Ancil
The much-anticipated sequel of ‘Don’t Breath’ is here, and it’s just as intense as the first film.
The blind man is back, but he is no longer the villain. The sequel takes place eight years after the events of the first film. Norman gets a second chance at being a father, but some ruthless gang members kidnapped his adopted daughter, forcing him to come out of hiding and save her.
Was he successful? And most importantly, is the blind man still alive? Here’s a detailed breakdown of everything that happened in ‘Don’t Breath 2’. Warning: ‘Don’t Breath 2’ spoilers ahead.
‘Don’t Breath 2’: Synopsis and Ending Explained
Norman (Stephen Lang) lives a quiet life with his 11-year-old adopted daughter Phoenix (Madelyn Grace) and their Rottweiler named Shadow in the remote suburbs of Detroit.
The blind man trains Phoenix in some hand-to-hand combat and equips her with survival skills. He is doing a pretty good job as a father.
Norman explained to Phoenix that she once lived in a different house, but it burned down and killed her birth mother.
Norman and Phoenix’s only contact in the outside world is through Norman’s friend, former Army Ranger Hernandez (Stephanie Arcila). Hernandez brings them supplies now and then. One day, Hernandez convinces Norman to let Phoenix go to town with her, so Phoenix could have some time out of the house too. While in town, Hernandez stops at a gasoline station to refuel.
Phoenix goes to the bathroom but gets ambushed by a hoodlum. Shadow comes to her rescue and scares the man away. However, he and his gang secretly followed Hernandez’s van back to Norman’s house.
They killed Hernandez and lures Shadow away before shooting him dead. Norman, with his superior instinct, immediately knows that something is wrong after finding out that his food bowl is untouched.
He goes outside to investigate. Meanwhile, the gang sneaks into the house to kidnap Phoenix.
Norman found Shadow’s dead body and immediately heads back to the house. He gets in a fight with the gang members. The gang leader, Raylan (Brendan Sexton III), shows up and gives them a surprising revelation.
Who Is Phoenix’s Real Father?
Raylan, the gang leader, tells Phoenix that he is her birth father. Both of them have a streak of white hair on the right side of their head.
Eight years ago, Phoenix’s home burned down after the meth lab in the basement exploded. Her birth father. Raylan was a notorious drug dealer. He was eventually arrested and sentenced to eight years in prison for various crimes following the incident.
Norman found the then-infant Phoenix unconscious while examining the burned house with Shadow. He took her home and raised her like his own daughter.
After getting out of prison, Raylan realized that his daughter was alive when he saw her leaving flowers for her mother’s memorial in the burned house.
Phoenix is overwhelmed with this new information. She tries to run away but was knocked unconscious by one of Raylan’s crew.
Raylan then releases his dog to kill Norman. However, Norman, who has just recently lost Shadow, is hesitant to kill another dog. He decides to trap him in the attic instead, which makes his character in the sequel even more lovable.
The ruthless gang sets the house on fire and drives off. What they did not know is that Norman managed to befriend Raylans’ dog. The two managed to escape from the burning house.
Rescuing Phoenix
After years of living in isolation, Norman gets forced to venture out again to rescue Phoenix, who he considers as his true daughter. Norman found Hernandez’s van, arms himself with the weapons inside, and used the dog to guide him through the gang’s location.
While in the gang’s hide-out, Raylan tells Phoenix that her real name is Tara. All this time, Tara’s mother is alive. She has been terminally ill after the chemicals in the lab poisoned her internal organs after the explosion.
Soon, her birth parents’ true and horrific nature gets unveiled. They did not take Tara hoping to get their family back together. They took her because her mother needs a heart transplant, and they want to make Tara an unwilling donor! They drugged Tara and took her to a makeshift operating room.
Worse, the doctor tells Tara that he will have to remove her heart while she is fully conscious since they lack the proper equipment to do the procedure.
It is horrible to think how Tara’s birth parents could do such unspeakable acts on their child! But then again, this has been a recurring theme in both films. The film series always explore the murky moral behind the characters. Life begets life. In the first film, we saw how Norman held the person who accidentally killed her daughter in his basement and artificially inseminated her so she could give back what she took away from him. In the sequel, we see Raylan willing to give up his daughter’s life for a chance to spend more time with his wife.
‘Don’t Breath 2’ Ending Explained: Did Norman Manage To Save Phoenix?
Luckily, a blackout happens right before the surgeon can remove Tara’s heart. Raylan orders his guys to fix the power. But they were ambushed by Norman, who uses the dark to his advantage.
A bloody battle ensues, and Norman takes Raylan’s men one by one.
Raul is the only one left, but he decides he doesn’t want to have anything to do with Tara’s death. He sides with Norman and tells him Raylan’s and his group’s escape route.
Norman finds the group at the hotel’s empty swimming pool and kills the surgeon. After that, he comes face to face with Raylan. During the fight, a stray bullet hits Tara’s mother. Norman gouges Raylan’s eyes out and leaves him to die.
Norman is profusely bleeding from the severe wounds. He tells Tara that everything Raylan said was true. He also confesses all his crimes and tells her to escape to safety.
Suddenly, a heavily injured Raylan appears and stabs Norman to death. Tara tries to save Norman and stabs Raylan.
She tries to rescue Norman and tells him she can save him. But Norman only replies “you already have,” before seemingly dying.
It was a powerful and emotional moment. Phoenix is Norman’s redemption. She gave him the chance to become the father he has always wanted to be, and he was a much better father than Raylan could ever be. On that fateful day, Phoenix lost both her fathers.
Tara leaves the hotel and goes to the children’s home she saw earlier. She approaches a group of children and introduces herself as Phoenix.
‘Don’t Breath 2’ Post Credit Scene Explained: Is Norman Alive?
Norman suffered severe injuries after rescuing Phoenix, and he seemingly died after asking her to leave. However, in the post-credits scene, we see the dog approach Norman’s body. This could imply that he is still alive, and we wouldn’t be surprised if he is. After all, Norman has already survived numerous bloody scuffles in the past. And with the film series’ popularity, keeping the doors open for a third installment sounds like a good idea. Would you like to see another ‘Don’t Breathe’ installment?
