Summary
Don’t Move is a genuinely good thriller with a strikingly good performance from Kelsey Asbille.
Regardless of whether Don’t Move (2024) is considered a good movie or not, it will at least irritate the debate of “man versus bear” further. Netflix always finds a way of being oddly on-trend or ironic, making me believe they cooperate with time traveler Matt Groening.
But in all seriousness, I enjoyed this 90-minute feature, which has all the hallmarks of a popular streaming film. Situational horrors at least strike conversations, and Don’t Move has talking points from the first minute.
The movie follows Iris, a young grieving mother who takes an early morning hike to visit a memorial at a cliff edge. The memorial belongs to her son, who died in a tragic family accident. Iris considers suicide and perches herself at the edge of the cliff. But by some twisted fate, she is confronted by a man who calls himself “Richard,” and through veiled kindness, he gives Iris a reason to live another day. However, “Richard” turns out to be a presumed serial killer who preys on women. The title comes into play, “Don’t Move,” because Iris is drugged and paralyzed by Richard and spends the movie finding ways to survive in various scenarios.
Don’t Move displays an odd fate in the universe. Iris wanted to die, found a reason to live, and was put in the hands of a psychopath. That alone makes the movie’s opening chilling and compelling, especially on rewatch. “Richard” displays as a kind bypasser, which gives good credit to the directors Brian Netto and Adam Schindler for making this encounter an everyday, regular ordeal. It brings a sobering perspective to the audience, provoking the thought that no one can be trusted. Those who appear normal can be anybody.
The movie tests the hypothesis that psychopaths are amongst us but conceal themselves so well in society that it’s challenging to detect. And like Woman of the Hour, prey-like behavior is not always apparent when it includes violence against women, and Don’t Move gets that point across simply but effectively.
The direction of the movie is a smooth storyboard, as a paralyzed Iris buys as much time as possible to survive and, on occasion, encounters other people that she’s desperate to warn. Credit to Kelsey Asbille, who plays Iris. She navigates a paralyzed, frightened woman superbly; her eyes are used effectively to communicate, and the actor conveys moments of emotional regulation (or lack of) in critical scenes. With the lack of lines in the script, she is, ironically, the best communicator in the story, meaning Kelsey understood the objective perfectly.
There’s no doubt that this movie will strike up the conversation on women’s safety. My criticism of Woman of the Hour is that the subject matter was far too pushed in dialogue over the story. Don’t Move conveys the topic better by allowing the story to breathe naturally. It does not signal or pander. Perhaps the genre and scenario help, but the horror of Iris’ situation is sustained for ninety minutes and remains tense, which is a superb achievement by all the team involved.
From a sensational angle, Don’t Move will quickly get audiences talking; it’s a given. But this is a genuinely good thriller with good eyes behind the camera.
Read More: Don’t Move Ending Explained
