When Don’t Breathe released in 2016, I was over the moon with excitement. It was one of my favorite movies of the year, and I couldn’t wait for the next chapter in that story. Five years later, we finally get Don’t Breathe 2, and it’s far from what I expected. That said, it’s still very much an enjoyable film and a worthwhile follow-up to the first movie.
Don’t Breathe 2 turns the tables a bit and puts Stephen Lang’s Norman Nordstrom in the spotlight. Following the events of the first movie, Don’t Breathe 2 follows a new story, with Nordstrom raising a young girl as his daughter. Of course, this will raise at least a few concerns for those that remember the original film. Sh*t hits the fan when some dudes that are up to no good invade Norman’s house, looking to take the girl.
One of the best aspects of 2016’s Don’t Breathe was the shocking twists, the moments that made you lean forward in your seat and say “no f****** way.” I was impressed that Don’t Breathe 2 is able to pull off a few of these moments, too. The trailers seemed to have given a lot away, but there’s plenty of surprises saved for the full movie. The story pretty much goes in the exact opposite direction of what I was expecting after the first movie, but it’s an interesting story that's worth telling.
Watching the trailers, I was concerned that the filmmakers were going to make Nordstrom the hero, that they would try to convince us to root for him after the unforgivable things we learn about him in the first movie. Thankfully, Don’t Breathe 2 doesn’t skirt around his horrible past, and the movie plays on themes of consequences and how our actions will eventually catch up to us.
Another thing is that I found Don’t Breathe to be a bit less scary than the first movie. Don’t Breathe (2016) is a true edge-of-your seat thriller. The sequel still has several incredibly tense moments, but sometimes it felt more like a slasher or action flick. Not that that’s a bad thing.
It’s hard to really dig into the bones of Don’t Breathe 2 and discuss my thoughts at length without getting into spoilers, so I think I’m going to leave it there. If you dug the first movie, I think you’ll be pretty satisfied with what we get in Don’t Breathe 2.
