‘Don’t Move’ Review: Netflix Thriller Starring Kelsey Asbille and Finn Wittrock Has Its Moments

From producer Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Drag Me To Hell), Don’t Move is the latest film from the team of directors Brian Netto & Adam Schindler and writers T.J. Cimfel & David White, who previously came together in 2015 for the home invasion thriller Intruders starring Rory Culkin.

While staying in the horror thriller genre this time as well, the team moves into the low-key serial killer game as Don’t Move focuses on a grieving mother named Iris (Yellowstone co-star Kelsey Asbille) who is pulled back from the brink by a chance encounter with a stranger named “Richard” (2-time Emmy Nominee Finn Wittrock).

As they venture down the mountain, it becomes clear that maybe “Richard” isn’t the saving grace Iris thought he might be. After being injected with a paralytic agent, she must do all she can to get away and find help before her body shuts down.

Much like the substance running through Iris’ veins, the gimmicky entry point to the movie does wear off as the audience is forced to reckon with how they want to engage with the two central characters and the fight for survival.

In Iris, we don’t get too deep into her personality or character traits beyond the loss of her son and the will to live without him. The paralytic restricts her movements, but it also restricts us from getting to know much more about her.

With “Richard,” we know he’s an experienced killer with more to lose than his freedom if he gets caught. He only feels connected if he’s watching someone die … I guess. Again, the film doesn’t feel the need to go too deep.

So, with two lead characters that can’t give us more than surface-level humanity and no mystery as to what is going on here, it’s all about survival. Though extremely limited, this is where the movie does its best work, especially when Richard’s survival instincts kick in more than Iris’. His interactions with the law and anyone protecting Iris from him are the more electrifying moments in the film; weapons, fire, and emotional intensity kick in (for once) when Richard gets backed into a corner.

While thin characters & a basic plot line hamper this movie from rising above mediocrity, the hardest thing to deal with might be the slippery – and very convenient – use of the paralytic itself. Past its early explanation of the 20 minutes after it kicks in, the rules of what Iris can or cannot do as the movie goes on is nebulous at best. One minute, she can’t talk to the police officer trying to help her, the next she’s chatting away in the truck after fleeing the scene. She’s capable of bursts of energy but can’t use her fingers. She can’t move her body one moment and swimming ashore with what seems like full body control soon after. The lack of consistency or information makes it hard for the viewer to know the rules of engagement from scene to scene, removing some of the better scenes in the latter half of the film.

Bottom line, Don’t Move is simply adequate; a simple movie you can follow, but not one you’ll think about again soon after. No performance too strong or too weak, no character too emotionally impactful to care. It’s all about survival – for the characters and your attention span. In a movie climate full of new horror/thriller options, you can do better this Halloween weekend.

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Watch Don’t Move If You Liked 

• Intruders
• Run Sweetheart Run
• Curve
• Prey (2021)

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MVP of Don’t Move

The Scene at Bill’s House

In one of the rare instances where all the characters and their capabilities make sense, we have one man standing in the way of Richard reclaiming his victim – an older man named Bill, who’s all alone after the loss of his wife.

After having the wherewithal to discern Iris’ current state, he brings her into his home with plans to call the police. But once Richard comes knocking, the real chess match begins. Parsing through Richard’s levels of deception, Bill figures out the situation and has no choice but to escalate to violence. We FINALLY get a real fight with some blood spilled while Iris is too paralyzed to do anything but watch. The stakes get even higher when the flames start to rise. It’s probably the best scene in the movie – too bad it comes so early. RIP Bill.

Too simple to care too much. Don’t Move has its moments, but – gimmick and all – never rises above a basic survival story.