Wikipedia

Don't Breathe 2

Don't Breathe 2is a 2021 Americanhorror thriller filmdirected byRodo Sayagues,who co-wrote it withFede Álvarez.It is the sequel toDon't Breathe(2016) and a second installment in theDon't Breathe franchise.The film starsStephen Lang,reprising his role as Norman Nordstrom, withBrendan Sexton IIIand Madelyn Grace in supporting roles.

Don't Breathe 2
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRodo Sayagues
Written by
Based on
Characters
by
  • Fede Álvarez
  • Rodo Sayagues
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyPedro Luque
Edited byJan Kovac
Music byRoque Baños
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing
Release date
  • August 13, 2021(2021-08-13)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$15 million[1]
Box office$53.8 million[2][3]

After the critical and commercial success of the first film, talks for a sequel began in November 2016, with Álvarez then set to return as the film's director. In January 2020, the project wasgreen-lit,with Sayagues replacing Álvarez as director and Lang reprising his role.Principal photographybegan in August 2020, inBelgrade,Serbia, and wrapped in October.

Don't Breathe 2was released in the United States on August 13, 2021, bySony Pictures Releasing.The film grossed over $53 million worldwide and received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

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Eight years after theevents of the first film,blindNavy SEALveteran Norman Nordstrom lives with his 11-year-old daughter Phoenix and hisrottweilerShadow in aDetroitsuburb. Norman tells Phoenix that her birth mother died in a fire in their old house.

Hernandez, Norman's only connection with society and a veteranArmy Ranger,convinces Norman to let Phoenix accompany her on an errand in town to have some time out of the house. A gangster named Raylan attempts to abduct Phoenix but is scared away by Shadow. His gang follows Hernandez's van back to Norman's where they wait for her to drop Phoenix off, then kill her when she leaves. They lure Shadow away and kill him off-screen. When Norman goes outside to look for Shadow, the gang breaks in to kidnap Phoenix. A struggle ensues between Norman and the gang, and Raylan tells Phoenix that he is her real father, confirming it by showing they both have astreak of white hair.

It is revealed that Phoenix's house burned down after amethlab explosion in the basement, and Raylan had been jailed for eight years. Norman found Phoenix unconscious in the wreckage and took her home to take the place of his dead daughter. Upon release, Raylan saw Phoenix alive when she left flowers at her mother's memorial. Phoenix is chloroformed by a henchman. Raylan sets his own dog to kill Norman, who traps the animal in the attic. The gang sets the house on fire and leaves with Phoenix. Norman befriends the dog as they escape together and it leads him to the gang's hotel hideout.

At the hotel, Raylan reveals Phoenix's real name is Tara and introduces her to her mother, who is alive but terminally ill. She explains that she triggered the explosion while cooking meth resulting in the poisoning of her internal organs. Tara's parents have abducted her in order to transplant her compatible organs for Tara's mother. Due to a lack of drugs and facilities, Tara will be conscious while her heart is removed. A power blackout prevents the procedure and Raylan's men are ambushed by Norman, who exploits the dark to pick them off one by one. Norman also kills the surgeon and a stray gunshot kills Tara's mother. Norman gouges out Raylan's eyes and leaves him for dead.

A badly wounded Norman confirms to Tara that her father was telling the truth. He confesses his crimes, including murder and rape, and tells her to flee to safety. Raylan appears and stabs Norman, only to be fatally stabbed by Tara. She attempts to help Norman, claiming she can save him, to which he replies she already has, before apparently succumbing to his wounds. Tara leaves and heads to a children's home she had seen earlier. She approaches a group of children playing and introduces herself as Phoenix.

In amid-credits scene,Raylan's dog licks Norman's fingers which twitch slightly, indicating that he is alive.

Cast

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  • Stephen Langas Norman Nordstrom/ "The Blind Man":[4]A blind U.S. Navy SEAL veteran who recovered from his injuries in the first film, and now lives in an isolated home with his adopted daughter Phoenix, whom he rescued from a house fire.
  • Brendan Sexton IIIas Raylan:[5]A gang leader, former convict, and Phoenix's biological father who kidnaps her so he can transfer her heart to his paralyzed wife Josephine.
  • Madelyn Grace as Phoenix/Tara: Norman's adopted daughter.[6]
  • Adam Young as Jim Bob:[7]Raylan's main thug.
  • Bobby Schofield as Jared:[7]Jim Bob's brother who is also a thug working for Raylan.
  • Rocci Williams as Duke:[7]One of Raylan's thugs.
  • Christian Zagia as Raul:[8]One of Raylan's thugs, who eventually teams up with Norman having found out Raylan's true motives. Zagia is the only other actor to reprise his role from the first film.
  • Steffan Rhodrias The Surgeon/Dr. Thomas Hanniman:[8]A surgeon who works on the operation in trying to remove Phoenix's heart so it can be transferred to Josephine.
  • Stephanie Arcila as Hernandez:[8]A formerUS Army Rangerand friend of Norman.
  • Diaana Babnicovaas Billie[8]
  • Fiona O'Shaughnessyas Josephine: Phoenix's paralyzed biological mother and Raylan's wife.

Production

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In November 2016, writerFede Álvarezannounced that a sequel toDon't Breathewas in the works, and that he was set to return as director.[9]ProducerSam Raimicalled it "only the greatest idea for a sequel I've ever heard. I'm not kidding."[10]In November 2018, Álvarez discussed sequels to both hisDon't BreatheandEvil Dead,saying, "They're just ideas right now. Nothing to announce officially. We do have a script forDon't Breathe 2.That's the only difference. We don't have a script forEvil Dead 2.But we do have a script forDon't Breathe 2that we wrote. "[11]He also said, "When I tweeted that I was interested in seeing what people prefer. We were having some internal debates about what people would be interested in most. Unfortunately,Evil Dead 2won. Which, I guess I would have preferredDon't Breathe 2to win because it's one of my own creations. ObviouslyEvil Deadhas the bigger following. "[12][13]

In January 2020, Álvarez was replaced as director byRodo Sayagues,the co-writer of bothDon't Breathefilms, making his directorial debut.[4][14]In a March 2021 interview,Stephen Langstated that in preparation for reprising the role of Norman Nordstrom, he worked with The Northeastern Association for the Blind inAlbany, New Yorkto accurately depict the mannerisms of someone afflicted with being blind.[15][16]

Principal photographybegan on August 7, 2020,[17][18][19][20]inBelgrade,Serbia,[21][22]with Pedro Luque serving as cinematographer, returning from the previous film.[23]Production was previously set to begin in April 2020, but was delayed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[4][24][25]In July 2020, prior to filming, Stephen Lang quarantined himself for ten days after arriving in Serbia.[26]Lang revealed that filming wrapped on October 8, 2020.[27][28][29]By March 2021, post-production on the film was said to be finished, according to Álvarez, who "watched it not too long ago," calling it "fantastic," and later stating he thinks it's better than the first film.[30][31][32]In May 2021,Roque Bañoswas revealed to have composed the score forDon't Breathe 2,having returned from the first film.[33]During post-production, Jan Kovac served as lead editor.[23]

Release

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Don't Breathe 2was theatrically released in the United States on theFriday the 13th of August 2021,bySony Pictures Releasing.[34][35]

Home media

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The film was released on video-on-demand on September 3, 2021, and selected on rent and digital download on October 12, 2021, while4K Ultra HD,Blu-rayandDVDon October 26, 2021, bySony Pictures Home Entertainment.Special features include a filmmakeraudio commentary,a never-before-seen alternate ending, three featurettes of a Friends & Filmmakers, a Bad Man and Designing Deception.[36]

The alternate ending shows Tara being dropped off by Raul, one of Raylan's former thugs, at a children's home.

Reception

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Box office

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Don't Breathe 2grossed $32.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $21.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $53.8 million.[2][3]

In the United States and Canada,Don't Breathe 2was released alongsideFree GuyandRespect,and was projected to gross $8–12 million from 3,005 theaters in its opening weekend.[37]The film made $4.4 million on its first day, including $965,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $10.6 million, finishing in second place behindFree Guy.[1]The film made $5.1 million in its second weekend (a drop of 51%), finishing fourth, then $2.8 million in its third weekend.[38][39]

Critical response

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Onreview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes,the film holds an approval rating of 44% based on 80 reviews, with an average rating of 4.90/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Stephen Lang remains a thrillingly imposing presence inDon't Breathe 2,but this sequel's story strains to find a sensible way forward for his character. "[40]OnMetacritic,the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100 based on 19 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[41]Audiences polled byCinemaScoregave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale (down from the "B+" earned by its predecessor), whilePostTrakreported 73% of audience members gave it a positive score, with 55% saying they would definitely recommend it.[1]

John DeFore ofThe Hollywood Reporterwrote: "Where the first film offered genuine scares, this one is suspenseful at best, snicker-worthy at worst, and will beg viewers to recall the timeFonziegot on water skis andtried not to get eaten by a shark."[42]Benjamin Lee ofThe Guardiangave the film a score of 1/5 stars, praising Lang as "an effectively imposing physical presence", but described the film as "an unforgivably dull piece of product that should never have breathed in the first place", and said that the antagonists were "made as cartoonishly awful as possible", adding: "their ultimate plan for the girl [is] so laughably repulsive that suddenly, problematically, Nordstrom is made to seem like the better option."[43]William Bibbiani ofTheWrappraised Lang and Grace's performances, but described the film as "a clunky home-invasion thriller", adding: "it seems more like the filmmakers wanted to purge their creation of its wickedness than tell a story about that wickedness which makes sense."[44]

Jesse Hassenger ofThe A.V. Clubwas more positive in his review of the film, giving it a grade of B−. He wrote: "Don't Breathe 2is more effective—maybe even a little mischievously insidious—in its attempted villain rehab when it sticks to smaller gestures, like Norman's already established affinity for cuddly canine sidekicks. "[45]Christy Lemire,writing forRogerEbert.com,gave the film a score of 2.5/4 stars, praising Lang's performance and writing: "the most daring feat of all inDon't Breathe 2is its attempt to completely rehabilitate Norman. It's admirable and even unusual that a studio movie would offer such moral ambiguity in its horror hero—and that's definitely what he is here, comparatively—but the cause for his torment lingers until the end. "[46]

Future

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In August 2021, Álvarez and Sayagues expressed interest in developing a sequel, acknowledging that Rocky from the first movie may appear in a future film.[47]The filmmakers elaborated that there are plans to explore additional characters from the first movie, stating that by the end ofDon't Breathe,the stories of Norman Nordstrom / "The Blind Man" andJane Levy's Roxanne "Rocky" were intentionally left open-ended, as both characters got away with different illegal activities. The pair stated that they intend to explore the consequences that both characters face for their criminal actions, with each of their pasts catching up to them in different movies. Sayagues stated that they intend to continue Roxanne's story in the future.[48][49]That same month, in a number of interviews, Lang expressed interest in reprising his role in additional movies.[50][51][52]

By August 2022, it was reported that a third film was officially in development.[53]In October 2022, Lang confirmed that he is currently preparing to reprise his role in a third film.[54][55][56][57]

References

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  3. ^ab"Don't Breathe 2 (2021)".The Numbers.Nash Information Services, LLC.RetrievedOctober 12,2021.
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