a murderer, and a type of rapist.  "I'm not a rapist", he claims.  "I've never forced myself on anyone".  And he is right if he limits the definition of rape to one human forcibly having sex with another, but he committed rape with a certain object and impregnated a woman against her will.  Rape with an object may not be identical to "traditional rape", but it remains a vile form of sexual abuse.

According to the Christian worldview, the Blind Man deserves to be executed for his three capital crimes [1].  He actually represents one of the most unanticipatedly effective antagonists in cinema this year.


Conclusion

Thus far, despite some disappointments, 2016 has produced some excellent horror movies, with The Witch and The Conjuring 2 displaying a particular mastery of the genre.  While Don't Breathe may not technically be classified explicitly as a horror film, perhaps more of a home invasion suspense thriller instead, it showcases a tense atmosphere that demands the attention of the viewer.  A welcome deviation from titles this year that have relied on underdeveloped plots and relentless jump scares, this film creatively interacts with its genre and the final product successfully entertains and features a wonderfully depraved villain.  It definitely helped satisfy my horror urge as I wait for the Blair Witch release date.


Content
1. Violence:  The movie shows some killings and extended scenes portraying intense struggles and assaults that leave characters with visible wounds.
2. Profanity:  There are several uses of the f-word, but little else.
3. Sexuality:  A dramatic plot development involves (SPOILER!!!) forced impregnation of a kidnapped victim and for a moment it seems as if someone will sexually violate another person, but not in the sense of traditional rape.


[1].  See below:
A.  Murder--Exodus 21:12-14--"Anyone who strikes a man and kills him shall surely be put to death.  However, if he did not do it intentionally, but God lets it happen, he is to flee to a place I will designate.  But if a man schemes and kills another man deliberately, take him away from my altar and put him to death."
B.  Kidnapping--Exodus 21:16--"Anyone who kidnaps another and either sells him or still has him when he is caught must be put to death."
C.  Rape--Deuteronomy 22:25-27--"But if out in the country a man happens to meet a girl pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die.  Do nothing to the girl; she has committed no sin deserving death.  This case is like that of someone who attacks and murders his neighbor, for the man found the girl out in the country, and though the betrothed girl screamed, there was no one to rescue her."