Don't Breathe 2 (2021) - Movie Review

2016’s Don’t Breathe was a great movie as is when it first came out, but over the last five years, it’s also proven to be quite influential, spawning its own mini-wave of sensory-driven horror fare like Hush, The Silence, and the Quiet Place series. And looking back on it, it really is at a level of pure genre thrills and laser-focused film craft that was bound to make other filmmakers and studios take notice. So, when I found out about a sequel to that same film, I was certainly interested to see how they could build on that kind of suffocating sonic atmosphere. I… can’t say I was expecting what we got.

Let’s start with the main character: The Blind Man, played once again by Stephen Lang. And no, I don’t mean he’s the main character in that he’s the iconic returning villain; he is the actual lead in more of an anti-hero role this time around. This deviates from the original with more of a revenge-thriller vibe, with the Blind Man going after a gang that kidnapped his adopted daughter Phoenix (Madelyn Grace in one hell of a feature debut). Lang is absolutely fantastic here, even more so than he was in the original. He still works insanely well as the underestimated warrior, and when the script goes all-in with his redemption arc, his performance combined with the character’s framing… fucking hell, I never thought I could empathise so deeply with this guy after the whole forced insemination thing from the first film.

It also helps that his characterisation is part of the thankfully-returning moral ambiguity that made the first film so damn interesting beyond the surface thrills. The first hour-or-so is more or less the same as the first film’s entirety, with a group of opportunistic criminals trying to club a Navy SEAL, and they’re treated in a similar vein to Rocky and her fellow burglars. I won’t get into spoilers here, but when it’s revealed why they went after Phoenix, it reaches a similar degree of moral whiplash in recognising that, for as vile as their methods are, there's a warped kind of empathy behind their motives.

To that end, the use of animal imagery throughout adds to that thematic texture, with both the literal dogs and all the central characters being portrayed as wild dogs who are only trying to survive in this harsh environment. Fede Alvarez has stepped out of the director’s chair with this one, with his co-writer Rodo Sayagues making his directorial debut, and the work he does with returning DP Pedro Luque is searing in its efficacy. Not only do they manage well with the canine imagery, but the use of fiery reds and oranges throughout connect the story not only to a familiar danger within the Detroit setting, but make scenes like the finale in an abandoned swimming pool… well, I have no non-clichéd way to put it, the visuals burn themselves in the audience’s eyes.

While this isn’t the all-out auditory experience of the first film, the visuals combined with the high levels of emotional investment and brutal fight scenes more than make up for it. It does an astoundingly good job at recontextualising the Blind Man and his actions, not by conveniently hand-waving them away but by making him directly confront them, with his paternal relationship with Phoenix providing a strong throughline for the moral themes. There’s definitely some debate to be had about the intent to redeem the Blind Man in the first place (since that very action is a bit sideways given the first film’s approach to morality in general), but for the kind of gambit that way too many horror franchises have attempted with frequently disastrous results (looking at you, Texas Chainsaw 3D), it’s quite impressive that it works out this well.