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‘Don’t Breathe 2’ Movie Review

Blind Leading the Blind

By Will LasleyPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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In this sequel to 2016’s Don’t Breathe, the Blind Man (Stephen Lang) has now adopted a young child (Madelyn Grace) and is raising her as his own. He teaches her everything he knows about survival, but when a group of strange men come looking for her, the Blind Man will have to finally confront his past and the villain he once was.

Don’t Breathe is one of my favorite horror movies of the 2010’s. It was simple, taut, and downright terrifying. Not to mention it had a killer twist at around the halfway point. The idea of doing a sequel didn’t make a ton of sense to me, because the first one was very self-contained. What else was there to do? That said, the same writers of the first film, Fede Álvarez and Rodo Sayagués, wrote this one, and while Álvarez directed that film, Sayagués makes his directorial debut with this one. Having the same team behind the camera made me way less apprehensive about the whole thing. And after seeing the movie, I was pretty satisfied! It’s not destined to be a classic like the first one or anything, but it was a good and worthy follow-up.

One thing that initially gave me pause when the first trailer dropped was that it seemed like they were trying to make the Blind Man a sort of anti-hero in the sequel. Given how vile some of his actions were in the first film, I wasn’t a huge fan of that decision upon first glance. In the context of the film, however, it does make a bit more sense. There are indications of his growth since the events of the first one, and without spoiling said previous movie, he sort of got what he always wanted at the beginning of this one. We do see him develop as a character over the course of the film, as well, even leading to a truly powerful, emotional speech towards the end.

Stephen Lang was truly a force of nature in the first film, and he hasn’t lost any of that power and grit. With him now having a sort of protégée, in addition to his dog from the original, we also get to see a bit more of a tender side to his character that he had walled up before the events of the previous movie. Phoenix, played by Madelyn Grace, really is the heart of the film, especially since she’s the one who is able to bring out the humanity in Lang. She’s able to convey the toughness that the Blind Man has been hammering into her, as well as the personality and curiosity of a child. We also get a primary antagonist played by Brendan Sexton III. I’m not going to spoil how he’s connected to the story, but he is the focal point of a couple of plot twists. He brings plenty of menace and unease to his role, and even some surprising sympathy.

One of the ways Don’t Breathe 2 distinguishes itself from its predecessor is by upping the action. The first film was more about the tension and claustrophobia, as the setting was far more confined. While there is still a fair amount of that in this one, at least half of the film takes place in somewhat less cramped quarters. This led them to take the Aliens approach, wherein the white-knuckle suspense of the first film, while still present throughout plenty of the film, is also accompanied by more action and gore. The 2016 film had a relatively low body count, which makes sense, as it was a fairly small cast. This one, while hardly an ensemble picture, does give the Blind Man more potential foes over the course of the film, especially during the finale. This does lead into my biggest criticism of the movie, however. A lot of the editing during said finale is really choppy and confusing at times; downright amateurish, actually. It feels like, once it became more of an action movie, the filmmakers kinda didn’t quite know what to do. Since this is Sayagués‘s time in the director’s chair, I can forgive this to an extent, but it is still a bit distracting. Luckily, this doesn’t last terribly long, and the climax that follows sets everything right back on track.

Don’t Breathe 2 won’t necessarily be as revered as it’s predecessor, but that doesn’t mean it’s not still a good flick. Stephen Lang continues to kick ass, and even though it’s not as tight or technically proficient as the film that came before it, the intensity stays consistent, and the curveballs keep coming.

SCORE: 4/5

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About the Creator

Will Lasley

I’m an actor and director of stage and screen. But I also dabble in standup, and on this site, horror movie criticism. I’m just a guy who loves horror movies, and I like to share that love with the world.

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