Don’t Move is a new thriller that follows a woman, Iris, who is stalked by a killer, Richard, after she is injected with a drug that will paralyze her in 20 minutes. Starring Kelsey Asbille and Finn Wittrock, Don’t Move is a fine movie that checks off many boxes of a story but never does anything to elevate itself.
Don’t Move is what I expect from a Netflix movie nowadays. On the surface, it has a lot of flashes. The story is interesting, even though it feels like the easiest trope to do in movies is “What if we took away one of the characters’ senses and made them survive.” A Quiet Place, Don’t Breath, Bird Box, Unseen, and Hush are just a few movies like this where our protagonist has to survive without being able to do one of their basic human functions. Outside of one scene of her escaping before her body shuts down, the movie doesn’t explore how she creatively can escape from Richard. She just is written out of predicaments which is annoying.
Similarly, the theme of grief is introduced early and not again for pretty much the entire movie. The opening scene is as deep as it gets as Iris and Richard talk for a bit about their own losses before the action kicks off. It is a big deal for her, as she lost her child who fell off a cliff and was about to jump herself, unable to live with guilt. Yet the movie didn’t feel the need to talk about it, it just showed flashbacks of them too, and cuts to a toy boat she kept of his.
The tension was also nonexistent. This is one of those movies where you have such a hard time buying the danger Iris is in because you know she will be ok by the end. Every interaction she will have until the end won’t save her, and every time she’s about to be saved, something will happen and she will be captured by Richard again. Movies like this need to throw in some better fake-outs and red herrings so the twists and turns are actually interesting.
I was a big fan of Finn Wittrock’s portrayal of Richard. For starters, he just has sympathetic eyes which helps him in the moments where he has to flip personas when he’s trying to convince people to believe his story. I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but he is bad at what he does despite thinking he is a professional. Every interaction he has with anyone besides Iris, he messes up and must be bailed out by the writing/people just being dumb. If you were about to call the cops after finding a paralyzed woman and then a suspicious-looking man shows up in your house, why wait until he attacks you to call the cops? The phone is in your hands already and you can discreetly dial the number, and the cops will show up regardless of if you are talking to them.
I was also a big fan of Asbille. While I don’t think her character is given as much depth as she should’ve, you can’t deny how good she is physically. I mean half of this movie is about her body failing and entering a paralyzed state, yet she does a great job of showing her emotions through her eyes, the only thing she can still move. As she slowly regains her mobility, you can see her work through the pain of reteaching herself the mind-muscle connection.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Don’t Move is entertaining but not the most engaging. I found that it lacked any depth and any real tension, but I also would be lying if I said I was bored of it at any point. It’s not a movie that will change your mood, your mindset, or your day, but it’s a nice popcorn flick before bed that you can watch with others.
