Don’t Breathe 2 – Film Review

A blind veteran named Norman Nordstrom (Stephen Lang) must use his military training to save a young orphan named Phoenix (Madelyn Grace) from a group of thugs who break into his home.

Do you remember the theatrical release rollout of Fall 2016? It actually brings me a ton of nostalgia and makes me feel quite old – 2016 literally feels like maybe two years ago, three at most, and yet it was five years ago. I vividly remember seeing David Ayer‘s Suicide Squad that Fall, as well as Paul Greengrass‘ Jason Bourne, and my personal favorite movie of that year, Travis Knight‘s beautiful stop-motion animation feature Kubo and the Two Strings.

But one of the most surprisingly excellent releases of that Fall schedule was Fede Álvarez‘s Don’t Breathe, which followed Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, and Daniel Zovatto as three young adults who break into a blind man’s house after learning that he has a hefty amount of cash inside. Rocky, portrayed by Levy, wants to move away and start a new life with her young sister Diddy but needs money to do so. Enter Don’t Breathe.

One of the things I loved most about that original film is how nobody was “good”. Everybody did things in the film that you didn’t agree with, making it a film that, for a while, made you decide who to root for. Of course, the ending makes it very clear that the blind man, Norman, is a rapist and a murderer and so you can no longer side with him, resulting in one of the most insane third acts of the past few years.

When it was announced that a sequel to the film was in the works, I was absolutely ecstatic having been a massive fan of the first. Even before seeing this follow-up, however, I was quite let down by the fact that Levy wasn’t reprising her role as Rocky, this film instead focusing on a new group of thieves that cause trouble for Norman eight years after the events of the original.

So, how is Don’t Breathe 2? Well, it’s actually shockingly good and is the rare horror sequel that doesn’t feel like a tired continuation of what was great before. This sequel takes things to more chaotic heights, and although it’s not as good as the first, it’s still a relentlessly entertaining exercise in tension boasting some truly great performances along the way.

This sequel was directed by Rodo Sayagues, instead of Álvarez, but fear not, the duo did write the script together and they mostly did a great job here, and Sayagues was a wonderful choice for director on this project. Together, Sayagues and Álvarez find clever and unique ways to progress the Don’t Breathe storyline forward all while leaving the door open for some more stories in the future, albeit ones that could be quite different than what we’d expect.

At times, however, the script can suffer from some genuinely awful dialogue. And I mean seriously horrible. There were a few lines in this film that seriously had me cringing and I can’t blame the actors, because they were simply given a script and were told to speak those lines and did so to the best of their abilities. It’s the screenwriters’ fault. Most of the script is strong, but in terms of dialogue, there was definitely room for improvement.

But what didn’t need improvement or fine-tuning is the sense of tension that was so beautifully on display in the first outing. There was just something so intense about watching a group of people trying to traverse this blind man’s house and not get caught, because if they do, they will quite literally die. Not only is Norman an intimidating guy in general, but he is also a Navy Seal, so he knows how to hurt someone if need be.

Thankfully, this second outing does not forget how to create a sense of genuine tension that almost never lets up. Of course, there are a few moments here where the tension is broken and we are given a few moments to breathe (although the title tells us not to) and while it would’ve been nice to have gotten a film where we hold our breath the whole way through, like the first, I understand that this film wanted to do some different things with its story so it didn’t bother me too much.

Something I was incredibly worried about before going to see Don’t Breathe 2 revolved around the character of Norman Nordstrom himself. In the first film, we learn that he is truly a sick man. He’s a murderer and a rapist, who kidnapped a girl and placed her inside his basement for some horrific reasons.

All of the trailers for this sequel marketed the film as Norman’s turn to become an action hero. Sadly, the film does feel that way for a lot of it. We are supposed to root for him the whole way through, and I honestly didn’t like that at all. Gratefully, the movie does find some ways to remind us how awful he is and the third act really drives this home, but I wish this film didn’t paint him in a “hero” light at all.

Nevertheless, Stephen Lang is once again terrific here in the role of Norman, who is perhaps even more intimidating than he was previously. You truly get the sense that if you get on this guy’s bad side, then you will cease to exist not long later. Other great actors in this film include Brendan Sexton III as Raylan, who is quite the mysterious character that gets a surprising amount of things to do, so for the sake of this review, I won’t get into who he is, but his character was a welcomed addition and Sexton does a great job in the role.

As does Madelyn Grace, who gets introduced into this series as Pheonix, Norman’s adopted daughter. The things they do with her character are not all that unique but for the story they were trying to tell, it worked as well as it could’ve.

Don’t Breathe 2 doesn’t feel as fresh or innovative as the first entry, but this is still an extremely good movie for many reasons. The sense of tension isn’t lost here, the performances are all terrific, and it’s relentlessly fun. Both movies also feature a chaotic third act, so, buckle up, and have fun.