When Don’t Breathe was first released in 2016, it served as the type of inventive bare bones thriller that made audiences white knuckle it to the bitter end. Critics actually kind of dug it, and the enthusiastic audience response led it to being an unexpected box office smash worldwide. As with most films in the genre, the original Don’t Breathe left room to continue the story which the financial success all but ensured. What does come as a bit of a surprise is that it took five years to get the next chapter of this story on screen. Even more of a surprise is the direction in which they chose to take the story. Those who caught the first film know that one of the intruders in the house of blind SEAL veteran Norman Nordstrom (Stephen Lang, Avatar) got away. This follow-up does not pick up on this thread, which is perfectly fine, but the story they choose to tell asks the audience to forgive and forget a lot that happened in the first installment – Norman is not a good man. Don’t Breathe 2 sets up a story that is tricky, and ultimately it is unable to gracefully execute it in a way that feels worthy of the effort.
The film begins with a similar aerial panning shot as the original of a young three-year-old girl stumbling down a street from a burning house. We immediately jump eight years in the future and the eleven-year-old Phoenix (Madelyn Grace) is being trained by her father, Norman, to survive in the world. Given what we learned about Norman in the first film and plans he had to bring a child into the world, the validity of what he tells Phoenix about her origins is suspicious, but supposedly her mother died in the house fire. As far as we can tell, society as a whole is on a downturn and the earth is reclaiming their little suburb of Detroit, but not much is made of this vaguely post-apocalyptic setting. What we do know is that Normas is suspicious of the outside world and very protective of Phoenix. One would think lightning would not strike twice when it comes to home invasions, but Norman is soon proven right when a gang of meth heads led by a man named Raylan (Brendan Sexton III) break into their home one night only to give him a chance to show off his penchant for surviving the seemingly impossible.
In terms of sheer violent thrills, Don’t Breathe 2 matches that of its predecessor, if not outright exceeds it. In this first film, you had three intruders who found the tables turned on them, where the number this time feels nearly endless. The film at least hits double digits in the body count department when all is said and done. It is so much fun to see how Norman survives and dispatches with these evil men in creative ways. This can only sustain you for so long, and it proves to be one of the drawbacks to this outing. For the majority of the first film, you had two figures trying to escape from Norman’s house. This led to scenes of unbearable tension where they could be mere feet away from this man and their certain doom (hence, “don’t breathe”). This time out, there is no such tension since the intruders do not care if they are located. They are the ones doing the siege, and with this one key difference you turn Norman into a blind Rambo (seriously, watch Last Blood and tell me it’s not similar). It’s all violence and action and no real tension outside whether or not Phoenix is going to survive.
This is the other main issue with this outing; the creatives behind this team try so hard to make you root for Norman when in all honesty he is simply not worth it. Yes, he is softened by the inclusion of a young child in his care this time out, but five years cannot erase the memories of what he did in the first film. Not only that, but this entry tries to recreate the fun twists that the first film offered up to much less success. Lang is incredible as Norman and is commended for making this role so iconic and ruthless, but the screenplay he is saddled with attempts to manipulate the audience into feeling something that is not earned. On a pure entertainment level, there is much to enjoy about the carnage that is offered up in the name of righteousness, but the plot leaves you without a strong emotional anchor. You do not have to love the characters in a film or think they are good people, but you need to feel invested for any of the action to have stakes. Don’t Breathe 2 is a visceral experience that works in fits and spurts, but it fails at being a good sequel as it abandons what made the first film so effective and asks the audience to forgive too much.
Video Quality
The 4K UHD Blu-Ray of Don’t Breathe 2 offers a very striking presentation, but since there is not an accompanying Blu-Ray to compare it to it is unclear how much of an upgrade it is. Skin tones appear very natural with healthy doses of crisp detail apparent on faces such as pores and grime. The increased range of the color spectrum is stunning to behold. The HDR enriches the colors from already impressive to out of this world when it comes to vibrancy. The almost post-apocalyptic landscape features vibrant pops of green vegetation, and there are some lighting choices that are reproduced in a way that is eye-popping. The highlights in the film are more defined with whites more pure and balanced with no instances of blooming to be found. Elements inside the house and surrounding environments are more vivid and finely delineated. The black levels are especially strong in this presentation, staying deep and inky with great detail. This 4K UHD presentation really delivers on all fronts including strong gains in clarity and color. I’m sure the Blu-Ray is great, but Sony has delivered another fantastic transfer on this latest 4K release.
Audio Quality
This disc comes equipped with an incredibly effective Dolby Atmos presentation that fully immerses you in this world. There are elements in this track that are truly unnerving, such as the sounds of the gunshots and explosions. Sounds are appropriately rendered with precise directionality from the more kinetic scenes to the quieter dialogue-driven scenes filled with subtle whispers. The score from Roque Baños brings this film to life in a really thrilling way. Dialogue is presented perfectly clear without ever being overwhelmed by any of the competing sonic elements. The low end is engaged well as an extension of certain exciting elements like shootouts. The sound design of this film is quite intense, and the implementation of environmental sounds are executed very effectively. The mix here is very well done with nice engagement of all the channels, which makes this track more than satisfactory for fans of the film.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary #1: Director & Co-Writer Rodo Sayagues delivers a fairly entertaining and informative commentary track in which he talks stepping behind the camera for this installment, shooting on location in Serbia, working with his performers, the prosthetic and makeup work in the film, working with animals and much more. This is a pretty straightforward track without much in the way of excitement.
- Audio Commentary #2: Director & Co-Writer Rodo Sayagues, Producer and Co-Writer Fede Alvarez and Cinematographer Pedro Luque deliver a commentary track in Spanish. For those who need subtitles, pressing the Subtitle button on my remote until it got to the 20th option worked for me. The three have a much more engaged rhythm which ultimately results in a more satisfying and entertaining commentary track for the film.
- Friends & Filmmakers: A five-minute piece in which the creative team discuss what they wanted to accomplish with this second outing and the unique qualities that their lifelong friendship brought to their collaboration creatively on this film.
- Bad Man (Slang Is Back): A three-minute piece which explores Stephen Lang (aka Slang) as this character and where he is in this film.
- Designing Deception: A five-minute featurette at continuing to honor the visual style from the first film and fitting it to this story from the camera movement to the production design and more.
- Extended Ending: A minute-long piece which shows how a certain character got to her final ending point.
Final Thoughts
Don’t Breathe 2 is not a terrible film, but it simply does not work as a sequel to the original story. If the original did not exist, this would be a fairly capable action thriller that sets itself apart with a unique protagonist. History does this one no favors, though, as you remember what happened before and find yourself not caring about anyone in the story. Those who are only here to see a blind man violently dispatch with some vanilla villains will probably find this one a solidly entertaining movie. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray featuring a stellar A/V presentation and a nice assortment of special features with the double commentary tracks. The film is unnecessary, but, depending on what you want out of the experience, you may find some value out of a viewing.
Don’t Breathe 2 is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
