DON'T BREATHE (Blu-ray + Digital HD)
Release Date: November 29, 2016
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Video: 2.39:1 1080p Widescreen
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
THE RATINGS
The Movie Itself - ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Video Quality - ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2
Audio Quality - ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Special Features - ★ ★ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall - ★ ★ ★ ★ ✰
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THE FILM ITSELF Our Reviewer's Take
"The best American horror film in twenty years" isn't a marketing ploy.
"The best American horror film in twenty years" isn't a marketing ploy.
Reviewed by Gavin King
Note: While I like to stray away from spoilers in my Blu-ray reviews, there are certain aspects of Don't Breathe that I cannot describe without spoilers. Please proceed with caution, considering you have either seen the film in full length or are not worried about the spoilers.
There was a time, back in the good 'ol ages of the 1970s and 1980s, when horror films were all the rage. You know, when films like Halloween and Friday the 13th scared the living hell out of teenage girls and general moviegoers alike. Tickets would sell out at the door, popcorn would run out, and the auditorium itself would be practically full, everyone gleefully prepared for the sudden jump scares and creepiness factors that the movie ahead would have in store for them. Boy, were those seemingly good times. I wasn't alive at the time, but I can really visualize it in my head. The clamor, the smell of freshly-popped popping corn, and the cramming in the line to get a single ticket for the horror film. I bet they were truly memorable times. Fast-forward to this generation. Originality is scarce in Hollywood, especially horror-wise. Today, us moviegoers all crave the entry of a truly thoughtful storyline to compliment the scary factors in what is today a hugely unimaginative slop of dull plots, cheesy creep factors, and gimmicky jump scares. Forgettable so-called "scary movies" such as 2014's Ouija, 2013's Texas Chainsaw 3D, or earlier this year's fine-but-far-from-remarkable The Forest are examples of such disposable slasher flicks that would better work as direct-to-digital-streaming duds rather than true surprises in this day and age. But flash up a bit to 2016. Thank God. This year has been, in this reviewer's opinion, the best year for horror since the 80's. The freaky genre has been put in the hands of intelligent filmmakers like James Wan and Dan Trachtenberg to make films that not only hearken back to the days of, well, terrific horror but also offer up fresh, new ideas to the table to spark the imagination. Director Fede Alvarez's Don't Breathe, an incredibly-made, nimbly-paced home invasion horror thriller, is easily one of the best films to come out of the genre in years. It's the kind of film that literally keeps you on the edge of your seat and fully encompasses you into the characters' actions, twists and turns of the film, and its absolutely terrifying final act. If you aren't trembling by the end of the film, you need to check your pulse.
Rocky (Jane Levy), Alex (Dylan Minnette), and Money (Daniel Zovatto) rob houses. It's been a group thing, and they're always trying their best to steal things from the wealthiest houses. Eventually, Money sniffs out a new target. It's the house of a retired war Vet (Stephen Lang), who just so happens to be... blind. Hoping for some great dough, this trio of house invaders breaks into old blind man's home, crossing their fingers not to be caught, even as the house owner cannot see. But things soon don't go the way they hoped. The old blind man wakes up, confused, in the same room the three thieves are in. He causes the death of Money and the threat of it for Rocky and Alex. Now stuck in a game of cat and mouse, these two must work together, explore different rooms, and altogether get the hell out of this man's house before they're used for experiments the old man's got planned later on.Woah. Don't Breathe is an absolutely pulverizing, completely nail-biting rarity of a film that truly immerses its viewers who dare experience the film's elements in a teeth-gritting, ultimately suspenseful thrill ride. The film never lets go of its wonderfully simple premise and offers even the most brave of viewers a sack full of startling that truly makes said viewers fully feel for its characters. This is a film that springs out huge potential for horror director Fede Alvarez, who previously was the directing lead for 2013's remake of Evil Dead. Yet none of that is spared in terms of storyline. Alvarez keenly creates a phenomenally-done mixture of both positively overwhelming suspense and sharply-paced storytelling that meshes together into filmmaking excellence.
Technically, the film is also a success. The film's cinematography, courtesy of Pedro Luque, creates a down-aged, unremarkable-looking Detroit but one that truly benefits the feel, look, and tone of the film in the long run. What really shines here is the film's sound design. So much praise cannot be given enough to the film's sound engineers that have brought the claustrophobic factors of the blind man's house to disconcerting life. Each gunshot and creak seems to strike with unbelievable depth and suspense that's only made better with the abilities of the film's aural senses. With a film like this, sound design means everything here, and it really does work with startling style. The movie's cast performances are fantastic. Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, and Daniel Zovatto no doubt bring the roles of the trio of sneaky house robbers to life, but the real standout (as some might say) here is Stephen Lang as the blind old man. He's alarmingly scary in his role and brings out every last spark of agitation and madness to his wild revenge. A shockingly wonderful performance.
DON'T BREATHE Blu-ray - Video Quality
Let's just get this right off the bat; Don't Breathe is a very, very dark movie. That doesn't mean Sony's Blu-ray video presentation isn't faithful to the film's source material and cinematographer Pedro Luque's deep, dark intentions. Long shots of Detroit streets and neighborhoods look rather unremarkable at first glance, but - then again - it's meant. Therefore, general green grasses and the boring gray of the street pavement deliver with all of the visual power its seedy neighborhoods are capable of popping off. Details are impressive. Rocky's face pores and details, more prominent wrinkles on the old blind man, or just the noticeable objects and antiques of the main house the film revolves around are very strongly presented within the film's digital photography. Black levels play a huge part in maintaining the horror and suspense of the film's mood, and those levels are satisfyingly deep, inky, and dark without losing much of the intended action. The only real cause for complaint is some very mild source noise that slightly spikes up in a handful of shots, but other than that, there's no room for complaint. No banding, no aliasing, no seriously blatant compression issues. This isn't a hugely memorable looking image at the source. but the high-definition video transfer included with this disc compliments the film's cinematography's original intentions very well.
DON'T BREATHE Blu-ray - Audio Quality
Like described above, Don't Breathe is a film that depends upon sound design from first shot to last, and the disc's included DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack is an absolute joy to have in the audiophile's home theater. The track is aghast in impressively consistent surround activity and some very deep bass/LFE, which mostly comes into play courtesy of Roque Banos's chillingly effective background score and some of the film's big set pieces. Gunshots hits particularly hard. There's a beefy front-end presence to it as well as a nicely hard-hitting surround element to give it that extra bit of terrifying heft. Even smaller, subtler-sounding sound effects such as a footstep creaking on a wooden floor, an iPhone vibrating, or a doorknob being unlocked are professionally crisp and ultra-clear sounding. Music is a huge highlight. Like I mentioned before, the film's soundtrack is extremely bass-heavy and will give your home theater surround sound system a hearty workout. It's also well-mixed in the fact it arranges instruments in the soundtrack throughout the entire stage, which is very unique to the mix and gives it an immersive, lifelike element. Lighter atmospherics help to chime in to the overall environment, like chirping birds at the very beginning of the film. Dialogue, finally, is perfectly prioritized in the center channel, oftentimes maneuvering to side channels for a more realistic effect and to widen the soundscape. This is a truly incredible track one should be fortunate to include in a home theater. It's a shame this didn't include an Atmos track. It would be hugely interesting to see how overhead and height channels can improve upon an already incredibly immersive track like this.
DON'T BREATHE Blu-ray - Special Features
- Commentary with Fede Alvarez, Rodo Sayagues and Stephen Lang These three lead the track. It's not a particularly informative track, as the trio is a bit on the small talk side of things, but fans should at least find this enjoyable if not lacking in truly meaty content.- No Escape is a 3 minute featurette about the cinematography and look/feel of the house that was intended by the filmmakers.
- Man in the Dark Actor Stephen Lang explains the characteristics of his character, the blind man, and the many different factors that bring his character to emotionally unsettling life.
- Meet the Cast is, as the title suggests, a featurette looking at the cast and the actors themselves explaining the roles of Rocky, played by Jane Levy, Alex, played by Dylan Minnette, and Money, played by Daniel Zovatto, as well as that infamous old blind man (Stephen Lang)
- Creating the Creepy House is a unique little behind-the-scenes piece which takes a sort-of "tour" of the old blind man's house.
- The Sounds of Horror takes a look at the film's pulse-pounding soundtrack by Roque Banos, and the really cool instruments that make up the terror of the background music that accompanies the film.
- 8 Deleted Scenes include the following with an optional commentary track with director Fede Alvarez: A Blind Man Gardening, The Ladybug Song, Father and Son, Diner Dancing, Only a Father Understands, Alex Calls Dad, There is No God, and Rocky Kisses Alex.
DON'T BREATHE Blu-ray - Overall Recommendation
Don't Breathe is an absolutely gutting, completely enveloping movie experience that may not sit well with most viewers on their first watch. But it's such a rarity a film like this comes along, a film where you can truly feel for its characters, good or bad. It's a hell of a film and manages to balance its gleefully entertaining horror elements with a surprisingly satisfying storyline, excellent cast performances, and a skilled, top-notch sound design. It may not get nominated for Best Picture category in 2017's Oscars, but no matter. It's a film that will stand the test of time in terms of horror and terror and one that's absolutely positive to delight horror/thriller junkies as well as general moviegoers looking to get a little something - shockingly - different in what has seemed to be a stream of somewhat dull and lame cash-grabs in 2016's year of cinema. And Stephen Lang as the blind man? Shivers. Wish you luck ridding him out of your nightmares for weeks. Sony's Blu-ray scares up incredible 1080p video, wonderfully demo-worthy lossless audio that compliments the film's original terrific sound design, and a not particularly deep but on-the-whole good supplemental package. Even despite the lack of deeper, more thoughtful supplements, Don't Breathe still remains one of my favorite movies of the year and easily earns my highest recommendation.
Here are some extra screenshots of the film for your entertainment/technical purposes:
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