“Don’t Breathe” is sure to be a soon addition to a best horror films of the 21^st century collection. There is not one dull moment in the film. “Don’t Breathe” is thrilling from start to finish.

The film opens with Rocky (Jane Levy), Alex (Dylan Minnette), and Money (Daniel Zovatto) robbing a rich home, grabbing everything they possibly can to sell for cash. Rocky is saving her money to move out to California and away from her mother. After Money sells the products from the robbery for less than he wanted, he comes to Rocky and Alexa with another target.

Unbeknownst to the trio, their next victim is better than any other they have had before. The amount of money the three of them could walk away with is enough to allow them to quit robbing houses forever and move away from the tragic city of Detroit. Like all last jobs though, this one is not going to be easy.

A good aspect of “Don’t Breathe” is that it starts off with a bang and quickly gets to the inciting incident. The characters learn about The Blind Man (Stephen Lang) and his house and the film picks up from there. The audience does not have to wait around for what they already know is going to happen (because of the trailers). It was nice for the filmmakers to not drag the opening out and cut right to the chase.

The setting of “Don’t Breathe” is rundown Detroit. The filmmakers do an excellent job of making Detroit another character in the film and use their setting expertly. Detroit’s bankruptcy contributes to the lead characters’ need to rob the rich in order to survive. They want to get out of the wasteland they feel that they are living in. Additionally, Detroit’s abandoned homes and desolate neighborhoods are instrumental in creating an atmosphere of feeling all alone.

The Blind Man lives alone in a long forgotten neighborhood, so the characters have to depend on themselves for survival. Using Detroit as a setting also provides characterization for the characters without deliberately saying it out loud. Knowing that these characters are stuck in Detroit, the filmmakers create sympathy for the characters and get the audience to like them, despite the fact they are breaking the law by robbing individuals.

For the most part, the audience only sees the bad parts of Detroit as well, resulting in the audience seeing Detroit from the lead characters’ eyes. This is instrumental in the audience’s interpretation of the characters and their world. This point of view allows the audience to empathize with the lead characters.

“Don’t Breathe”, brought to you by the minds behind the “Evil Dead” remake from 2013, is clearly made by intelligent filmmakers. They play upon audience expectations and by doing that, create a bit of mystery surrounding what is going to happen. They use many close-ups to create a feeling of claustrophobia and to instill significance to particular objects or aspects of the house.

There is a fair amount of unpredictability in the film. Rocky and Alex are actually smart characters, which is refreshing for horror fans who are tired of the same dumb characters that make ridiculously stupid decisions. Anything seems possible in “Don’t Breathe” and that speaks to both the filmmakers and the screenplay written by Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues.

Additionally, it was refreshing to watch a movie that created an excellent sound design. The audience feels like they are there with the characters, fighting to stay alive, taking every cautious step right along side them.

This film leaves audiences guessing, gasping, and likely unwilling to attempt to rob a blind man for money. “Don’t Breathe” is a must-see film for all horror fans!