Sam Raimi's high-concept new movie Don't Move has divided critics, with some calling it bland and predictable but others finding it "effective" and saying it served up some suspense.
The abduction thriller—which has dropped on Netflix—follows Iris (Kelsey Asbille), who is contemplating suicide after the death of her son. However, when she is kidnapped by a man named Richard (Finn Wittrock), who injects her with a substance that temporarily paralyzes her, she can only communicate using her eyes, and has to dig deep to find the will to fight and survive.
The film, which also counts Raimi as a producer, was released on the streaming service last week but early reviews are mixed.
It didn't fare well with RogerEbert.com, scoring just one and a half out of four stars. "Don't Move is an abduction thriller with nothing to say," said the review. "Seriously, the threadbare 93-minute two-hander contains very few cogent observations about its fractured characters or its supposed suspense."
"Don't Move also suffers from bad VFX, a hyperactive score, and an inability to craft the kind of tense mood necessary for a thriller like this to work," the article continued.
The reviewer at Bloody Disgusting felt the movie stuck to a well-trodden path, saying that, "like its paralyzed lead, Don't Move is inert."
"It's a concept that should yield intense moments and claustrophobic tension or even catharsis for the mother coping with grief," said the review. "Instead, it's a rather bland and superficial survival thriller where survival odds never get as dangerous as they should."
However, Variety said the movie was "compelling" at some points, although its critic thought it also felt "contrived."
"There's something so schematic about Iris' situation, it feels like an insult to those who deal with actual thoughts of self-harm," the reviewer wrote. "That doesn't mean it's not compelling to watch at times, as Iris does her best to overcome her immobility, but nothing about it feels believable."
Deadline was more positive, saying the scary flick was "entirely watchable," calling it "modest but effective" and praising Wittrock's performance as the creepy killer.
The Guardian gave the film three out of five stars, saying it was hard "not to get wrapped up" in the action. "There's some real suspense here and the pace, given the brisk runtime, rarely flags although an overlong and overwritten sequence involving a good samaritan could have benefited from a tightening, the film's grip starting to weaken as it progresses," the review noted.
Reviews for Asbille were generally favorable, with critics impressed by the fact that—as a paralyzed woman—she had to convey so much with her eyes. The Wrap's review said: "Kelsey Asbille also proves herself up to the film's challenge, since she conveys a litany of emotions and problem-solving thought processes with very few tools at her disposal."
And Bloody Disgusting's critic wrote: "Asbille makes great work of the role's physical demands, doing much with as little as a pinkie finger twitching as a blazing fire erupts around her."
Newsweek has contacted representatives for Sam Raimi, Kelsey Asbille and Finn Wittrock for comment.
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