Veins popping through those sculpted biceps, trembling lips and a little girl in tow that he is hell-bent on keeping all to himself, "I am trying to protect you," justifies the 'blind old man' aka Norman Nordstrom (Stephen Lang). It's been eight years since that&nbsp;fatal fire and Phoenix (Madelyn Grace) still&nbsp;doesn't get to venture out on her own. That the man's got his own demons to fight and subdue, is evident through his interactions with parallel actors.&nbsp;

 
What transpires (hint: an intrusion) between the former Navy Seal's insecurities and the little girl's quench for freedom is what constitutes the skeleton of 'Don't Breathe 2'--sequel to the iconic psychological thriller 'Don't Breathe' (2016).

<img alt="Lang as the 'blind old man' in 'Don't Breathe 2'" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a72f690a-c4cd-4bc4-a8ed-76bf44407d1c" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/pjimage%20-%202021-09-17T152145.473.jpg" />

First things first, this hellraising thriller franchise has had a shift of creative hands--the debut instalment was helmed by Fede Alvarez, while the current offering is by Rodo Sayagues (with writing credits split between the two)--and this piece of information is crucial to its review primarily because the intensity of ghast and gore vary in&nbsp;degree in 'Don't Breathe 2'. Unlike its predecessor, which was unapologetically brutal in its treatment of the script and more so of the characters, this one infuses drama in the narrative: an irreparable damage to the diegesis. In a character-driven thriller, we need the story to move at a lightening speed for it stay edgy, with able support from background-score department, cinematography and 'bloody' good actors (pun very much intended). Not a beginning-middle-end format based storyline, please!&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/hollywood/news-sex-education-3-review-wilder-sexual-urges-bolder-tropes-this-time-round-413686">Sex Education 3 review: Wilder sexual urges, bolder tropes this time round</a>

Lang's older-than-'blind old man' avatar is reclusive, burdened with shame and guilt and a combat veteran who is quick with his reflexes: everything that had kept us on the edge of our seats back in 2016. At 69, Lang packs punches better than most kids half his age--actors or not. His deep-set voice--although sounds partially caricaturish--adds to the insanity that is 'Don't Breathe 2'. Madelyn Grace is the little ninja that the old man needed in his stand-alone act. As Phoenix--a metaphor to&nbsp;her back story--Grace is fast, feisty, curious and emotes through her eyes.&nbsp;

<img alt="Lang and Grace in a still from 'Don't Breathe 2'" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b7862fde-0f9a-4deb-844b-021d2997eec1" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/pjimage%20-%202021-09-17T152015.477.jpg" />

True, in a movie like 'Don't Breathe 2', there's only so much one can do, but that, in no way, means one gets to inculcate drama and disturb the flow of an already hit psychological-thriller franchise. If we were you, we would still watch it for Stephen Lang, the high-octane action sequences and Lang mouthing the blind old man's&nbsp;iconic dialogue--"Now you're gonna see what I see." 
&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/hollywood/news-scenes-from-a-marriage-ep-1-review-jessica-chastain--oscar-isaac-infuse-modern-easy-into-this-old-saga-413109">Scenes From A Marriage EP 1 review: Jessica Chastain &amp; Oscar Isaac infuse 'modern easy' into this old saga</a>

Veins popping through those sculpted biceps, trembling lips and a little girl in tow that he is hell-bent on keeping all to himself, "I am trying to protect you," justifies the 'blind old man' aka Norman Nordstrom (Stephen Lang).

Veins popping through those sculpted biceps, trembling lips and a little girl in tow that he is hell-bent on keeping all to himself, "I am trying to protect you," justifies the 'blind old man' aka Norman Nordstrom (Stephen Lang). It's been eight years since that fatal fire and Phoenix (Madelyn Grace) still doesn't get to venture out on her own. That the man's got his own demons to fight and subdue, is evident through his interactions with parallel actors. What transpires (hint: an intrusion) between the former Navy Seal's insecurities and the little girl's quench for freedom is what constitutes the skeleton of 'Don't Breathe 2'--sequel to the iconic psychological thriller 'Don't Breathe' (2016). First things first, this hellraising thriller franchise has had a shift of creative hands--the debut instalment was helmed by Fede Alvarez, while the current offering is by Rodo Sayagues (with writing credits split between the two)--and this piece of information is crucial to its review primarily because the intensity of ghast and gore vary in degree in 'Don't Breathe 2'. Unlike its predecessor, which was unapologetically brutal in its treatment of the script and more so of the characters, this one infuses drama in the narrative: an irreparable damage to the diegesis. In a character-driven thriller, we need the story to move at a lightening speed for it stay edgy, with able support from background-score department, cinematography and 'bloody' good actors (pun very much intended). Not a beginning-middle-end format based storyline, please! Also read: Sex Education 3 review: Wilder sexual urges, bolder tropes this time round Lang's older-than-'blind old man' avatar is reclusive, burdened with shame and guilt and a combat veteran who is quick with his reflexes: everything that had kept us on the edge of our seats back in 2016. At 69, Lang packs punches better than most kids half his age--actors or not. His deep-set voice--although sounds partially caricaturish--adds to the insanity that is 'Don't Breathe 2'. Madelyn Grace is the little ninja that the old man needed in his stand-alone act. As Phoenix--a metaphor to her back story--Grace is fast, feisty, curious and emotes through her eyes. True, in a movie like 'Don't Breathe 2', there's only so much one can do, but that, in no way, means one gets to inculcate drama and disturb the flow of an already hit psychological-thriller franchise. If we were you, we would still watch it for Stephen Lang, the high-octane action sequences and Lang mouthing the blind old man's iconic dialogue--"Now you're gonna see what I see." Also read: Scenes From A Marriage EP 1 review: Jessica Chastain & Oscar Isaac infuse 'modern easy' into this old saga

Don't Breathe 2 review: Stephen Lang renders you breathless in this tired sequel

A new wave of low-budget smart horror movies is challenging the studio behemoths with a recipe that swaps gratuitous gore and elaborate special effects for good old-fashioned suspense. 
 
&quot;Don&#39;t Breathe&quot;, which is due for release next week on the back of widespread acclaim, is hoping to emulate the success of &quot;The Babadook&quot;, &quot;It Follows&quot; and a series of other creepy hits made on a shoestring. 
 
While they lack the marketing muscle of the summer tentpoles, these films often become word-of-mouth hits, gathering momentum as reviewers praise their uncompromising refusal to rely on the usual horror tropes. 
 
&quot;Mainstream horror these days is really all about whatever&#39;s clever, a new twist on an old story, or one hell of a trailer,&quot; Jeff Bock, of film industry research firm Exhibitor Relations, told AFP.&nbsp;&quot;As we&#39;ve seen lately, &#39;smart&#39; horror films are in vogue right now,&quot; he said, adding however that there would always be excitement when &quot;a horror icon is revived for one more hunt&quot;. 
 
&quot;It Follows&quot; (2014), a thematically rich modern slasher that takes its cue from the 1980s output of masters like Wes Craven and John Carpenter, is often cited as the jewel in the crown of horror&#39;s new wave.&nbsp;Its director David Robert Mitchell was acclaimed for weaving the cliche of teenagers menaced by a malevolent supernatural force into that rarest of things, a scary movie that drips with subtext and not just blood. 
 
One of its leads, Daniel Zovatto, also stars in Fede Alvarez&#39;s &quot;Don&#39;t Breathe&quot;, which hits cinemas on Friday and is the director&#39;s second feature after the 2013 remake of horror classic &quot;Evil Dead&quot;.&nbsp;Made on a budget of just $10 million, &quot;Don&#39;t Breathe&quot; follows a trio of friends who break into the house of a blind recluse, confident of an easy pay day, only to find themselves in a terrifying life-or-death struggle. 
 
&quot;At the time when we first showed the movie people had no idea what it was about. There was no trailer, there was nothing,&quot; says Zovatto, a 25-year-old Costa Rican actor last seen in AMC&#39;s zombie show &quot;Fear the Walking Dead&quot;.&nbsp;&quot;Don&#39;t Breathe&quot; is unusual in that there are very few jump scares, a staple of the teen slasher end of the horror genre, and those that do feature feel like they&#39;ve been earned. 
 
Zovatto, who appears with stage and screen veteran Stephen Lang, relative unknown Dylan Minnette and &quot;Evil Dead&quot; star Jane Levy, says he grew up watching horror movies, but was often disappointed.&nbsp;&quot;I think there were a few years, especially in my teenage years, where I would go and watch films in this genre and I was just devastated because I didn&#39;t really get to see something that I liked,&quot; he says. 
 
&quot;And I feel like this whole new wave brought a new perspective to the genre and new directors like Fede Alvarez and David Robert Mitchell, and they are changing the game.&quot; 
 
Alvarez, who brought in almost $100 million with &quot;Evil Dead&quot; on a $17 million budget, prides himself on trying to &quot;spot what everyone else is doing and (running) in the opposite direction&quot;. 
 
After directing a relatively conventional remake, the 38-year-old Uruguayan wanted to avoid haunted houses, chain saws, zombies and all the other go-to devices in the horror toolkit.&nbsp;Brought up by his father on a diet of Alfred Hitchcock, &quot;Psycho&quot;, followed by &quot;Vertigo&quot;, &quot;Strangers on a Train&quot; and many of the others, Alvarez says that, for him, horror was &quot;never the scares and the jumps, it was always about suspense&quot;. 
 
&quot;A couple of things I love and I wanted to bring to this film: one was suspense, and the second one is that the characters always have shady morals,&quot; he told AFP.&nbsp;&quot;If you take Janet Leigh stealing money in &#39;Psycho&#39;, or in &#39;Strangers on a Train&#39; obviously plotting to kill the guy&#39;s wife... they&#39;re not your everyday Hollywood heroes.&quot; 
 
If you give your central characters nuance, he argues, you&#39;ll keep the filmgoers guessing about who they should be rooting for, who deserves to survive, who should get the money and how it&#39;s going to end.&nbsp;&quot;I like that you have to choose who to root for, and I&#39;m not spoonfeeding you about who&#39;s a hero and who&#39;s a villain, who&#39;s the funny guy,&quot; the director said. 
 
(AFP)

'Don't Breathe', a movie made on a budget of just $10 million, is challenging the studio behemoths with good old-fashioned suspense

A new wave of low-budget smart horror movies is challenging the studio behemoths with a recipe that swaps gratuitous gore and elaborate special effects for good old-fashioned suspense. "Don't Breathe", which is due for release next week on the back of widespread acclaim, is hoping to emulate the success of "The Babadook", "It Follows" and a series of other creepy hits made on a shoestring. While they lack the marketing muscle of the summer tentpoles, these films often become word-of-mouth hits, gathering momentum as reviewers praise their uncompromising refusal to rely on the usual horror tropes. "Mainstream horror these days is really all about whatever's clever, a new twist on an old story, or one hell of a trailer," Jeff Bock, of film industry research firm Exhibitor Relations, told AFP. "As we've seen lately, 'smart' horror films are in vogue right now," he said, adding however that there would always be excitement when "a horror icon is revived for one more hunt". "It Follows" (2014), a thematically rich modern slasher that takes its cue from the 1980s output of masters like Wes Craven and John Carpenter, is often cited as the jewel in the crown of horror's new wave. Its director David Robert Mitchell was acclaimed for weaving the cliche of teenagers menaced by a malevolent supernatural force into that rarest of things, a scary movie that drips with subtext and not just blood. One of its leads, Daniel Zovatto, also stars in Fede Alvarez's "Don't Breathe", which hits cinemas on Friday and is the director's second feature after the 2013 remake of horror classic "Evil Dead". Made on a budget of just $10 million, "Don't Breathe" follows a trio of friends who break into the house of a blind recluse, confident of an easy pay day, only to find themselves in a terrifying life-or-death struggle. "At the time when we first showed the movie people had no idea what it was about. There was no trailer, there was nothing," says Zovatto, a 25-year-old Costa Rican actor last seen in AMC's zombie show "Fear the Walking Dead". "Don't Breathe" is unusual in that there are very few jump scares, a staple of the teen slasher end of the horror genre, and those that do feature feel like they've been earned. Zovatto, who appears with stage and screen veteran Stephen Lang, relative unknown Dylan Minnette and "Evil Dead" star Jane Levy, says he grew up watching horror movies, but was often disappointed. "I think there were a few years, especially in my teenage years, where I would go and watch films in this genre and I was just devastated because I didn't really get to see something that I liked," he says. "And I feel like this whole new wave brought a new perspective to the genre and new directors like Fede Alvarez and David Robert Mitchell, and they are changing the game." Alvarez, who brought in almost $100 million with "Evil Dead" on a $17 million budget, prides himself on trying to "spot what everyone else is doing and (running) in the opposite direction". After directing a relatively conventional remake, the 38-year-old Uruguayan wanted to avoid haunted houses, chain saws, zombies and all the other go-to devices in the horror toolkit. Brought up by his father on a diet of Alfred Hitchcock, "Psycho", followed by "Vertigo", "Strangers on a Train" and many of the others, Alvarez says that, for him, horror was "never the scares and the jumps, it was always about suspense". "A couple of things I love and I wanted to bring to this film: one was suspense, and the second one is that the characters always have shady morals," he told AFP. "If you take Janet Leigh stealing money in 'Psycho', or in 'Strangers on a Train' obviously plotting to kill the guy's wife... they're not your everyday Hollywood heroes." If you give your central characters nuance, he argues, you'll keep the filmgoers guessing about who they should be rooting for, who deserves to survive, who should get the money and how it's going to end. "I like that you have to choose who to root for, and I'm not spoonfeeding you about who's a hero and who's a villain, who's the funny guy," the director said. (AFP)

The rise of smart, low-budget horror movies

dont-breathe-horror-movie

Don't Breathe' Horror Movie, News on Don't Breathe' Horror Movie, stories on Don't Breathe' Horror Movie, articles on Don't Breathe' Horror Movie, Don't Breathe' Horror Movie stories at Wion, Don't Breathe' Horror Movie news, Don't Breathe' Horror Movie latest news

dont breathe-horror-movie

Don't Breathe 2 review: Stephen Lang renders you breathless in this tired sequel

The rise of smart, low-budget horror movies