STACK September 2016 Issue 143

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The turkey baster scene
also happens to be one
of director Fede Alvarez’s
most proudest moments. “I have
night vision videos of the audience
reaction the first time we showed
the movie, and their expressions
during that scene are so funny.
Men and women have totally
different reactions. I should run
it as a trailer in slow motion!” he
says enthusiastically.
“The turkey baster is such a
powerful weapon. You can show
an audience a knife with blood and
they don‘t even flinch, they don’t
care. But they see the baster and
they lose their minds, its explosive!
Taboo goes a long way in movies.”
Alvarez, a protégé of legendary
filmmaker Sam Raimi, could talk
for hours about why this grotesque
scene is so chilling, but to repeat
them here would be to spoil the
plot of what is one of the most
unique horror thrillers in years.
Don’t Breathe follows a trio of
friends who break into the home
of a blind recluse, confident of an
easy score. What could possibly go
wrong?
Actress Jane Levy, who made
an unforgettable turn as the
demonically possessed Mia in
Alvarez’s 2013 Evil Dead remake,
shares the scares with Dylan
Minnette and Daniel Zovatto, while
veteran actor Stephen Lang and a
vicious, snarling Doberman serve
as formidable adversaries.
“Fede is a total sick f–k,” laughs
Lang, joining STACK as we chat
with Alvarez and the cast in Los
Angeles. “I prepared for the role by
blindfolding myself. I went on an
exploration of my apartment to see
how well I knew it, and it turned
out I didn’t know it nearly as well
as I thought I did.”
The cast bonded quickly, working
in Budapest where this particular
house of horrors was erected on a
film set.
“We needed to drink a lot of
wine every evening to let off
steam, and Dylan would play music
for us,” says Levy, referring to her
co-star who fronts indie rock band
The Narwhals.
She still has nightmares about
the dog: “There was actually two
dogs. One was much friendlier and
we used him a lot but the other
was really mean and was trained
to attack me. I kept thinking, is it
going to eat me right now?”
Don't Breathe is in cinemas on
September 1
There’s a scene in Don’t Breathe involving a turkey baster
that is so gross and appalling, that the entire audience
utters a collective “Eeeww” while squirming in their seats.
Words: Gill Pringle
BLIND
TERROR
The turkey baster is such a powerful
weapon… Taboo goes a long way in movies.
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22 SEPTEMBER 2016
CINEMA
FEATURE