Does ‘Don’t Move’ Deliver On It’s Promise?
The horror thriller’s unique concept was the focus of its marketing, but could it follow through?
“Don’t Move” is a direct-to-Netflix horror film directed by Sam Raimi. It stars Kelsey Asbille, as Iris, a grieving woman trying to cope with the death of her son, and Finn Wittrock playing Richard, a sadistic serial killer. The premise is that after injecting her with a fast-acting paralytic poison, she escapes, and must run, fight, and hide from him in a massive, isolated forest before her body shuts down, with only 20 minutes until it completely takes over.
“Don’t Move” fails to deliver on the promises it makes, as rather than the movie being about her trying to survive with her body failing her, it’s about Iris laying on the ground paralyzed while the plot moves around her. Much of the movie would have been the same if you replaced her character with a sandbag, as she plays almost no part in the movie she leads in. Instead, you watch as incredibly lucky coincidences play out for both sides, the “seasoned serial killer” swivels between being so massively incompetent that he can’t keep a zip-tied and tasered woman in the back of his car for more than five minutes without her escaping and getting strokes of luck that are almost supernatural.
Meanwhile, Iris has no agency for most of the film. The trailer portrays the race against time as a core component of the movie, with her setting a timer on her watch and trying to secure a safe place until the paralysis takes over. In actuality, the heavily showcased 20-minute timer is meaningless because she’s immediately paralyzed. Instead, she was essentially just someone for the camera to cut to in between other characters doing things and progressing the plot.
This isn’t to say the movie has no good qualities. The cinematography, especially at the beginning, really showcases how alone she is, emphasizing the vastness of the forest, surrounded by towering mountains. However, this is almost immediately undermined by the fact that she’s surrounded by other people for almost the entire movie.
The movie’s acting is great, and Wittrock’s performance as Richard is excellent. In an interview, he stated that he studied Hannibal Lecter, which is evident in the quality of his performance. Richard’s descent into madness seems like a reply to the recent online romanticization of serial killers, as the façade cracks away and he reveals his insanity more and more until it’s clear that behind his charisma he is an irredeemable monster. Asbille’s performance is similarly great, and she manages to show a wide range of emotions with just her eyes. Iris’s character is not written nearly as well, with her grief for her son being portrayed as random, jarring cuts to her and her son, and a small boat that she carries around. This lack of backstory and character exposition makes it hard to empathize with her, a cardinal sin for any horror film. This is especially glaring considering that a character who is in the movie for mere minutes has a much more full and compelling background that is thoroughly explained and elaborated on.
Considering that it was directed by Sam Raimi, creator of the “Evil Dead” series, “Don’t Move” is a disappointment. However, its unique concept, and great acting, is a movie worth watching, even considering all its flaws, and its 92-minute runtime means that it is a very quick watch. Anyone who has Netflix should consider watching it if only to see what could have been.