Spooky Season 2024: Don’t Move Review

Don’t Move is Netflix’s latest horror thriller from directors Adam Schindler and Brian Netto and produced by horror legend Sam Raimi. Iris (Asbille) is a grieving woman looking to find solace deep in an isolated forest until one morning, she encounters a stranger named Richard (Wittrock). A man who initially seemed friendly and charming, unexpectedly injected her with a paralytic agent. As the agent gradually takes over her body, Iris is forced to run, hide, and fight for her life before her entire nervous system shuts down and she becomes unable to move. A tense and gripping thriller, it will hook audiences from the start and not let go, leaving them on the edge of their seats for the most part throughout.

Featuring a tired premise that could have gone either way, Schindler and Netto execute it well while keeping it fresh as they are names worth keeping an eye on in the future. What could have easily become repetitive as its predoctability factor sets in, constantly switches things up in a way that will keep audiences guessing what happens next. Meanwhile, on the technical side, it is a slick production lead by strong sound design, cinematography, and editing along with some absolutely stunning and memorable shots that are seldom seen in any streaming release. What amounts to a two hander between Asbille and Wittrock, they are both great. While neither Iris nor Richard get much in the way of development beyond the opening scene, the film delivers just enough while their strong chemistry especially early on does the rest.

As Iris, Asbille is required to do a lot physically but she absolutely crushes it. She’s a likeable protagonist who is easy to root for and want to survive. On the other hand, the film shows a completely different side of Wittrock and one that most audiences probably aren’t accustomed to, as he absolutely devours this serial killer role from the moment he first appears on screen. While quietly very creepy and subdued, he still finds time to lose his mind and become absolutely unhinged when he needs to. However, as enjoyable as this is, it is nothing more than a solid thriller without too many glaring issues. One of the biggest concerns that could come when reading the premise for a film like this is that it could seem like a perfect pitch for a short film but it could lead to wondering if it can maintain interest for a full 90-minutes. Somewhat successful at this, the film does start to lose some steam come the third act. This section of felt padded just to make its already short running time a touch longer and ultimately squanders the build up coming from its first two acts. This carries over to an ending that could have been more satisfying especially for how predictable it is as the film could have gone further during several key moments.

Minor flaws aside, Don’t Move is exactly the type of thriller that audiences need a lot more of. A film that doesn’t feel like a typical streaming release, it would certainly have been better served seen on the big screen alongside a rowdy crowd. In the end, more so of thriller than a horror film, it is one to keep an eye on this spooky season.

still courtesy of Netflix

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Connor Carey

www.connorsmoviereviews.com/