‘Don't Move’ (2024) Netflix Movie Review - A Thin, Competent Thriller

Directors Brian Netto and Adam Schindler know a thing or two about teasing and pleasing the audience. They are clever manipulators who know what kinds of calculations they need to do to deliver shocks. We experience a whiplash of emotions when Iris (Kelsey Asbille) is attacked by Richard (Finn Wittrock). Netto and Schindler skillfully hide all traces of menace before this moment. We don't see Richard as a threat, and we don't feel Iris is in any danger. However, when Richard comes closer to Iris when she stands between his and her car, our mind suddenly starts screaming, "Danger! Danger! Run! Run!" During these few seconds, the directors render the victim's fear palpable. This is one of the film's most thrilling moments, and its effect is only elevated through the opening credits that appear on the screen with a jolt. But being a master manipulator of emotions isn't the same as being a great or imaginative director. Netto and Schindler aren't creative filmmakers. They just infuse vigor into old routines with enough competence. Don't Move puts Iris into potentially life-saving situations to generate a false sense of hope in the audience. You think that old man, that kid (or maybe his mother), or that police officer will rescue Iris from Richard's clutches, but we all know what actually ends up happening during such situations.

The film's trailer makes a lot of noise regarding Iris having only twenty minutes to save herself. It all sounds promising on paper, but the movie doesn't do anything exciting or significant with this ticking time element. It merely looks like old wine in a new, shiny bottle. In movies like these, the victim first runs and hides from the hunter. Don't Move follows the same template but adds this time limit thing to raise tension. This trick fails to do its job because the scenes are too conventional (Iris, at one point, is seen hiding below Richard while some ants threaten to reveal her presence). Netto and Schindler embellish stale scenes with forceful eruptions of gore and violence. When sharp objects hit the bodies in this film, their impact is intensely felt by us. But Don't Move soon runs out of gas because gore and shocks take precedence over drama. The film's dramatic substance is nothing but sentimental hokum. Conversations around the loss of loved ones are delivered with a schmaltzy tone that sounds unconvincing and feeble because it feels out of place in this taut thriller. What's more, whenever characters get all teary-eyed, the movie loses its momentum.

Don't Move ultimately comes across as a showcase for Asbille's acting talent. Her portrayal of a (temporarily) paralyzed woman is so potent you actually believe the actor must have taken a paralytic drug for this performance. However, while there is much pleasure in watching Asbille huffing, puffing, and struggling to move her fingers, you never actually care for her character. The acting is so loud and so visible that it calls attention to itself. I would go as far as to say that Asbille's performance becomes the film's substance. Don't Move is this actor's showreel. It's the cinematic equivalent of a standing ovation or thunderous applause given for Asbille's incredible work.

Final Score- [4.5/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times