To celebrate the release of Alien: Romulus, written and directed by Fede Alvarez, I rewatched arguably Fede’s best horror film, Don’t Breathe. Sure, it’s worlds apart from his Alien film, but it’s such a thrilling ride, isn’t it? With an engaging story, a mind-blowing twist, a sympathetic “bad guy” and a trio of dumb thieves, Don’t Breathe has plenty going for it. I’m sorry if that’s a bit offensive, but not every character can be a smart. Some are dumb as bricks, especially in this film! So, when I was watching it, I couldn’t help but wonder who’s the dumbest character? Well, it’s time to find out. Here are the Don’t Breathe characters ranked from Dumbest to Smartest!
I will not include characters like Rocky’s little sister Diddy and the girl in the basement, Cindy. It’s because there’s extremely little to go on, and thus I’m not going to try and decypher their intelligence level. With that being said, let’s gooooo!
5. Money’s Obnoxious Behavior Is Matched by His Stupidity
Rocky’s boyfriend is such a tool, isn’t he? Sure, he’s written to be obnoxious, but still. It’s hard to not cheer when this guy gets what’s coming to him! After all, he has no redeeming qualities. When it comes to Money’s intelligence, he makes the dumbest decisions I’ve seen in any horror movie over the course of the past 10 years. It’s not just one thing, or two, or three… there are an abundance of things he does that are blatantly dumb.
The 6 things that make Money the dumbest character in Don’t Breathe
- Money treats Alex like a dog, talking down on him, and forcing his hand on many different occasions. It’s an accompanying factor to Alex walking out of the house. If he would have stayed, maybe the situation would’ve unfolded differently.
- He releases a chloroform gas bottle in the blind man’s room that has no effect on him.
- Money brings a gun to the blind man’s house, which ends up being the weapon used to kill him.
- Money shoots the lock on the cellar door, which is likely what woke up the blind man and alerted him of someone’s presence in his home.
- He gets himself caught by speaking to the blind man, who wasn’t aware if someone was inside of his home or not.
- When the blind man was approaching Money, he could’ve shot him on many different occasions. He didn’t. Which resulted in the army vet grabbing a hold of him, taking his gun, and killing him.
One of the dumbest things about Money is that he begs for his life when the man has his hand wrapped around his neck. It’s a natural reaction, perhaps, but surprising, isn’t it? Like, he only has himself to blame, you know! HE broke into the blind man’s house. HE brought the gun, HE got himself caught and HE did not shoot the man when he had the chance. Blame yourself, lil’ buddy! You could’ve played your role a lot better!
4. Ginger’s Behavior as a Mother Is Vile and Disgusting
You might be wondering who’s Ginger? She’s Rocky’s mom. She appears in the film for only a few minutes, if that, and she manages to be surprisingly vile and disgusting in that time.
Why is Ginger the second dumbest character in Don’t Breathe? Well, with her new “boyfriend” Trevor and youngest daughter Diddy in the room, she suggests that her eldest daughter rocky has been giving BJs to earn some cash. It’s something she does with a sick smile on her face. It suggests that she isn’t against it or she just doesn’t care, and might support her doing it. If that’s not enough to see how stupid she is, she forces Rocky to go and buy her “a large four-cheese from Tony’s”, with her own money. I must say, Ginger’s behavior is revolting.
There’s more to the story, as Ginger treats Rocky like trash, even calling her a “bitch” when she asked if Trevor was living with them. It was not even a question served with attitude. Rocky was calm. Relaxed. So calling Rocky a bitch was uncalled for. And it’s clear that Ginger doesn’t care for neither Rocky or Diddy. Her nonchalant approach to parenting is something truly appalling. It’s no wonder that Rocky wants to take her little sis and run away from home.
What makes Ginger one of the dumbest character in Don’t Breathe is her behavior towards her daughter. It’s like she’s completely fine letting strange men stay over night, force her daughter to pay for things, and view her own child as a prostitute – and be okay with it! And when you treat people like this, you can’t be that intelligent, now can you? Thus, I’m placing this Don’t Breathe character, Ginger, in the dumb section of this ranked characters list.
3. Alex Is Naive and Silly Without Any Kind of Backbone
Honestly, you could say that Alex is a smart kid. He’s able to steal keys from his dad, who owns a security company, to steal things together with Rocky and Money without his father finding out about it. While it’s a stupid thing to do, it shows us that he’s cunning. When inside the old man’s house, he makes many smart decisions, and is shown hiding intelligently. Whether he’s bashing the man’s head in or knowing when to hide and not breathe, Alex proved to be smart. Let’s not forget that he locked the blind man’s dog in a room and also saved Rocky when she was in a harness in the basement.
There’s a reason he lands in the middle of the pack, seperating the dumb characters from the smart ones. It’s because Alex is not without his share of stupidity, being a naive little boy with no backbone. It’s best showcased with his relationship with Rocky and Money, both of whom don’t really care about him. While they are supposedly “friends”, it’s obvious that Rocky and Money are using Alex for the keys he can provide to various houses. Alex seems to be oblivious to this, and he gets taken advantage of, doing things against his better judgement.
While Alex isn’t nearly as dumb as Ginger, she’s not close to Rocky’s intelligence neither. Alex ranks smack dab in the middle of my ranked list of the dumbest and smartest characters in Don’t Breathe.
2. Rocky Makes the Right Decisions and Fights from the Heart
Jane Levy‘s character has a fitting name, doesn’t she? Her name is Rocky, and I can’t help but feel that she earned the right to be proud of that name following the events in the blind man’s house. When you consider the way in which she fought, the smart decisions she made, there’s no doubt that she’s a true fighter. And I mean that in every sense of the word.
What I like about Rocky is that she has a reasonable line of logic that she follows, and she has a good reason for desperately wanting to steal money. Irregardless of the risk, she’s willing to put it all on the line for a better future for herself and her little sister. It’s an admirable trait. It is also child abduction, isn’t it? But Ginger isn’t a good mother, and so Rocky’s willingness to break the law makes sense. She wants a fresh start, a clean slate, and she’s willing to fight for it!
When it comes to Rocky’s intelligence, it’s clear that she’s among the smartest characters in Don’t Breathe. She’s able to read situations well, adapt and adjust on the go, without losing her nerve and keeping her emotions in check. It not only shows her behavioral intelligence, but also an emotional understanding of herself. She’s strong, that much is evident. But she proves it too. On many different occasions, she was able to trick and get away from the old man. She even outsmarted his dog, trapping it inside the trunk of the car. And let’s not forget that she’s the sole survivor. With that said, it’s safe to say that Rocky finds opportunities and solutions in whatever problems she face. It’s what a smart individual is capable of, not a dumb one.
The 7 ways Rocky is one of the smartest characters in the film
- When Alex and Money can’t find a way to get inside of the blind man’s house, Rocky finds a small window and suggests squeezing through. In turn, she gets them inside of the house.
- She’s able to turn off the alarm in time, without being heard.
- Rocky tells Alex and Money to take their “shoes off” so they make less noise.
- She was effectively able to hide on numerous difficult occasions, without being caught.
- She remembered the code for the safe, which enabled her to come back later and take the money. It also opened the safe in the basement, which held the keys for the woman tied up there. Without remembering the 4-digit number, she would’ve not been able to steal the money or try to save the woman in the basement.
- Rocky activates the alarm to drive the blind man crazy, and then followed up by hitting him multiples times with a crowbar.
- She survives, flees with the money, and leaves the city with her little sister Diddy.
In the end, Rocky was able to outsmart the Blind Man. She escaped with the money. She lived. That’s not something we see often in horror films. In turn, I must commend her. She’s honestly amazing. And so, with that being said, I think she’s the second smartest character in this flick.
1. The Elderly Blind Man Is Smart, Cunning and Experienced
This army veteran is old and blind, yet his cunning and intelligence is unmatched. Whether it’s his keen ear and combat ability or strategic thinking and excellent planning, he’s unmatched. If you give him back his sight, even at his age, he would’ve killed Rocky and her friends in just a couple of seconds. And do you know what? There’s no evidence to suggest otherwise!
The 7 ways The Blind Man is the smarter character in Don’t Breathe
- The army vet was smart enough to play dumb when approaching Money who was holding a gun. He was able to get close to Money, overpower him, take his gun and kill him with it.
- He knew that more people were in his house and so he trapped them inside. He put locks on doors and boarded up windows, making it pretty much impossible for them to escape.
- When Rocky, Alex and the kidnapped woman tried to escape the cellar, the blind man had gone outside, welcoming them when they opened the cellar door. He stopped them from getting away.
- When in the cellar, he shut off the power, in order to balance out the playing field. Rocky and Alex saw what the blind man saw; nothing.
- The blind man was able to beat Alex in a fight in a room full of dangerous objects, and did so with relative ease. It’s noteworthy, as Alex has his sight and the blind man is… blind.
- He had a really smart dog, whom he raised and trained. In turn, every smart and dumb action by the dog is credited partially to the blind man as well.
- Last but not least, he had great hearing, great instincts and he was able to navigate both in his home and even outdoors with ease.
The Blind Man would’ve easily taken care of Rocky and her friends if he had eyesight
Listen, there are surely more ways to prove the blind man’s intelligence, but it’s clear that he was smart, considering how well he managed to fight off 3 intruders. Not only that, but was capable of overpowering them physically, outplay them strategically and outmaneuver them indoors and outdoors. It’s truly easy to see that this man has a high IQ.
Lastly, let me just say that this was a very fun list to write. Going through all of the characters in Don’t Breathe, and then creating a ranked list was genuinelly entertaining. It came naturally to me. I hope that you have enjoyed this read, but most of all, I hope that you like Don’t Breathe. It’s a damn good movie!