Don’t Move (2024)  

Review: written March 2025

Efficient thriller but lacks the character development to be moving

This Sam Raimi produced thriller has a fair bit going for it. The scenery for one, which was actually shot in Bulgaria. And then there’s some tense, efficiently thought through thriller beats and an interesting hook – what would happen if you were kidnapped but injected with a drug which would mean you couldn’t move or even speak once it kicked in?

Kelsey Asbille plays the woman facing that question. In the first moments of the film we learn she is grieving for her lost son and that she is ready to end her life at the same spot her son died in a tragic hiking accident. However, she comes across a genial young man (Finn Wittrock) who after sweet talking her out of this drastic action, takes some drastic action of his own – kidnapping her and drugging her with the aforementioned substance. What follows is undoubtedly lean and efficient, hitting some undoubtedly tense scenes, where characters don’t always do the dumb thing you expect them to, amidst some stunning forest scenery. I kind of enjoyed it – but the one thing it lacks is any sense of who these people are. We don’t know who this woman is beyond the two dimensional idea of a grieving mother, and we don’t learn more about him, other than that he is quite unhinged. Indeed we end up learning more about the character of an old man who she seeks help from half way through the movie, even though he is in the movie for maybe ten or so minutes.

So it’s kind of a testament to survival, to the idea that when things get difficult, strength is found when needed. But that’s not enough of an idea for the movie to linger with you for long after the closing credits – but at a lean running time of just over 90 minutes it’s perhaps overlooking what’s missing and to just enjoy a decently acted and efficiently helmed movie.

Thrilling perhaps,. But not moving.