Don’t Move Parent Guide

Grieving the loss of her young son, Iris (Kelsey Asbille) goes for an early morning hike in the Big Sur mountains to the spot where he fell. While contemplating her grief she meets a man named Richard (Finn Wittrock), who kindly talks her down from the ledge. But Iris’s trust in Richard is short lived: when she reaches the bottom of the mountain, he captures her, ties her up, and injects her with a paralytic that will shut her body down in 20 minutes. Now Iris must get as far away as possible before she loses the ability to fight back.

Remember when sitcoms used to do “bottle episodes” to save money? These episodes would usually be shot on one set (used in other episodes) and have few characters, often only the main cast. When done well, bottle episodes can be some of the greatest in the series, as they force writers to narrow their focus. Although Don’t Move does have multiple set pieces, the extremely small cast gives the film the feeling of a bottle episode. The credits list nine cast members, two of whom are non-speaking, and three with less than two lines. We spent the vast majority of the runtime with only Iris and Richard, and two side characters who get about ten minutes each. With such a tiny cast, this film lives or dies by the performances of the two leads.

Asbille and Wittrock are more than up to the task, as their chemistry and acting chops are on full display. Wittrock toes the line of being absolutely deranged while still believable as a family man, while Asbille’s quiet performance captures grief and desperation even when she can’t move. The story is thin, but the performances make it feel bigger than the sum of its parts.

I should say that I’m not a horror fan, so to me this film felt tense and unrelenting. For genre fans, this story may err more on the tame side, in terms of both tension and content. That’s not to say this isn’t a film full of violence, but there was less than I expected given the genre, which shows some restraint on the part of the filmmakers. I’m fully aware that this production was not made for me, but I actually enjoyed it thanks to the restraint and powerful performances, as well as beautiful camera work. Genre fans looking for buckets of blood may be disappointed, but adult thriller fans looking for something a bit more thoughtful are sure to enjoy Don’t Move.