Movie Review - Don't Breathe

Don't Breathe (2016)

Starring Stephen Lang, Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, and Daniel Zovatto

Directed by Fede Alvarez

While watching director Fede Alvarez' taut thriller Don't Breathe, I couldn't help but think it was twisted version of the 1967 Audrey Hepburn starrer Wait Until Dark.  In the Hepburn flick, she plays a blind woman being terrorized by men who invade her apartment.  In Don't Breathe, Stephen Lang plays Norman Nordstrom, a blind man whose home is invaded by three twentysomethings hoping for a quick buck.  Rather than be terrorized by the trio, though, Nordstrom fights back.  However, as the three robbers soon come to realize, the blind man is no innocent bystander and instead harbors some sick secrets.

While pretty much everyone in Don't Breathe has less than stellar morals, the film is ultimately set up to have us as viewers side with two of the robbers - Rocky (Jane Levy), a poor young woman who longs to flee to California with her stepsister away from her awful home life and drug-addled mother; and Alex (Dylan Minnette), a quiet, shy guy who harbors a secret crush for Rocky and tries to impress her by using his father's security firm to pinpoint homes they can break into a rob.  While they heretofore have only stolen $10,000 worth of product -- which keeps things under the felony limit -- Rocky and Alex's partner in crime Money (Daniel Zovatto) clues them in to Nordstrom's home with the prospect of a big score thanks to a lawsuit Nordstrom settled some years ago.  Despite their obvious deviant nature, director and co-screenwriter Alvarez pulls the viewers into Rocky and Alex's stories in a way that never seems to cloying or pushy.  Yeah, these kids aren't angels, but we're still rooting for them as they head into Nordstrom's house which we inevitably know will be perilous.

Alvarez -- who also directed the very effective horror film remake of Evil Dead -- is incredibly effective at creating a tense, scary atmosphere.  Much of this film takes place in darkened corridors and dimly lit rooms and yet I had no difficulty determining what was going on which is a difficult task for a director.  His cast is top notch for a film of this nature and the small cast does their best either acting scared or scary.  This one had me on the edge of my seat and proves that Alvarez wasn't just a one-hit wonder in the horror film department.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Pioneer

Pioneer (Pionér) (2014)

Starring Aksel Hennie, Wes Bentley, Stephanie Sigman, Jonathan LaPaglia, Ane Dahl Torp, Jorgen Langhelle, André Eriksen, and Stephen Lang

Directed by Erik Skjoldbjærg

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

During the early 1980s, the Norwegian government was in the midst of beginning its program for oil harvesting.  During a test dive, Petter (Aksel Hennie) and his brother Knut (André Eriksen) are involved in a terrible accident.  Upon resurfacing, Petter discovers that this accident may not have been coincidental and may be the start of a large conspiracy involving the Norwegians and Americans' attempts to gain control of the massive amount of oil below the ocean's surface.

While a little slow moving at the start and quite a bit repetitive in the middle, Pionér is intriguingly based on a true story and this reality carries an inherent interest that makes even the dullest moments more watchable.  Aksel Hennie -- so good in Headhunters which is also streaming on Netflix (watch it!) -- more than ably anchors the film and creates a character whose paranoid demeanor following his brother's accident never seems forced or over-the-top.

Unfortunately, Erik Skjoldbjærg's film meanders, hitting much of the same dramatic notes over and over.  While the director more than adequately crafts the underwater scenes with tension, his surface-based suspenseful moments don't land as well.  Pionér is a worthy film with an interesting true premise, but it's not as successful as it probably should be.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - Stephen King's A Good Marriage

Stephen King's A Good Marriage (2014)

Starring Joan Allen, Anthony LaPaglia and Stephen Lang 

Directed by Peter Askin

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

No one will ever mistake Stephen King for one of America's best authors, but I certainly have enjoyed reading his works in the past.  Because of this, the use of the King's name in the title of Stephen King's A Good Marriage coupled with a starring role by Joan Allen had me thinking that there might be potential in this horror piece.  Unfortunately, the lack of even a theatrical release beyond a handful of theaters should've clued me in to the disappointment ahead.

Allen is Darcy Anderson, a loving housewife married to salesman Bob (Anthony LaPaglia).  Together, they have two grown children and a seemingly lovely life.  However, their small town in Maine has recently been under attack by an apparent serial killer intent on offing women, stealing their ID's, and then sending them to the police in a cheeky "You can't get me" fashion.  When Bob is away on a business trip, Darcy uncovers a stash of information that leads her to believe that Bob may be the murderer -- and, needless to say, their relationship finds itself on shaky ground.

Ultimately the film's downfall is that there's nary a suspenseful moment in it.  Thirty minutes in -- SPOILER ALERT (although it happens thirty minutes in so the film doesn't hide things for all that long) -- Bob admits to being the killer and from that point on all we get are scenes of Joan Allen unsure of how to react to her husband's "other life."  Perhaps aiming for more of a weird relationship "drama" than anything else, King's short novella upon which this film is based must have worked better on the page than in his own screenplay adaptation.  Here, it's a bit of a snoozefest.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-