October Horror Challenge 2022 #90: "Don't Breathe"

When this came out, one reviewer called it the best American horror movie in 20 years. That's pretty high praise (no wonder they put it on the poster for the movie, now THAT'S a headline) and it's what made me initially want to see this movie. I love slashers, and home invasion horror movies freak me out, so this sounded like the perfect movie for me. Unfortunately, life got away from me and it wasn't until today that I was able to check it out. Let's see what I think of it.

In this movie, three Detroit thieves named Rocky, Alex and Money get their money by robbing the houses of rich people. One day, Money hears about a blind war veteran who won a huge cash settlement when his only child died. Thinking they're about to score some easy money, the three thieves break into his secluded home in a run-down neighborhood. Unfortunately, the plan goes awry and they find themselves trapped inside the home in a desperate fight for their lives after finding out a shocking secret about their supposedly helpless victim.

See, THIS is why you don't rob people. Well, that and it's illegal and morally wrong and all that, but this movie makes a life of crime look terrifying. This movie and a movie called "The Collector" are enough to deter me from a life of crime, because you just don't know when you break into someone's house what you're going to find there. In this case, yeah the guy is blind, but they're on his turf and he knows the layout of his house well enough to find his way aroundfairly easily whereas the place is like a maze to them, especially in the dark.

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The gore in this movie happens mostly in the dark, so it's not all that plentiful, but there's lots of violence (I mean lots of it) so the movie is pretty sadistic in that regard. I don't know if it qualifies as a slasher exactly, but there are some creative weapons used in this movie. I would typically say using a gun is lazy in a movie like this, but this particular movie manages to make good use of a gun, a wrench, a crowbar, the door handle of a fridge, a radiator on the wall, various other blunt instruments, plus I'll never look at artificial insemination the same way after this movie. Hell, even man's best friend gets a turn to be used as a weapon at one point. Overall, this is a very well-done movie. on to the sequel we go!