Notice to claustrophobic people of all kinds, flee poor fools! On October 5, " Don't Breathe: The House of Darkness" is released in theaters, whose atmosphere is likely to make more than one shudder.
Synopsis: Rocky is a young teenager desperate to escape, with her little sister, from her family hell. To do so, she burglarizes various houses with her friends Alex and Money, without earning enough money to leave the cities of Detroit. Then comes the opportunity that the three friends have been waiting for. In a house occupied by a lonely old blind man, a bargain awaits them, which can finally bring them out of their gloomy existence. They then prepare their last and final burglary. However, the blind man in question turns out to be a formidable adversary, inhabited by a very deep madness…
"Don't Breathe: The House of Darkness" is characterized by its efficiency in writing and meticulousness in realization. In this atmosphere worthy of a "survival horror", we are served by a staging frighteningly powerful. Whether it's the dirty and dark visual stamp of the house, or the sequence shots exacerbating claustrophobic fears, nothing is left to chance to maintain this sinister atmosphere.
This climate of fear succeeds in creating a second strength for the film, which is that of identification with the characters and their situation. Although some aspects of the screenplay are surreal, the circumstances in which the protagonists evolve are strikingly realistic. We then come to imagine what our own reactions would be in such horrible conditions. This identification with various situations is thus a real vector of anxiety, playing cleverly with the nerves of the spectators. We thus find very daring scenes, especially during the confrontation of the protagonists and their torturer in total darkness, darkness conferring a certain advantage to the blind antagonist.If we still sometimes find some gimmicks specific to horror films, " Don't Breathe" has the intelligence not to fall into the cliché, which is rudely pleasant for a film of this register.
The young actors chosen for the film are very good in their respective roles.However, we would have benefited from slightly developing the backgrounds of the characters, because apart from Rocky whose daily life is surreptitiously exposed to us, we have nothing to attach ourselves to them. Stephen Lang (Avatar, Terra Nova) meanwhile, is absolutely scary in his role as a former soldier.Like a blind destructive force, he admirably reverses the trend by becoming the hunter and not the prey of his burglars. Lang is a real asset in the atmosphere of this film, adding the final touch that the staging needed.
Only one question now remains: should we expect a sequel? Although the main plot is fully resolved by the end of the film, an inspired screenwriter would be quite capable of imagining a sequel for this "survival horror". Let's hope that the film will be self-sufficient, so as not to fall into the cynical trap of the average horror license. But perhaps it is backbiting and that no sequel will be superimposed on this very beautiful success of realization.
