‘Don’t Move’ Review – Kelsey Asbille Can’t Save This Sleepy Netflix Horror

It’s one of the cardinal rules of horror cinema: don’t go into the woods alone. The second rule? Definitely don’t hang out with some weirdly charming guy you meet there. Netflix’s new horror-thriller Don’t Move does both within the first 15 minutes.

In Brian Netto and Adam Schindler‘s survival film, Yellowstone’s Kelsey Asbille finds herself incapacitated and at the mercy of a power-tripping murderer (Finn Wittrock). While this Sam Raimi-produced horror has an interesting premise and some decent twists, Don’t Move is a tense but ultimately forgettable experience that will likely leave you — much like its protagonist — staring tiredly, and blankly ahead.

What Is Netflix’s ‘Don’t Move’ About?

Don’t Move follows Kelsey Asbille’s Iris, a grieving woman who embarks on a hike in the remote wilderness to visit the site of her young son’s death. Just when she’s nearly overcome with despair, a handsome stranger who calls himself Richard appears and offers some comfort — that is until he grabs the taser and the zip ties.

Iris soon awakens in the back of Richard’s car and learns that he’s injected her with a drug that, within 20 minutes, will render her completely paralyzed. The day quickly becomes a harrowing fight for survival as Iris has to figure out how to escape Richard while her body begins to fail her.

Kelsey Asbille and Finn Wittrock Make the Most of ‘Don’t Move’s Middling Script

For what it’s worth, Kelsey Asbille gives a solid performance in Don’t Move. She plays Iris’s sadness and fear with relative ease at the beginning of the movie and will make you feel effectively antsy as she struggles to regain control of her body. Her character’s frustration is palpable through her trembling movements, and her helplessness makes for a claustrophobic experience. However, there is only so much to be done when your heroine spends much of the film moving only her eyeballs.

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American Horror Story‘s Finn Wittrock is allowed a bit more freedom as the villain in this story and gives an eerie performance as Richard. His character is a master manipulator, and Wittrock shows off a terrifying range as he volleys between Richard’s feigned kindness and violent rage. He’s also made even more disturbing through the fact that, at the beginning of the movie, we can see that Iris is ready to die. Richard notices this, and he doesn’t just want Iris dead — he wants her to die feeling even more helpless and out of control than she already does.

Nevertheless, even with two strong lead performances, the characters feel one-dimensional, and as such, they’re difficult to invest in. Some stilted writing, particularly in Iris and Richard’s first conversation, invokes tired feelings of “real people don’t talk like that,” and it does nothing to help the believability of the story. Furthermore, a twist on Richard’s identity later in the movie feels predictable and does little to change our perception of him.

While the film is largely a two-hander, supporting performances from Daniel Francis and Moray Treadwell are welcome in the movie’s sparse cast. Oddly enough, Treadwell’s Bill, who stumbles across Iris lying in a field, houses surprising depth and might be the most compelling character in the movie.

‘Don’t Move’ Is Effectively Stressful, but Not Exactly Horror-Worthy

While not the most thrilling thriller, Don’t Move crafts some powerful tension. It’s stressful to watch Iris’s race against time as the drugs kick in and Richard trails behind her, and this feeling of anxiety never fully goes away. The looming threat hangs over the movie and keeps you on edge, but if you come looking for a great horror flick, you won’t find much here. Some spooky string music adds to the mood and attempts to feed the horror atmosphere until the movie’s climax inexplicably introduces some jarring notes that are either made by a synthesizer or a brass band. Either way, it makes what should be an emotional moment feel almost laughably dramatic. Likewise, there are a handful of violent, gory moments throughout the movie that might make you shrink in your seat, but overall the film relies mostly on its frightening, but thin, premise.

Even while we anxiously wait for Kelsey’s adversary to catch up with her, there are some lingering questions that will keep you from being totally sold on the story. Shouldn’t a paralytic drug that strong make Iris lose the ability to breathe? How does her eyeliner stay perfectly intact even as she’s dragged all over the forest and almost drowns a few times? While these issues are hardly deal-breakers in a grueling thriller, the fact that you’ll be thinking about them at all probably tells you all you need to know.

As far as Netflix thrillers go, Don’t Move‘s creative premise keeps it from getting totally lost in the unrelenting barrage of new projects. The movie also offers an earnest, if shallow, commentary on the paralyzing nature of grief. However, if you come in with high hopes of pulse-pounding thrills or spine-chilling horror, you’ll likely be underwhelmed and a little bored by this slow-moving survival story.

‘Don’t Move’ features an unsettling premise and solid performances, but lacks sufficient thrills.

Pros

• Kelsey Asbille and Finn Wittrock effectively play up a tense cat-and-mouse dynamic

Cons

• The horror elements are underwhelming, save for some shocking moments of violence
• The writing feels stilted at times, and conversations feel unnatural

Don’t Move is now available to watch on Netflix.

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