Dylan Minette on ‘Don’t Breathe,’ horror movies, working in the dark

MANILA, Philippines – From an appearance in an episode of the Nickelodeon show Drake and Josh to starring in the horror movie Don’t Breathe, Dylan Minnette has come a long way.

Nineteen-year-old Dylan plays Alex in the movie, one of the 3 kids who break into a blind man’s house only to find that the job isn’t quite as easy as they expected.

 

With Don’t Breathe getting positive reviews on its opening weekend, this young actor is on the rise.

Here’s what he had to say in an interview provided by Columbia Pictures about filming the movie – mostly in the dark – working with celebrated actor Stephen Lange, and what he has in mind for his growing career.

Can you tell us a little bit about your character?

I play Alex. Alex lives alone with his dad in Detroit. I think his mom has passed away. He and his dad have a rough relationship because they don’t really know how to speak to each other. His dad doesn’t really get Alex. He wants to go to law school and become a lawyer in the future, but he doesn’t have the money for it or the means, and his dad can’t support him in that. His dad wants him to be a cop. So his ultimate goal is to do what he wants. And, eventually, he decides that leaving Detroit would be the best scenario for him. 

How does he get involved in the robbery on the blind man’s house?

He knows this girl named Rocky and this guy named Money. Alex’s dad works for a security company. And Alex’s dad has all the keys to the homes that the company looks after. So they are robbing a couple of homes and they decide there’s one house where this man lives who has a big settlement of money because of something that happened to his daughter. Money and Rocky want to go get this money and when Alex decides that it’s best to leave Detroit, he decides to join them in stealing it. Some of that is driven by his affection for Rocky. Alex is very passionate for her and will, at the end of the day, do whatever she wants. And that’s what drives him into this house. That’s where things take off.

Does Rocky feel the same way about him? 

I don’t think so. Rocky and Money are a bit of a pair, but Alex can see that they’re not meant for each other. Money doesn’t deserve her is what Alex thinks. 

It’s the polar opposite of becoming a cop, breaking into people’s houses…

It’s definitely ironic. Alex thinks that what they’re doing is justified. He makes sure that they’re only stealing items from people that are insurance-claimable and that the people will get repaid. That is how he justifies it to himself. Essentially, he’s a good guy. He means well. I don’t think he can figure out what he wants or how to go about it the right way. I think he’s a little blinded by his love for Rocky. 

Your character sounds like the most sympathetic of the trio? Is he the hero? Is he who we’re supposed to be rooting for in the movie?

I think who you are rooting for in the movie is going to vary throughout the entire thing. At times, you will be rooting for people you wouldn’t expect to be rooting for. I don’t think you are going to know who to root for until you are done with the movie. I think your mind is going to change a lot. With the three kids, each character has their own reason for why they are doing what they’re doing. By that point, the audience understands why they are doing it. So I think that it’s up to the audience on which character you agree with. I understand why Alex is doing it. I get it. And I also understand why Rocky and Money are doing it. So it’s up to the audience to decide on the rights and wrongs.

The intruders must have to be very quiet all the time, robbing a blind man’s house…

The characters are often distressed but in a house where a blind man lives, you need to be silent. And a lot of that requires holding your breath and standing still and making sure that you make zero movement. So it’s tough because things are going to happen where you would normally react big, but you have to just keep it inside. That’s why the movie is very tense. There are going to be moments where you are locked into your seat because the characters have to be so still. It’s crazy even though it’s so subtle. You’ll see.

You’ve had some great roles of late, with a good variety…

I definitely have enjoyed some great roles. I did a movie called Prisoners, which, when I was doing it, I knew was going to be great. And I’m super proud of it now. After that I did two family films – Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and Goosebumps.

 

 

So after Goosebumps I really wanted to make sure what happened next made sense. I didn’t want to get on a streak of doing the same things. I wanted to be very particular.

 

I think that now having filmed most of this movie, I really feel like I’ve landed exactly what I wanted. It definitely is bringing back some Prisoners vibes for me. This is really dark and I like doing this. I realize it was very much the right thing to do next. And I’m super excited about it. 

What’s your favorite horror movie?

It’s such a rough question. There is a classic like Halloween. Michael Myers is just such an iconic character. I watched Child’s Play and those movies starting at four years old. That was all thanks to my dad. I think that that set me up for horror. He would take me to these haunted houses at like five, six years old, random haunted houses in Indiana where I’m from. All of that I was doing at a young age and I got scared. But now I’m absolutely obsessed with it and I love Halloween Horror Nights in LA. I go at least like six, seven times each year, maybe eight times. I’m not kidding or exaggerating. I am such a fan of that event that I am now friends with the director of marketing and the creative director!

What’s it like working with Stephen Lang? He’s something of a legend…

Stephen is a very nice guy. He is super professional. He’s worked a ton. And he just knows what he’s doing. But he’s also very intimidating, which is appropriate for this part. I genuinely find myself scared in some of the scenes we’re filming. We’ll be rehearsing a scene and I’ll start laughing simply because of how scary it is. I’m like, ‘This is so scary!’ He’s very intimidating and he goes for it.

But I like that. It really demands a lot from you as an actor, too. You don’t want to mess up and you don’t want to act like a wuss. So I’m learning a lot on how to be professional in these crazy situations. Before a take he’ll just sit with his eyes closed and get into the space of not being able to see anything. He is not being Method, though. He’ll joke with you and talk with you in between takes. If it were Method I’d probably be ready for this to be over with. No matter what he’s doing in any scene, if he has to touch someone in any kind of violent of physical way, he always says, ‘Are you okay?’ He definitely makes sure that everyone is good with what he is doing.

Do you want to do more horror after this or do you feel pressured to do different genres?

I guess it depends. I’ll always do a horror film if it’s actually good. It’s very rare nowadays that you’ll come across a horror movie that you know is going to be great. The last one that I saw that was amazing was It Follows, which is actually one of my favorite horror movies. I think it’s really scary. That’s why I don’t blame Danny [Zovatto] for doing that and then doing this because this is also going to be a great film. It just depends, really. Goosebumps I wouldn’t consider horror because it’s a family movie and it’s fun, and it’s a comedy. So I guess it just depends what comes along.

With this film, can you think of any other horrors or thrillers that you would use as a comparison?

To me this is very unique. I actually can’t think of anything. I really can’t. Maybe I don’t know enough movies or maybe this is just a really unique movie, or both. Once we three get in the house, it’s kind of up to you if you consider it a horror movie or not. I need to see it first to understand what to compare it to. But filming it, I have no idea. I haven’t seen anything like this.

We’ve heard that while it’s not necessarily shot in complete darkness, it is quite a dark film. How does that work on camera? 

Whenever we’re filming a scene in the dark, there are no lights. There’s a light on the ring of the camera, a light around the camera that kind of gives it this infrared effect. But it’s not infrared. It’s a unique technique that I haven’t seen before. Luckily, there are not too many scenes where I have to pretend to not see anything. It’s interesting because there is definitely a point in the movie where the tables turn, where he [the blind man] becomes in control because of his senses. If you are in the dark and he is in the dark at the same time coming after you, you are screwed.

How badly do the characters need money from this guy?

I think it’s a personal thing. For Rocky it’s driven by family and her sister and wanting to be able to support them. She comes from a trailer park and she wants to be able to take care of her sister and get her out of there. And she wants to go to California.

And Money is a tough gangster-type dude on the surface, but you can tell on the inside he’s not. He’s never killed anyone. He’s never held a gun. He’s just all talk. And it’s just who he’s around or who he’s brought up with. He wants to escape to go to California, so he needs to get a bunch of money. But I think it’s also to escape his fears and the people that he is with at home.

And Alex, he does not want to [rob this guy], but he loves Rocky. Also, he’s not going to get what he wants staying here with his dad. He doesn’t want to leave his dad, but then he decides, ‘Well, they are getting this money and they are going to California. I’m going to do it, too.’ It takes him a second, but he ultimately decides to.

Don’t Breathe, directed and co-written by Fede Alvarez and produced by Sam Raimi opens in the Philippines on August 31. – Rappler.com