The Reel Review
A blind former Navy seal equipped with a lifetime of killing skills terrorizes a group of organ traffickers, after they kidnap the little girl he is raising in his dilapidated, isolated house. This sequel is set several years after the 2016 horror/thriller Don’t Breathe. (click 👈 for our review)
Even if you had no problem suspending disbelief in the prior film, boy does director Rodo Sayagues have a doozy for you. Stephen Lang (Avatar, Tombstone), who in Don’t Breathe was the deranged villain/rapist armed with a semen-filled turkey baster… is now a deranged hero! Yes, this REALLY happens! We get to see him take on the baddies in a myriad of creative ways. (Super glue was a personal fave.) The bizarre story logic and angry pit bull aren’t the only things off the chain in this film – cue the gratuitous violence and gore!
The laughably ridiculous plot feels like something ripped from a video game, with all its silly “who’s really the villain?” twists. But Don’t Breathe 2 is a film with one goal – to get viewers’ adrenaline pumping, which it actually does quite well. Lang is about as convincing as is possible for an aging, blind killing machine, with young Madelyn Grace holding her own as his would-be daughter wondering why she can’t have friends or, you know, live in a house that isn’t condemned. The film’s totally bonkers third act will likely have you snickering a lot more than you probably should in a horror/thriller. Splatter fans, enjoy. This nutty but entertaining, eye-gouging thrill ride really is just for you.
REEL FACTS
• Don’t Breathe 2 was filmed in Belgrade, Serbia.
• 69-year-old Stephen Lang lives in New York with his wife of 41 years, Kristina Watson. They have four children. Lang will appear in James Cameron’s upcoming Avatar 2 which is finished and set for release in December 2022, followed by Avatar 3 in 2024.
• Stick around for the end of the closing credits.
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