Don't Breathe 2
Screen Gems | Release Date: August 13, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
46
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
7
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
IndieWireJude DryAug 12, 2021
There may be fewer truly gory moments in Don’t Breathe 2 than in typical slasher fare, but they are just twisted enough to stick in the mind like a festering wound. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesNoel MurrayAug 13, 2021
Álvarez and Sayagues have delivered a blood-spattered potboiler that’s no work of genius but is much better than average. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerAug 12, 2021
The increasingly ornate violence (much of it taking place in a newer if no less creaky location) fuels an effective thrill machine, and if that machine can’t match the unexpected sweetness of the T-800’s relationship with John Connor, well, maybe that’s for the best. Read full review
65
PolygonAusten GoslinAug 13, 2021
It’s too pretty for a midnight showing, but far too gross and skin-crawling for when the sun’s up. It could have either been a wonderful gourmet action-movie meal, or a greasy joyful mess that cult audiences love more than they should. Instead, it’s somewhere in the middle — a pretty good meal that doesn’t measure up to its individual ingredients. Read full review
63
ObserverOliver JonesAug 13, 2021
The film itself plays like an extended riff on the famous scene where the Frankenstein monster befriends a little girl. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireAug 13, 2021
What are the odds that a second group of people would be foolish enough to break into Stephen Lang’s home to try and steal something valuable to him? That’s the unlikely premise of Don’t Breathe 2, which can’t quite match the novelty and thrills of the surprise-hit 2016 original. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineDerek SmithAug 12, 2021
The film’s gore is just as likely to invoke fear as to serve as a killer punchline to one of Rodo Sayagues’s set pieces. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)Alison WillmoreAug 14, 2021
We love charismatic murders and compelling monsters, but it’s always a little more comfortable to love them when they appear to be acting for good. The best thing about Don’t Breathe 2 is the way it constantly undermines that comfort, as though demanding we question the desire to assign hero and villain roles at all. Read full review
60
VarietyOwen GleibermanAug 12, 2021
In the case of Don’t Breathe 2, one reason the movie, for all the operatic (and often absurd) grisliness of its second half, isn’t quite as good as the original is that the original didn’t have a trace of that franchise self-consciousness. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeAug 12, 2021
Where the first film offered genuine scares, this one is suspenseful at best, snicker-worthy at worst, and will beg viewers to recall the time Fonzie got on water skis and tried not to get eaten by a shark. Read full review
50
SlashfilmChris EvangelistaAug 12, 2021
Perhaps Don’t Breathe 2 would work better for people who haven’t seen the first movie at all – they wouldn’t be lost, and they wouldn’t be witnessing the total character shift from unstoppable killer to flawed savior. Read full review
50
IGNAaron PrunerAug 12, 2021
The movie's full of clunky dialogue, underdeveloped characters, and unbelievable scenarios. When all is said and done, Lang's performance just can't save the follow-up from the trappings of horror sequel mediocrity. Read full review
40
Paste MagazineMary Beth McAndrewsAug 17, 2021
While Don’t Breathe 2 emulates a similar aesthetic from its predecessor and is still able to skillfully build tension, it is ultimately an incredibly disappointing film. Read full review
40
TheWrapWilliam BibbianiAug 12, 2021
Don’t Breathe 2 may not be the first horror movie sequel to try to transform the monster into an antihero, but it’s hard to think of another one that whiffs it this hard. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreAug 15, 2021
Despite the savagery of the fights, there’s nothing satisfying in this slaughter, a movie which spills blood and spatters gore because it’s out of other ideas. Read full review
30
The New York TimesLena WilsonAug 12, 2021
Don’t Breathe 2 is plenty lively, full of violence and action, but a rancid narrative (and some seriously terrible dialogue) overpowers the script. Read full review
25
The PlaylistJason BaileyAug 12, 2021
The picture is hobbled by the bland, lifeless color palette of too much contemporary genre filmmaking, as well as a buffet of unintentionally hilarious dialogue, and when the big third act reveal arrives, it’s comically dopey. And once that turn is taken, well, you can pretty much predict every beat that follows. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleJenny NulfAug 16, 2021
Don’t Breathe 2 is a horrific and delusional sequel to its predecessor, a tight thriller that had grounded, down on their luck characters, and a film that knew when to pull out the big guns so the audience would root for its unlikeable lead. Read full review
20
The GuardianBenjamin LeeAug 12, 2021
Don’t Breathe 2 is not only struggling for air but it’s struggling for purpose and meaning and hopefully this weekend, audiences too. Read full review
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