THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Don’t Breathe was so good of a horror movie from the 2010s some would find it untouchable. Sadly, all it took was a terrible and unnecessary sequel to ruin its legacy.
PLOT
Don’t Breathe 2 follows the blind man Norman Nordstrom 8 years after he was robbed. He now lives in a suburb with his Rottweiler Shadow and adopted daughter Phoenix who he homeschools. He acts overprotective when minimizing her time outdoors to the point where she only goes out to run an errand with Hernandez (Stephanie Arcila), a fellow veteran who delivers plants he orders. One night, a gang of thugs try to abduct Phoenix and appear to have the upper hand when murdering Hernandez and shooting Shadow before entering Norman’s home. The gang includes: Raylan, Jim Bob (Jim Bob), Jared (Bobby Schofield) & Duke (Rocco Williams). When Norman finds out what happened to his dog, he starts defending his home when attacking the invaders. He instructs Phoenix to hide in a red panic box, which she does only for Duke to flood it. He threatens to electrocute her, but the blind man is able to prevent that from happening by causing an impromptu explosion. When hiding in the garden, Raylan tells Phoenix to not trust him and claims to be his biological father which he confirms when showing to have a matching streak of white hair. He admits to have caused the fire when making drugs and the process went awry, which is how Norman found and adopted the child. As Raylan takes his daughter back, the old man kills Jared with a shovel. He tries to send a pitbull after him, but even he is able to tame the animal when shooting his gun at the ceiling and traps it in a cage. Norman then gets trapped by Molotov cocktails being thrown by Raylan who takes off once assuming he’s dead. He then takes Raylan to an abandoned hotel at his hideout where he tells her her birth name is Tara and shows her mother Josephine to still be alive after being presumed dead for years. She tells her daughter the fire caused her to be terminally ill and paralyzed and need a transplant to be healthy again. However, the catch is that she needs a compatible donor making Tara the only qualified choice. With a lack of appropriate drugs for the surgery, a organ donor Thomas Hanniman (Steffan Rhodri), accused of organ trafficking, confirms she will be conscious during the surgery. Norman reaches the hotel in time to cause a power outage that prevents the surgery from happening. Once infiltrating, he is able to kill Jim Bob with a hammer and takes down three other unnamed gang members with a gun. He spares one named Raoul who admits he doesn’t condone what’s gonna happen to Tara. Hanniman chooses to bail on the surgery before he even starts, resulting in Norman to slit his throat. When he gets the upper hand on Raylan, he gounges his eyes and shoots Josephine. With her body handcuffed to Tara, the latter tries to hack off her mom’s arm with a machete to break her fall. When she gets back up, Norman confesses of his past sins of rape and murder before he adopted her. Raylan tries to stab the old man, but gets stopped by his daughter who stabs him with the same machete. With her adoptive father succumbing to his injuries as he was also shot by Jim Bob earlier, she chooses to leave the hotel and the film ends with her accepting her name Phoenix as she heads towards a children’s home.
THOUGHTS
Because I enjoyed the first film so much, I didn’t mind the idea of a sequel being possible. Originally, I was expecting it to be about Norman getting even with the final girl Rocky who took his money. Since this is not the sequel’s premise, it’s clear that neither co-writer Fede Alvarez nor debuting Director Rodo Sayagues thought of it at all. It’s a massive 180 of what they did before and not much of it works like it should’ve. The cinematography/editing combo is still effective in making the isolated atmosphere each character is feeling at each passing moment. That’s cool but enough not enough to enjoy whole ordeal because the narrative is uncomfortable. You’re telling me that a girl is safer with a blind man that committed rape instead of a group of drug dealers that we’re gonna use her for an amateur heart transplant, because one of their own was sick from an explosion they caused. No party is worth siding on and you gotta bet on the kid not going to either which is what thankfully happens because no one deserves her at all. Brendan Sexton III & Fiona O’Shaughnessy seal the deal in making Raylan & Josephine because they’re willing to selfishly sacrifice their daughter rather than let her live a better life than what they got. Stephen Lang does a great job chewing it up in making clear Norman regrets what he’s done, but just because you’re a dog lover that misses his only birth daughter does not excuse the most unforgivable sin. Seeing him jam a sleigh bell In Jim Bob’s throat before finishing him off was pretty cool, but that is the only compliment he’s ever gonna get. And I refuse to think he is alive as the mid credits are trying to make a hint about because it doesn’t benefit anyone other than himself. I don’t even buy the fact Raul is a regretful man either, no matter how sentimental Christian Zagia wants to present him. Just because you don’t condone killing kids doesn’t change the fact you’ve been a criminal since we saw you in the first film, making a deal with that film’s trio. The only one we’re rooting for is Tara because the young Madelyn Grace makes it clear she didn’t ask for the life she has to cope with but has to evolve in an usual predicament but still appreciates what she was taught to survive by someone who is his own survivor of trauma & guilt. She accepts her adopted name Phoenix because it represents being reborn and officially dawning a new life that she will pursue to get by. While she is the biggest strength, it does not excuse the other things that make no sense story wise. Like why would Norman train defend Phoenix to defend herself when she can’t train Shadow? If Shadow can only be called off by him, it’s on him if he gets her. Also, I think Hernandez should’ve went to the bathroom with her whether or not Raylan was there. Based on how shady they’re depicting the setting, she should’ve done that on instinct because it’s not safe for kids to go places like bathrooms alone. I also thought it was a bad move on her end to take so long in calling the cops. She should’ve whipped out her phone the second she turned her back on Raylan & company. I don’t even think there was a point for the guys to continue trying to be quiet if Norman went outside. They could’ve just swept her in the blink of an eye before he ever got back in. Hell, they could’ve killed him first if they wanted to make sure to leave no possible traces. And why did Norman move to another house? During the first film, the news didn’t even address of what was found in his basement and if he somehow got off the hook for all that shit, there is no reason for him to move at all. Raylan was definitely manipulative in making Phoenix think she could leave if reuniting with Josephine was the selling point to make her stay, but what the hell would he do if she didn’t remember the song her mom sang before the explosion? Would he drug her again like he did on the drive or just restrain her and get the surgery over with? I mean doesn’t sound that logical when you think about it. And how would Norman find Phoenix without the pitbull? That’s important to ask because the kid is screwed without him and I don’t think Raul would’ve intervened if Norman didn’t make it in time. I then believe Raylan should’ve just pursued another cook if he never planned on finding Phoenix until the story goes in motion. It’s not like Josephine is the only cool and if he can afford paying for Hanniman for the surgery, he totally could afford for a whole new cook. All of this is hard to ignore if you want to enjoy it. To get this over with, Don’t Breathe 2 is a pointless sequel due to not satisfying anyone in any way possible. If you really appreciate what was done the first time around, avoid this at all costs.
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