This tight little thriller, about a trio of burglars who get more than they bargained for when they try to rob a blind Gulf War vet, gets a bit grandiose for my liking, relying on some outlandish plot twists to amp up the ickiness. (The similarly claustrophobic Green Room, also from 2016, proved that sometimes less plot is better.) Still, director Fede Alvarez, following up his impressive Evil Dead remake, has supreme control of the camera as it floats through the various rooms of the house, which for extra atmosphere is situated on a derelict Detroit street. He also gets a strong performance from Evil Dead vet Jane Levy as the burglars’ leader, whose economic desperation propels much of the action. As for veteran character actor Stephen Lang, who plays the vet, he’s far more compelling as a victim who won’t go down quietly, which he is at the start, than as the monster the movie requires him to become.
