How Don't Breathe 2 Combines Bloody Drive and Typical Sequel Mistakes

On August 12, the continuation of the film "Don't Breathe" was released on Russian screens. In 2016, the first part made a lot of noise: the film of the not-too-famous director Federico Alvarez with a scanty budget of $ 10 million became a box office hit, recouping the costs about 15 times. As a result, "Don't Breathe" even helped Sony Pictures cope with financial problems after the failure of "Ghostbusters".

The reasons for the film's success are obvious. The intimate film about three young thieves who climb into the house of a blind old man, but meet with an unexpected rebuff, ironically dealt with stereotypes of horror and thrillers. In the plot about a maniac who hunts people in a locked house, teenagers themselves were made villains. And then the story turned upside down once again when the terrible secret of the owner, obsessed with revenge after the death of his daughter, was revealed.

The sequel also takes a set of stereotypical moves and turns them inside out at some point. But the sequel sometimes flirts with the form, and in the end the plot seems too drawn. And they try to compensate for the shortcomings with an abundance of blood and cruelty.

A regular sequel with typical flaws

More than eight years have passed since the events shown in Don't Breathe. Blind Norman (Stephen Lang) lives with his daughter Phoenix (Madeline Grace) in a secluded house somewhere on the outskirts. He brings up the girl strictly and is literally obsessed with her safety. Phoenix studies at home, and in addition to the usual lessons, Norman trains her according to all sorts of rules of survival.

It soon becomes clear that there were reasons for the fears. One night, a group of criminals comes to their house and wants to steal the girl. Like Norman, they went through the war, and therefore it will be much more difficult for an old man to deal with them than with random thieves.

At the same time, the bandits themselves claim that they have serious reasons for the attack. But the owner will make every effort to deal with even such dangerous enemies.

Perhaps the biggest flaw in Don't Breathe 2 is that the original story simply doesn't need a sequel. The intimate author's film did not go beyond the scope of a genre experiment. But according to the laws of show business, a sequel to such a profitable release is a matter of time. The only surprising thing is that it came out five years later, and not in hot pursuit.

The sequel was directed by the co-writer of the first part, Rodo Saiyages, while Alvarez helped with the plot. Therefore, the second part, fortunately, retains the general spirit of the story. But this did not get rid of the usual problems of the sequels. The plot, as expected, picks up the most beloved themes of the original: the old man is made the main character, the theme of the daughter is developed, the scale of events is increased and more dangerous enemies are introduced.

This has several advantages. The second time to show the story from the point of view of Norman's enemies (or victims) is pointless, now the authors logically reveal this particular hero. And, as it turns out, it is not so straightforward.

Initially, the blind old man seemed literally invincible. But in reality, he was simply confronting frightened youths who did not know how to use weapons. And when the hero faces prepared enemies, it is much harder for him. Although, of course, his victory is not in doubt.

In parallel, Norman's personal life is revealed. Here the thought will probably arise that he was not an exemplary father for his deceased daughter either. Although, in parallel, its good features are also manifested. Surprisingly, the main contrast between hero and villain is in relation to animals.

But at the same time, the action still seems to be marking time, the sequel simply does not offer the viewer anything fundamentally new. The first of the two main plot twists will be obvious to everyone who saw the first film, the small details will not affect the perception too much. And at the heart of the plot is exactly the same scheme: the blind hero, all in the same bloody T-shirt, uses his skills to deal with the villains.

New stereotypes and plot twists

The first "Don't Breathe" played on the standard moves of horror films in an unusual way. The sequel, in the same way, takes several stereotypes of mass cinema and collects its own plot from them.

The very plot, where an adult man teaches a girl survival techniques, will remind, for example, "Hanna is the perfect weapon." Further, the audience will surely have associations with "John Wick". But, perhaps, the movie has the most parallels with Logan: from a partial coincidence of the plot to a dirty T-shirt on the pumped up body of an old but cool character.

Still, the first part dealt with quotes and genre elements in a rather unusual way: it was difficult for the victims to empathize, since they themselves are villains. And the old man, protecting his home, at some point turned into a monster. "Don't Breathe - 2" sometimes tries to do the same, but fails to keep the balance.

An attempt to shock the viewer with the second twist looks far-fetched: too many details coincide by chance. At the same time, in terms of citing the above films for the finale, it will be difficult to resist the joke “just don't copy it exactly”.

The same balance is lacking in the film's mood. The action starts quickly, but not only the uneven pace interferes further, but also the too comical characters. The ridiculous behavior of the supposedly tough bandits still fits into the genre. But from the middle of the film, a heroine appears who is so inadequate that she seems to have come from a black comedy.

In short, "Don't Breathe - 2" collects all the typical mistakes of the sequels: it goes into quoting and self-citing, takes too standard moves and throws up new surprises that no longer look so organic.

Ultraviolence and beautiful staging

All the shortcomings of the film are compensated for by excessive cruelty. And here each viewer will decide whether this is good or bad: some are frightened by too grotesque and realistic violence, for others it is great entertainment.

Surprisingly, the first film was not too bloody: a small number of characters affected. The sequel, on the other hand, turns on the faucet full of artificial blood. Since Norman now has much more enemies, a lot of "cannon fodder" is added to the plot - villains who are needed only to be somehow unexpectedly killed.

All possible and impossible means are used: hammer, gas and short circuit, machete, glue. Sometimes it even evokes associations with the "Destination": you can guess which of the dangerous items will be used.

By the end, with deliberate cruelty, they clearly go overboard. Most of the scenes, though, are saved by the gorgeous Stephen Lang. The actor, who will turn 70 next year, is in excellent physical shape and plays literally to break. Sharp movements of the hero and his few remarks are sometimes more frightening than another head knocked out with a hammer.

Since the sequel has a different director, and even a debutant in the production, the picture became not so pretentious. But the variety of locations helps here. When the heroes are not locked in the same house, the authors have the opportunity to show more beautiful shots and it is interesting to play with color filters: the cold blue tones of the basement in the final are replaced by the warm rays of dawn. A simple but very suitable artistic technique.

Like most sequels in cinematic history, Don't Breathe 2 loses out to the first. The idea doesn't seem so fresh, and the plot twists are slightly far-fetched. But fans will surely be pleased with the more detailed disclosure of their favorite hero and the grotesque cruelty that accompanies the entire action.