There is no question when it comes to horror and hardcore suspense thrillers that Sam Raimi knows the territory very well, so we are in good hands when we see his name attached, even if it is only as a producer this time and not as director. This is similar to the hand-off he did with 2016’s Don’t Breathe which was directed by Fede Alvarez. Now, in the apparent second installment of Raimi’s “Don’t” franchise, we get Don’t Move, another thriller with a simplistic generic title that warns the audience they are in for a tense adventure. This one comes from the filmmaking team of Adam Schindler and Brian Netto working off a script by T. J. Cimfe and David White that is not horror as much as the latest entry in the seemingly normal family man-turned-psychotic killer genre.
Shot in Bulgaria which is doubling as California’s beautiful and remote wilderness terrain, we meet a solemn mother named Iris (Kelsey Asbille), clearly depressed as she looks at the modest memorial with photo of her young son. Standing up on a mountainside it appears she might be considering ending it all, her grief overwhelming at this spot where apparently the boy died in a horrible accident. On to the scene suddenly comes a friendly stranger, Richard (Finn Wittrock) who senses her sadness and perhaps suicidal thoughts and tries to talk her off the cliff, as it were, by sharing his own life experience. Before long he has gotten her to accompany him back to their cars and if you know this kind of film, well, Dr Jekyll is about to become Mr. Hyde and his psycho-nature comes on without warning as he assaults her with a needle and shot that as he ties her up and throws her in the back seat he explains it will have the effect of completely paralyzing her in 20 minutes, rendering her motionless and speechless. Before that happens though she tries to distract him while she pulls out a pocket knife (don’t know how he missed emptying her pockets), cuts the ties, and attacks him. Her escape once the car crashes doesn’t last long as he pursues her, injuries and all, and eventually has her back until she finds another way to loosen herself from his grip and jumps in a raging river carried downstream.
Back on land her plight worsens as she basically collapses, unable to move or speak anymore, and is rescued by a kindly older man (Moray Treadwell) who takes her inside his very remote cabin to offer some help when…well….you can guess where this all might be going. Although not quite on the level of one of the best examples of this genre, Cape Fear (both versions, but I love Mitchum’s truly menacing and frightening work best in the ’62 original) , Wittrock (American Horror Story) gets to veer back and forth from normal guy to conniving killer without missing a beat, and he’s effectively creepy because of the fact he seems like your next door neighbor. He’s one of those guys who has a secret life, and it is credible here because in these dark times we hear a lot about this kind of guy on local TV news.
Asbille, known as Monica Dutton on Yellowstone, has the tougher role though, basically showing terror and determination in separate doses all through her eyes as the paralytic dose still hasn’t worn off and she is helpless. This however is a woman who has decided she is going to fight with a new will to live despite all the trauma life has thrown at her. Asbille is impressive is a role that does not let her move or speak for much of the running time. Treadwell, and later Daniel Francis as a cop are both effective in their supporting roles, but this is basically a twofer and Asbille and Wittrock make this B-Picture-type genre entry entirely watchable for its tight 92 minute running time. Zach Kuperstein’s cinematography deserves a shout out, particularly for some spectacular aerial shots that also manage to move the plot along in addition to spotlighting the gorgeous landscape in which the film is set.
In addition to Raimi, producers are Zainab Azizi, Alex Lebovici, Christian Mercuri, Sarah Sarandos.
Title: Don’t Move
Distributor: Netflix
Release Date: October 25, 2024
Director: Adam Schindler & Brian Netto
Screenplay: T. J. Cimfe & David White
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour and 32 minutes
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