Fede Álvarez lets you know from the word go – or the title, rather – how you’re going to be reacting to this film. Don’t Breathe (2016) does away with all the bells and whistles, instead relying on simplicity, minimalism and realistic risks to invoke true terror from within. So often I would find myself so absorbed in the world of the film that it would take me a couple moments to become aware of my tangible self again, only to realise that I was not breathing. Don’t Breathe lives up to its name by literally taking your breath away.

Beyond its relatively fruitful plot devices, the production value of this film reeks of cleverness. The entire story more or less unfolds within the confines of one house. And that house is situated in a deserted suburban area. All of this means no need for extras, minimal need for continuity checks and next to no location scouting. They managed to make the same limited, monotonous, seemingly innocuous domestic space incredibly threatening to the point where you literally feel like you are being suffocated by the very walls surrounding the characters. Watching three young blossoming criminals caged in like helpless animals, often seeing the action progress through subjective point-of-view shots, creates the almost visceral sensation that we too are trespassing on private property and about to face some serious consequences. Don’t Breathe definitely acts as a crafty deterrent for any potential burglars out there… Lesson learned: just because someone is less-abled than you doesn’t mean they won’t beat the shit out of you, shoot you in the head, stab you with gardening shears and attempt to impregnate you with his sperm via a turkey-baster (yes, all of these things actually happen in this movie). So really this film is actually quite the social commentary – a call for less prejudice and discrimination against disabled people. Ok ok, I know that is probably expecting too much of this movie, but I still think there is at least some value in that judgement. Check your privilege, people.

If I had to pick a gripe with this piece, it would probably have to be its tendency to perpetuate negative stereotypes regarding war veterans, particularly in the United States. It is a well-known fact that conditions like PTSD plague many soldiers that have returned home from devastating war zones. These psychological conditions are so incredibly serious and can afflict veterans in terrible ways, sometimes for the rest of their lives. So to represent the antagonist of this film as a war vet who is severely unstable, unpredictable and ridiculously violent could definitely be seen as problematic. There are ways to manage and cope with PTSD (and other psychological afflictions triggered by war) for people with different forms of access, so to reduce them to the stereotype of ‘unhinged soldier’ is slightly upsetting. He also remains unnamed throughout the entire movie. He is essentially identity-less, perceived as a human lethal weapon, a pawn used by the government to fight its battles. Only this time he isn’t using his strength and skills to save his country, he’s using them to kill some kids… But if you manage to push aside this issue then you’re more or less free to thoroughly enjoy each nail-biting scene.

A suspenseful sound-score interwoven with unbearably tense silences accompanies you as you follow our blind assassin’s calculated steps around each room in pursuit of the trespassers. The colours remain muted throughout the entire piece, further reiterating the bleakness of the burglars’ situation. The camera jumps between slow, panic-inducing tracking shots to frenetic hand-held camera shots that mimic the absolute mayhem of shots being fired and characters running for their lives in all directions. Every component of this film is geared towards making you feel trapped alongside the unfortunate burglars, and boy do you sweat as a result of it. An impressive body-count too considering the limited number of people that appear in the whole story. I also love how you are sometimes made to question who the ‘good guy’ actually is in this situation – they’re all technically criminals (considering the war vet kidnapped and forcefully impregnated the woman that accidentally killed his daughter… Both definitely crimes) so the good/evil binary is royally complicated. And I love a good slice of moral dilemma in my horror flicks!

So if you’re looking for a short, simple yet tortuously tense horror then look no further than Don’t Breathe.