10 Movie Villains Who Became Heroes In The Sequel
3. Norman Nordstrom - Don't Breathe 2
The original Don't Breathe did a fantastic job of blurring the lines between hero and villain, as though we're initially led to root for blind war veteran Norman Nordstrom (Stephen Lang) as a trio of young thieves attempt to lift $300,000 from his home, that all changes once we find out what's in his basement.
Mid-film, we learn that Norman has kidnapped the young woman who killed his daughter in a car accident, and worse still, he's forcibly impregnated her with a "replacement" for his late daughter.
This revelation caused any sympathy the audience felt for Norman to evaporate instantaneously, yet Don't Breathe 2 made the brave, arguably incredibly ill-advised choice to try and reinvent Norman as an anti-hero.
This time around, Norman becomes the protector of a young girl, Phoenix (Madelyn Grace), who is being sought out by her meth dealer father Raylan (Brendan Sexton III) for nefarious purposes.
Given that Raylan intends to use his daughter's heart to save the life of his wife/Phoenix's mother Josephine (Fiona O'Shaughnessy), the intent was clearly to have Norman face off against an even bigger monster than himself.
Audiences understandably couldn't get onboard with rooting for a rapist, though, and so Don't Breathe 2's emotional throughline ended up falling rather flat, no matter that Norman does at least help save Phoenix's life at film's end, while owning up to his many wicked transgressions.