Don't Breathe 2 is a 2021 American horror thriller film directed by Rodo Sayagues, who co-wrote it with Fede Álvarez.
Eight years after the events of the first film, blind Navy SEAL veteran Norman Nordstrom lives with his 11-year-old daughter Phoenix and his rottweiler Shadow in a Detroit suburb.
A struggle ensues between Norman and the gang, and Raylan tells Phoenix that he is her real father, confirming it by showing they both have a streak of white hair.
At the hotel, Raylan reveals Phoenix's real name is Tara and introduces her to her mother, who is alive but terminally ill. She explains that she triggered the explosion while cooking meth resulting in the poisoning of her internal organs.
A power blackout prevents the procedure and Raylan's men are ambushed by Norman, who exploits the dark to pick them off one by one.
In a mid-credits scene, Raylan's dog licks Norman's fingers which twitch slightly, indicating that he is alive.
In November 2016, writer Fede Álvarez announced that a sequel to Don't Breathe was in the works, and that he was set to return as director.
"[12][13] In January 2020, Álvarez was replaced as director by Rodo Sayagues, the co-writer of both Don't Breathe films, making his directorial debut.
[15][16] Principal photography began on August 7, 2020,[17][18][19][20] in Belgrade, Serbia,[21][22] with Pedro Luque serving as cinematographer, returning from the previous film.
[2][3] In the United States and Canada, Don't Breathe 2 was released alongside Free Guy and Respect, and was projected to gross $8–12 million from 3,005 theaters in its opening weekend.
The website's critics consensus reads, "Stephen Lang remains a thrillingly imposing presence in Don't Breathe 2, but this sequel's story strains to find a sensible way forward for his character.
[1] John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "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.
"[42] Benjamin Lee of The Guardian gave the film a score of 1/5 stars, praising Lang as "an effectively imposing physical presence", but described the film as "an unforgivably dull piece of product that should never have breathed in the first place", and said that the antagonists were "made as cartoonishly awful as possible", adding: "their ultimate plan for the girl [is] so laughably repulsive that suddenly, problematically, Nordstrom is made to seem like the better option.
He wrote: "Don't Breathe 2 is more effective—maybe even a little mischievously insidious—in its attempted villain rehab when it sticks to smaller gestures, like Norman's already established affinity for cuddly canine sidekicks.
It's admirable and even unusual that a studio movie would offer such moral ambiguity in its horror hero—and that's definitely what he is here, comparatively—but the cause for his torment lingers until the end.
"[46] In August 2021, Álvarez and Sayagues expressed interest in developing a sequel, acknowledging that Rocky from the first movie may appear in a future film.
The pair stated that they intend to explore the consequences that both characters face for their criminal actions, with each of their pasts catching up to them in different movies.