Old Man: Stephen Lang thriller was released as a Don’t Breathe prequel in Russia

Released last fall, Lucky McKee’s “chamber thriller” Old Man had nothing to do with the Don’t Breathe films, despite starring Stephen Lang – who played the “Blind Man” in both Don’t Breathe and Don’t Breathe 2. But that didn’t stop the movie’s Russian distributor from marketing it as a prequel to those films! During an interview with JB Hi-Fi, McKee laughed about the fact that his movie is part of the Don’t Breathe franchise, as far as Russia is concerned.

McKee said, “In Russia, they released it as Don’t Breathe: The Beginning. Kind of like the Italians used to do back in the day, with movies like Zombi 2.“

Sure enough, if you search the title Don’t Breathe: The Beginning, you’ll find confirmation that Old Man is a Don’t Breathe prequel in Russia.

Scripted by Joel Veach, who also wrote the story as a play that was workshopped at the Actor’s Studio in New York, Old Man follows a lost hiker who stumbles upon the cabin of an erratic and reclusive Old Man. What starts off as cordial conversation soon turns dangerous as it becomes clear that one or both of them might be hiding a terrifying secret.

Marc Senter (Starry Eyes) plays the lost hiker. Liana Wright-Mark (Ocean’s 8) and Patch Darragh (Succession) are also in the cast. Senter produced the film with Aaron B. Koontz, Ashleigh Snead, and Cameron Burns of Paper Street Pictures. David Guglielmo serves as associate producer.

McKee’s previous directing credits include May, The Woods, Red, The Woman, All Cheerleaders Die, Blood Money, Kindred Spirits, and segments of the anthologies Tales of Halloween and Deathcember. I enjoyed several of those movies, so I intended to watch Old Man when it was released last year… but then it slipped through the cracks and I forgot to get around to it. So I was glad to see talk of these Don’t Breathe prequel shenanigans, because it reminded me I still need to watch Old Man.

JoBlo reviewer Lance Vlcek gave Old Man a 7/10 review you can read HERE. You can also watch interviews we conducted with McKee and Lang at THIS LINK.

Have you watched Old Man? What do you think of it being released as a Don’t Breathe prequel in Russia? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.