Comparable to Don't Breathe? - The Good Neighbor (2016) Discussion

[–] Stiles5339 8 years ago

Just that 'Don't Breathe' feels like the standard, generic less good reviews version of what this feels like. Thanks, in large part to James Caan being a great actor. This reminds me of 'The Gift' from last year, not typical horror fare - but a thriller and riveting character piece.

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[–] Teriek-Williams 8 years ago

Reviews for Don't Breathe were very positive. Having seen it, it was not typical and often had me guessing. I'm interested in this film, but this one feels more generic just by the motivations of the kids.

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[–] outspiral 8 years ago

don't breathe had you guessing? lol.

That movie was a waste. So overrated

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[–] Teriek-Williams 8 years ago

I didn't know how it would end, so yes, I was guessing. And it was a great film and the best horror film I've seen in years. If you don't like it, that's fine but personally I don't care and am not soliciting your opinion. Move on, now.

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[–] marktarnovetsky 8 years ago

you need to watch more movies. The Neon Demon is one of the best movies of the year let alone the horror genre. Dont Breathe was mediocre.

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[–] Teriek-Williams 8 years ago

I've already seen the Neon Demon and am a Nicolas Winding Refn fan. I've published a review on this site for The Neon Demon and here are some excerpts from my review:

-...the film uses symbolism and unspoken implication to create its allusions... much of this gets lost in the sparseness of the material...

-...With an underdeveloped narrative, the film has a brooding underbelly that never brings us too far under the surface...

-....the film is very thin on story and character development undercutting the power its four main female characters could have. With things moving too quickly to their conclusion, the film never truly realizes the promise of its exploration of a beauty-obsessed industry full of Lady Macbeth types...

....there is enough here to satisfy the niche audience of Refn fans who enjoy his violent surrealism. However, there won't be much for audiences outside of that niche to consume... if you excuse the pun...

And as with The Good Neighbor, The Neon Demon's reviews from audiences and critics is rather mixed, middling and under par (particularly compared to Refn's Bronson or Drive). Don't Breathe is a vastly superior film, and if it were to be mediocre, then The Neon Demon and The Good Neighbor would be downgraded to "okay" to "horrible."

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[–] marktarnovetsky 8 years ago

"Don't Breathe is a vastly superior film, and if it were to be mediocre, then The Neon Demon" that's the moment you were never taken seriously on these boards again.

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[–] Teriek-Williams 8 years ago

Its pretty hard to take anyone seriously who thinks The Neon Demon or The Good Neighbor is better than Don't Breathe.

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[–] charlottekerr 8 years ago

I thought the neon demon was awful and much preferred don't breathe.

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[–] my_boomstick 8 years ago

Much better than this piece of trash

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[–] Headturner1 8 years ago

I agree. This was all over the place. only thing good was that" james Caan".

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[–] 8 years ago

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[–] highlandpercussion 8 years ago

The "hermit with a dark past" idea is definitely similar, but I see this film as more of a psychological thriller and Don't Breathe as decidedly a horror film. That is, Don't Breathe's intention (to me) seemed to be to frighten its audience, whereas this film was more driven by an in-depth examination of human motives.

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[–] Teriek-Williams 8 years ago

Actually, Don't Breathe was never scary. It was more psychological in forcing the audience to consider how horrific a real situation can be. As a film, it examined the motivations of all the characters. And the "dark past" isn't really that dark. In fact, the lead protagonist had a more dark past.

The Good Neighbor seems like its exploring mischievous kids who learn that not everyone is to be messed with. In that, it comes off as a moral story with thriller techniques.

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[–] fierypoeticgirl 8 years ago

I agree, and yet they listed it as a "horror" film.

"Self-reflection is the hardest thing for SOME people to do!" 

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[–] Teriek-Williams 8 years ago

I just watched The Good Neighbor yesterday night. Neither film is a horror film. Of the two Don't Breathe is the better film. One must be patient with The Good Neighbor for it pay off because the pay off is at the end. However, in the case of both, neither give the audience what they expect.

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[–] hi_im_manic 8 years ago

The Good Neighbor is actually superior in terms of production value and giving thinking audiences an indulgence. They are similar indeed, but one outshines the other in satisfaction, particularly where acting set and direction were concerned.

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[–] Teriek-Williams 8 years ago

I disagree.

Don't Breathe has vastly better production value (directing, cinematography, editing, production design). Much of The Good Neighbor consists of stationary cameras and ordinary settings whereas Don't Breathe pulls off a more logistically-challenging feat taking into account space, movement and lighting (or lack of). People are actually talking about Fede Alvarez's directing in Don't Breathe. I cannot say that of Kasra Farahani.

As a story, Don't Breathe has better pacing as it successfully explains the motivations of its characters within short, simple sequences ultimately contributing to 10 to 15 minutes of setup before moving into its main conflict. By comparison, The Good Neighbor plods and has brief narrative "courtroom" breaks that takes half the run-time before it can get into the deeper (and more interesting) motivations of the characters. Much of the first half is exposition in the form of "found footage" sequences some of which don't serve the narrative well or could be better written to reflect its purposes. The second half is where The Good Neighbor begins to click as begins to focus more fully on the underlying aspects of its characters. However, the film's overall strength lies with its final 20 minutes posing more thought, implication and wonder than a single sequence that came before it.

And I assume I'm talking to the minority here, considering that consensus shows Don't Breathe being better received in all respects than The Good Neighbor, which has received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics overall and borderline-average reviews from audiences, all of which are lower than the reception of Don't Breathe both critically and from audiences even on this site. The biggest satisfaction I got from The Good Neighbor was the last 20 minutes. All of Don't Breathe was satisfying because its a tighter, more direct and better crafted film all around.

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[–] Thrill_KillZ 8 years ago

The Good Neighbor is actually superior in terms of production value and giving thinking audiences an indulgence.

Obviously you're free to have your own opinion, but imo this direct to VOD flick is by far inferior to Don't Breath in every category, not just in my opinion, it had a ridiculously successful theatrical run(made a ton multiple weeks) and has extremely positive reviews. It stands at 7.6/10 with over 25k votes, that's nearly the highest rated horror/thriller film on IMDb. This on the other hand, a lot of meh and extremely forgettable. That doesn't mean everyone preferred it over this, but they are the facts, the rest all falls under personal objectivity.

About "giving thinking audiences an indulgence", I don't really understand what it was about watching two immature boys play cruel pranks on an old man that indulged your cerebrum so furiously, guess we'll agree to disagree as I found neither film in that category.

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[–] Teriek-Williams 8 years ago

I concur.

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[–] fierypoeticgirl 8 years ago

I agree, and yet they listed it as a "horror" film.

"Self-reflection is the hardest thing for SOME people to do!" 

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[–] grumpynat66 8 years ago

Don't Breathe was horrible. Hopefully this one is better.

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[–] zachengel-93444 8 years ago

Don't Breathe was definitely far from horrible. Especially compared to the absolutely dreadful movies that came out this year so far.

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[–] cyclonajade150 8 years ago

If you're looking for a scary movie, you're looking in the wrong place. Don't think it could be compared to 'Don't Breathe' at all, other than an old man and teenagers. Thats where the similarity ends. This is more an emotional sucker punch.

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[–] WVfilmfem 8 years ago

Agreed, cyclonajade. Good performances all around!

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[–] genixo 8 years ago

Dont breathe is an 8, this is a 2.

GeniXo

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[–] hindsights5150 8 years ago

Don't Breathe was a great movie, very suspenseful and well paced the whole way through. The Good Neighbor was boring and the whole movie was filler just to get to the twist. This movie had nothing going for it, they thought of that twist, then wrote a lame movie around it.

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[–] songod-95003 8 years ago

The marketing makes it seem so but it is not at all like "Don't Breathe".

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[–] WVfilmfem 8 years ago

Don't Breathe was a mess. This, at least had character development!

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[–] songod-95003 8 years ago

"Don't Breathe" had a great concept and started out somewhat promising (though the idea of breaking into anyone's home you have ever been in and "finding" their money is pretty idiotic) but then devolved into nonsense.

James Caan here did something he has not done since I saw "Brian Song" when I was a kid... made me cry.

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[–] Caulk_Rocket 8 years ago

Don't Breathe was a modern-day exploitation film.

The Good Neighbor was an attempt at making a found footage thriller less annoying by using real actors and actual scenes spliced in (which I can commend), but the twist almost turned this into Boyhood.

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