In Don’t Move, Iris is a suicidal young woman, who has experienced tragedy in her life. After taking herself off to a secluded spot in the wilderness, she stands on the edge of a cliff contemplating her next move.
Suddenly a stranger appears. He introduces himself as Richard and begins to talk, trying to deter Iris from jumping.
After a few minutes, Iris steps away from the edge. The two walk off through the trees and head back down to the carpark.
But Richard isn’t the Good Samaritan he appears to be. Within moments Iris finds herself in serious danger from Richard, with no one around to help.
Directed by Adam Schindler and Brian Netto, Don’t Move is a horror thriller starring Kelsey Asbill and Finn Wittrock. The movie is streaming on Netflix from today and is a fairly tense little picture which is worth 90 minutes of your time.
It’s not A-list stuff, but it is exactly what streaming should be about: Simple little pictures, based around a workable idea, and with enough of a budget to make them look good.
With Don’t Move, the premise is straightforward, the cast is small, and the action begins quite quickly. There is very little set-up, and no huge preamble, it essentially does what it says on the tin (so to speak) and just gets on with it.
In short: Iris goes to the woods, encounters a seemingly nice guy, he turns out to be a nutcase, and she has to fight for survival. But it’s not just survival from him, it’s also survival from her surroundings, as well as survival from something he has done to her.
One key element of Don’t Move, and the reason for the film’s title, is that Iris is injected with a drug that causes paralysis. The drug will wear off in time, but until it does, Iris has a lack of mobility to contend with, along with everything else.
This added wrinkle ensures Don’t Move isn’t just a chase movie, with Iris spending 90 minutes running through the trees. Instead, there are sections of the film where she is moved from place-to-place against her will, other characters are brought into the mix, and the picture is able to draw out some suspense from new scenarios.
For the most part this keeps things interesting and fresh. Don’t Move doesn’t dwell on the same situation for too long, and finds ways to keep moving (no pun intended).
Does everything in the film work? No, and Richard’s motivations are brought into question.
His desire to kidnap/attack Iris seems to outweigh some of his actions and general logic. There is a significant degree of escalation in the film, and you have to wonder why he is determined to see it all through?
Don’t Move is also a fairly land-locked picture. The action takes place in and around the woods, and while this is fine at times, on occasion it does feel a little bit small scale.
Yes, the story works, but in terms of what happens and where it goes, this does play out more like an episode of a television show than a movie. I little bit more pizzazz or a bit more action would take things up a notch.
While Don’t Move isn’t going to become anyone’s favourite new film, nor is it going to compete with A-grade thrillers and big blockbusters, it is exactly the sort of film that Netflix should be specialising in. It’s a picture that knows what it wants to do, understands its strengths and limitations, and stays in its lane.
As such, it offers a good slice of entertainment which keeps interest levels up, and should stop streamers from switching off or becoming distracted by phones/the kids/the dog etc. This is something which few films seem to do these days, so it should be applauded accordingly.
Ultimately, Don’t Move is a three-star picture, but it is a solid three-star picture. Enjoy it for what it is.
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Thank you for taking the time to read this review on It’s A Stampede!. For more reviews, check out the recommended reads below.
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