STACK #205 Nov 2021

FILM FEATURE

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Don't Breathe 2 star Stephen Lang first gained attention for his role as bad guy Miles Quaritch in James Cameron blockbuster Avatar. Though much info of Cameron's long-anticipated Avatar sequels is under wraps, Stephen Lang's name has surfaced in the credits... which is strange, considering Lang's character Miles Quaritch died in the finale of the original. Could Cameron be plotting

some kind of resurrection of this formidable villain? We might have to wait for the premiere of Avatar 2 , at the back end of 2022, to find out.

daughter. All is well in his screwed-up universe, until he comes to the attention of some very bad people. Needless to say, young Ms. Grace must contend with some gory atrocities, which no parent would want their own kid to witness. “On set, our job was to make it feel like a game for her, even though the final product is intense and violent," explains writer Sayagues. "But when you’re shooting, it’s not like that at all, and we made it fun for her." Unusual in the horror genre, Don’t Breathe 2 carries some weighty dramatic legacy. “It’s an homage to Star Wars , and so many other things, too," says Alvarez. "At the end of the day, you’re talking about the hero myth, and Joseph Campbell – and if you go back, you can chase it back thousands of years." Amusingly, Alvarez and Sayagues didn’t realise they were treading in Star Wars territory when they first co-wrote the script. “We wrote the dialogue, and then Rodo calls me one day and says, ‘I just found an issue. This line is exactly what Luke says to Darth Vader…’ Rodo didn’t know what to do, and I said, ‘Let’s just leave it for the smart people to figure it out’,” Alvarez laughs. “You can compare the entire final scene with Darth Vader and Luke," adds Sayagues. "It makes such an imprint on your subconsciousness that it’s inevitable that it comes out! But, in all honesty, it was not conscious at all. It just came out in a very natural and organic way, and we love to see that happen." “But there are going to be some hardcore fans in the audience when the dialogue happens, going, ‘What?’” teases Alvarez. He adds in his defense: “Look, every genre movie is inspired by Star Wars . Unless you find one director that makes genre movies that has not seen the Star Wars movies, particularly The Empire Strikes Back !"

Producer Fede Alvarez and director Rodo Sayagues tell STACK why Don’t Breathe 2 isn’t your average horror sequel, and how inspiration came from a most unlikely place… Words Gill Pringle

I t’s been five years since director Fede Alvarez introduced us to “The Blind Man” in the nail- biting horror-thriller, Don’t Breathe . For fans of the original, there are many ways a sequel could have gone down – most obviously with The Blind Man eliciting excruciating revenge on Jane Levy’s Rocky, for robbing his money. “But that would be too easy,” smiles Alvarez, who enlisted his writing partner Rodo Sayagues to direct the sequel. “Filmmakers in general are guilty of the sin of going the easy way, and just giving the audience exactly the same, but bigger – and that’s it. But we tried really hard not to do that, and to come up with a concept that was unexpected, even if that’s what you read from the end of the first film,” he says. “Anybody could easily pitch a sequel from the original story in two seconds: She’s at home alone, there’s a noise outside, who is it? Maybe it’s him, maybe it isn’t. [But] this story required a lot more crafting." Welcome to the all-new Don’t Breathe 2 where, once more, the audience is conflicted about whether or not to actually feel sorry for The Blind Man, and may almost root for him. “The first movie is all about this guy who does horrendous things, yet justifies every single one of them," explains Alvarez. "That’s why he’s such a compelling character, because every time you judge him, it’s like, ‘Yeah wait, but this is why I’m doing it’, and we give you

some very strong arguments as to why he’s doing whatever he’s doing. “In his head he’s convinced he’s right, regardless of the fact he’s doing unspeakable things. So we thought it would be interesting to tell Part 2, where he will have to get out of there and come to terms with what he’s done," explains Alvarez. Born in Uruguay, Alvarez's success with Evil Dead and the original Don’t Breathe has enabled him to helm big-budget thriller The Girl in the Spider’s Web . When we're dropped back into The Blind Man's story, we learn he has taken in a little girl – flawlessly played by Grey’s Anatomy child actress Madelyn Grace – and is raising her as his own

• Don't Breathe 2 is out Nov 10 on DVD, Blu-ray & 4K

Stephen Lang and film co-writer Rodo Sayagues on the set

14 NOVEMBER 2021

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