Don't Move (2024) Dir: Brian Netto & Adam Schindler
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Admittedly, reviews for this netflix original thriller haven't been spectacular, in fact they have been decidedly mediocre in nature. However, I found the concept of the film interesting enough, and I felt as though it could still provide some entertainment. I was intrigued to see how I'd feel towards Brian Netto and Adam Schindler's horror.
First and foremost, the film's name makes no sense. It should really have been "can't move" instead of "don't move" - it just gives the impression of lazy and thoughtless decision making. This really describes a lot of the screenplay in general too. It was rather ham-fisted, monotonous, and full of weak and unrealistic dialogue.
The opening titles came at the most irritating and inconvenient time; the moment the inciting incident actually occurs. From there, the film slunk into a lethargic and boring slog. Everything was as predictable as it was dull. The story was topped off by a weak antagonist who didn't feel at all believable. Their personality was so contradictory and they made so many simple errors that no believable killer would make.
All these issues were compounded by uninspiring cinematography, despite a gorgeous location, as well as a glaringly obvious continuity error concerning one character's injury towards the end of the film. In short, this was just a very sloppy thriller. The soundtrack was alright though, on a positive note.
Kelsey Asbille had a challenging role, one that not only demanded some very subtle acting for the bulk of her time on-screen, but was also just not very well written. I don't think she gave a great performance, but, in fairness, she did have a few scenes where she did really well to tell a lot of her character's emotions through just her eyes.
Finn Wittrock gave one of the most unconvincing performances I've seen in a long time. In fairness, it didn't help that his character was so generic and uninteresting. That said, there was no avoiding the feeling that Wittrock's acting was both extremely inauthentic and painfully dull. It felt like I was watching an actor, not a killer, and not a very good one at that.
There weren't too many other actors even in the film, but even so, the only two worthy of note, both in regards to screentime and acting, were Daniel Francis and Moray Treadwell. Neither man was spectacular or anything, but they weren't overly poor either.
Overall, my main takeaway from this viewing experience was the feeling of boredom. The concept was executed poorly and the writing even more-so. I thought this could've been a fairly good popcorn thriller, but ultimately it wasn't even that watchable. My expectations were low, but it still underwhelmed.
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