Don’t Move

Don’t Move, from the directing duo of Adam Schindler and Brian Netro, is a new thriller that owes more than a little to the rape-revenge genre. The film, while not depicting rape, or being explicitly about revenge, does touch on related elements. Had this film been made in the 1980s or 1970s, it would have almost certainly been in the genre, far more explicit and thus far different. Whether or not that is a positive or negative will be up to each viewer.

Taking place along what appears to be the west coast of the United States-with Bulgaria standing in-the film concerns Iris, a woman who drives to a secluded overlook in order to commit suicide, following the death of her son. There, she encounters a man identifying himself as Richard, who tells her, quite literally, from the edge. He is quickly revealed as a psychopathic serial killer who has taken a traumatic event in his life and used it to fuel what appears to be a series of kidnappings, rapes and murders, involving the use of a paralytic drug. This drug is what gives the film its title and also provides much of the tension.

Courtesy Netflix 

Unable to move-but not all at once-Iris must first get away, and then figure it out from there, which is where the film takes off, as much as it ever does. This is an occasionally enjoyable work, with solid turns by Finn Wittrock ax Richard, and Kelsey Asbille, as Iris. But without the hook of Iris being paralyzed, there would not be much of a film. As long as you know, going in, that this is a film which relies a bit too much on its gimmick, you might not notice how otherwise pedestrian it is.

If not for the scenery, the film would lose a lot. Both because of how gorgeous the countryside is, and how well shot it is-Zach Kuperstein is a talented cinematographer-but also for how it becomes a character in the film, and one which reflects a major theme, that of isolation. Do not think this means the film is exceptionally thoughtful, nor that such a warning indicates the film is shallow. Instead, the film manages interest and depth in spite of a script that found a fun gimmick and then managed, somehow, to extend it for just over 90 minutes.

Courtesy Netflix

Speaking of the running time, this is a taut thriller, and there is really no place that could be trimmed. Indeed, there are places it is almost too sparse and yet, what more could be added that might not damage the existing work? What the film needed to do, was maximize the potential of its gimmick, and yet it fails to do this, by not firmly establishing the rules or adhering to them, and not fully exploring either Iris or Richard. There is a scene which hints at this, but it is all too brief.

It is, in the end, a missed opportunity of a film. There were chances it refused to take, and places it never thought to go, which could have explored power dynamics, isolation, emotional trauma and forgiveness or vengeance, in depth and detail. Instead, we get what feels like a rushed ending that tries to be wise and yet winds up monumentally absurd. It is not enough to erase what good preceded it, but does accomplish a less than satisfying conclusion, as does the very obvious (mis)use of a song, to emphasize what we simple peasants might have missed. Indeed, that might be the worst thing about the film, that it does not trust its audience enough.

Now streaming on NETFLIX