DON’T MOVE

(directors: Brian Netto/Adam Schindler; screenwriters: T. J. Cimfel, David White; cinematographer: Zach Kuperstein; editor: Josh Ethier; music: Michelle Ossis, Mark Korven; cast: Kelsey Asbille (Iris), Moray Treadwell (Bill), Finn Wittrock (Richard), Daniel Francis (Dontrell), Denis Kostadinov (Mateo); Runtime: 92; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Zainab Azizi, Alex Lebovici, Christian Mercuri, Sam Raimi, Brian Netto, Sarah Sarandos; Netflix; 2024)

“A contrived thriller that begins well but ends badly.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

A contrived thriller that begins well but ends badly. The lady protagonist must escape certain death without moving becomes the reason for the title. It’s co-directed by Brian Netto (“Delivery”) and Adam Schindler (“Shut In”), and written by T. J. Cimfel and David White.


Iris (Kelsey Asbille) recently lost her son Mateo (Denis Kostadinov) in a tragic hiking accident. Filled with grief, Iris one day returns to the site of the accident with the intention of committing suicide by jumping off a cliff. Before she goes through with it, a stranger named Richard (Finn Wittrock) appears and they get into a conversation. She decides to go with him back to the hiking trail’s parking lot. Suddenly he turns psycho on her and knocks her out and injects her with a paralyzing drug. When she regains conscious, she resists her assailant until her body goes limp.

Iris must now reverse course from someone wanting to die to someone wanting to live at all costs.

The story sounds okay up to this point, but bogs down when the co-directors let the story die by injecting it with cringe-worthy flashbacks and awkward action sequences

The acting has an anti-outdoors vibe, while the story collapses from the inside. This was a film of missed opportunities.

REVIEWED ON 11/10/2024  GRADE: C+
dennisschwartzreviews.com