Name a horror character, any horror character. The odd Laurie Strode or Ashley J. Williams aside, chances are, you probably just named a Freddy, Jason or Michael. No matter how horrible they might be, it’s an inevitability that the most popular character in any given horror franchise is its villain. That’s why Halloween III, for all its fans, never really got off the ground. The same is true of Fede Alvarez’s 2016 home invasion movie, Don’t Breathe, which pit a monstrous old blind man (Stephen Lang) against a gang of would-be burglars.
Alvarez and co-writer Rodo Sayagues did their best to turn audiences against Norman Nordstrom, with a controversial mid-movie twist which revealed the old man to be a kidnapper and rapist, as well as a murderer of hapless teens. So effective were Alvarez and Sayagues in making Nordstrom impossible to root for that it makes this sequel’s sudden about-face feel especially jarring. Taking the helm as director, Sayagues turns Norman Nordstrom into the hero of Don’t Breathe 2, fighting for the life of his young ward.
Hoping that audiences might not remember all the kidnapping and the raping Nordstrom did in 2016, Don’t Breathe 2 casts him as its grizzled antihero, his home once again invaded by a gang of ne’er do wells. This time, however, Norman’s uninvited guests are a collection of ex-military men and well-trained heavies, more than capable of holding their own against the blind Gulf War veteran. Norman acknowledges his sins early in the film, but never specifies the worst of them – some things are beyond redemption – so Sayagues and Alvarez just kind of dance around the elephant in the room, hoping no-one remembers the things Norman did with his turkey baster.
Unsurprisingly, Lang snaps back into the role with ease. Doing away with the first film’s horror beats in favour of gritty, brutal action, Sayagues keeps the film moving, with one sharply choreographed fight sequence after another. Its villains – the ones the film want you to dislike – are a muddled lot, their motivations shifting in the wind. Are they a gang of opportunistic organ harvesters? Meth dealers looking for their MacGuffin? Something altogether more personal? The answer is yes to all of the above, and it only gets sillier as the film approaches its endgame. As Norman’s, uh, ‘adopted’ daughter, Madelyn Grace does her best, but she’s kicked from pillar to post; a plot device to give Norman and his enemies something to fight over.
Don’t Breathe 2 is a solid action film, but it’s a disappointing sequel to what was a fairly decent horror thriller. Its redemption of Norman Nordstrom is repellent, the story repetitive and obvious. Few will see the film’s various twists and turns coming, but even fewer will care. This is a film full of horrible and ridiculous people doing horrible and ridiculous things to other horrible and ridiculous people. In trying to make a hero of a rapist, there’s no-one left to root for.
