10 Horror Movie Characters Who Got Off Too Easy
7. Norman Nordstrom - Don't Breathe 2
A sequel to Don't Breathe was certainly a tricky prospect, given that the first film revealed that Norman Nordstrom (Stephen Lang), the blind man who fought off three young thieves who broke into his house, had forcefully impregnated the woman who killed his daughter in a car accident, in a twisted attempt to create a "replacement" for said daughter.
Don't Breathe 2 presents Norman as something of an anti-hero, the lesser of two evils when his adopted daughter Phoenix (Madelyn Grace) is targeted by her meth cook father, Raylan (Brendan Sexton III).
By film's end, Raylan is killed and Phoenix's life saved, though Norman's efforts leave him apparently mortally wounded, allowing him to die "peacefully" in Phoenix's arms, believing that she brought him the salvation he sought for his past crimes. And even though that forced catharsis for Norman rings rather false given the horrendous nature of his prior acts, the film doesn't even commit to that either, as the mid-credits scene implies that he in fact survived.
With a third film currently in development, it'll be interesting to see how the filmmakers try to further twist Norman's characterisation in a sympathetic light. He definitely needs to die this time, right?