Watched Blair Witch and Don't Breathe today. I felt Blair Witch was decent, though it didn't lend anything new to the franchise (the same local legends were repeated from the first one while the characters traversed the woods) there were some legitimate tense moments, including a scene to retrieve a drone as well as the tunnel sequence we glimpsed in the trailer. I also enjoyed the use of 'EarCams' (I have no idea if that's the correct term) so that it gave the characters more of an excuse to film everything as opposed to having the usual found footage trope of 'guy in group who just can't seem to put the camera down.' With a device like that, you'd forget it was clinging to the side of your face and you were filming everything you saw. The filmmakers even made fun of that to a point. That said, none of the characters were likeable, and the same scares as well as a strange new element introduced near the end that's very off putting, failing to add an interesting new shade to the Blair Witch legend, and instead coming across as awkward and confusing, really left me wanting more from this movie. There were also a large amount of jump scares that were incredibly annoying. At least I can say this sequel is better than Book of Shadows.

However, Don't Breathe was a fantastic horror movie. I loved the concept, the set up, the characters; everything from beginning to end was extremely well done. The sound design was especially notable as it accomplished everything it needed to do with building tension among the robbers and the blind man; it's essentially a twisted game of cat and mouse that shows how talented Fede Alvarez is as a filmmaker for building intensity and delivering emotional payoff. I liked each of these characters and hated them simultaneously; they're well rounded and you understand each of their motivations. Don't Breathe is one of the best horror films I've seen all year.