"Don't Breathe," a thriller opening Friday and drawing good reviews, is the latest horror film to use Detroit as a scary backdrop.
Julie Hinds of the Detroit Free Press writes:
Director and co-screenwriter Fede Alvarez says in the film's production notes that the Motor City's empty lots and deserted homes add to the film's unique character. "Usually, you try to find a scary house on a nice street, but it's the other way around here. It's a scary street and this is the only well-kept house left. With everyone else gone, a story like this one could happen here." . . .
Besides being a potential little-movie-that-could story, "Don't Breathe" is the latest in a slew of movies to use Detroit in a fictional story or as a filming location — sometimes both — for something ominous and scary. The list includes recent indie films like 2015's "Lost River" and 2014's "Only Lovers Left Alive" and "It Follows." It extends to big-budget efforts like 2016's moody "Batman v Superman" and older titles like the original 1987 "RoboCop" (rebooted two years ago).
