Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Don’t Move’ on Netflix, a Tight, Simple Kidnapping Thriller Anchored by Kelsey Asbille and Finn Wittrock

By John Serba

This week connected Gimmicky Thrillers Theatre is Don’t Move (now connected Netflix), a movie astir personification who… can’t move. At nan consequence of sounding for illustration a pedant, “don’t” implies choice, while nan much meticulous connection for nan title of this movie is “can’t,” considering nan main characteristic is injected pinch a paralyzing supplier successful bid to easier facilitate her kidnapping. I’ll extremity location pinch nan nitpickery (no GET A DICTIONARY admonishments from me, bro) and get connected pinch mentioning that nan biggest sanction progressive present is shaper Sam Raimi, who gives collaborative duo Brian Netto and Adam Schindler an opportunity to nonstop their first feature, starring Yellowstone’s Kelsey Asbille arsenic nan kidnappee and Finn Wittrock arsenic nan kidnapper. It has its moments. 

DON’T MOVE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Iris (Asbille) can’t get nan image retired of her mind: The agelong driblet from a scenic cliff successful a gorgeous California forest. That’s really her toddler boy died. Now she stands successful that aforesaid spot, adjacent to a small memorial shrine to nan boy, wondering if she should subordinate him – but she’s not alone. Richard (Wittrock) comes upon nan scene. He’s calm, genial. He pieces it together, that nan smiling kid successful nan photograph is hers. He seems to cognize what to say. All nan correct things to get her to backmost distant from nan ledge. He shares really his woman died successful a car wreck. “The world takes what it wants,” Iris says. This is wherever she’s astatine correct now, a shape of grief. A earthy one.

Richard persuades Iris to travel him backmost down nan way to nan parking lot, wherever he slow alters his reside from friends to creepy and zaps her pinch a stun weapon and binds her pinch zip ties and throws her successful his backseat. She comes to, and he further illustrates what an instantly hateable S.O.B. he is by explaining really he injected her pinch a supplier that will soon temporarily paralyze her. It’ll return 20 minutes to footwear in, and nan diabolical point is, she’ll beryllium immobile but conscious capable to cognize precisely what this godawful quality being is doing to her. Diabolical.

Did we mention that, backmost earlier Iris drove retired to nan woods successful nan first place, she was astatine home, and astatine location she grabbed a Swiss service knife? The movie takes pains to show america that she does, indeed, drawback a Swiss service knife. A Swiss service weapon that comes successful useful during nan moments anterior to her being incapable to move, truthful she uses it to trim nan zip ties and make Richard clang nan car truthful she tin tally away. He follows, but he’s not successful a hurry. The supplier will return effect soon enough. She stumbles and scampers and hides and ants crawl connected her look and really, it’s each conscionable a matter of clip until she’s inert and Richard very overmuch is not.

Photo: Vladimir Lepoev / © Netflix / courtesy Everett Collection

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Don’t Move, Don’t Breathe, Don’t Look Up, Don’t Look Now, Don’t Say a Word, Don’t Be Afraid of nan Dark, Don’t Let Go, Don’t Tell Mom nan Babysitter’s Dead, Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice successful nan Hood and, um, Don’t Breathe 2. Oh, and Wittrock’s psycho characteristic could beryllium nan younger relative to Josh Hartnett’s psycho characteristic successful Trap. 

Performance Worth Watching: Honestly, location isn’t overmuch extent to these characters. But Wittrock gives america a convincing show of sociopathy that maintains our interest, if only successful our desire to spot him get what he deserves. 

Memorable Dialogue: Before each nan evil starts happening, Richard and Iris stock this profound exchange:

Richard: You’re not going to hold for maine to thrust distant truthful you tin spell backmost there?

Iris: Not today.

Richard: I’ll return today.

Sex and Skin: None.

Photo: Vladislav Lepoev / © Netflix /Courtesy Everett Collection

Our Take: If you tin get past nan contrivances (e.g., Swiss service knife), medium-shallow screenplay (e.g. immoderate rote Grief and Loss subtext) and nan too-tidy irony of nan business (Iris thinks she wants to die, but past realizes she doesn’t), you’ll bask Don’t Move for its Hitchcock-derived play-the-audience-like-a-piano M.O. Netto and Schindler make immoderate hay from a elemental premise, utilizing nan slow dispersion and recession of nan paralyzing supplier arsenic a communicative instrumentality to create and agelong tension, and nan consequence is akin to a Jeremy Saulnier movie (see: Green Room aliases Rebel Ridge) astatine astir 40 percent of nan strength and ambition. Which is conscionable fine, since Saulnier’s extremity seems to beryllium maximum squirmage and sphincter-clenchage, and audiences are apt to find Don’t Move to beryllium a fewer degrees much accessible and digestible. 

So yes, Netto and Schindler deploy a large gimmick here, but it’s a beautiful bully one, arsenic they found Richard arsenic a cretin getting kicks by exploiting a woman’s affectional vulnerability, and Iris arsenic personification who mightiness need, I don’t know, immoderate perspective, aliases a instruction successful appreciating life? The film’s strongest plus is its methodical pace, nan board utilizing long, drawn-out tilts and pans to make suspense, pulling nan taffy to a breaking point, and exploiting our desire to spot Iris gradually regain her expertise to, say, make just capable spot to property nan fastener connected nan seatbelt latch. Some of Don’t Move is nonsensical and immoderate of it is sensical but overall, it’s conscionable engrossing capable to make america attraction for nan protagonist’s well-being. Note, this isn’t nan type of movie that thoroughly embraces The Bleak, though it’s conscionable brave capable to flirt pinch it to nan constituent wherever you wonderment if Iris has suffered enough, aliases mightiness suffer more. The movie walks nan tightrope nicely. 

Our Call: STREAM IT. Don’t Move is a small amended than conscionable fine. It’s a reasonably tight and effective thriller, and a rock-solid debut from Netto and Schindler.

John Serba is simply a freelance writer and movie professional based successful Grand Rapids, Michigan.