IR HE Review: DON’T MOVE [Well Go USA]
Sometimes books read better than they visually can be captured. “Dant Move” is an adaptation of James Murray’s novel of the same name. Murray is known for his work on Impractical Jokers. Having read his book “Awakened”, he can create a pace and intent in the right environment. That book felt more like “Daylight” and did integrate some humor but more on an 80s level. "Don’t Move" might have tried to do the same on the page but in this adaptation (which looks more low-budget financed), the character development is pretty shoddy from the beginning. It is interesting that Murray and director Maclain Nelson populated the periphery characters from the church organizers as comedic actors in Rob Riggle and Tom Kavenagh. The tone established by these two actors overtakes the first half of the film obviously setting it up for a fall. The issue also is that the collection of characters on the trip is built very broadly trying to be built slightly as a satire with stakes but a lot of it comes off as caricature.
The big bad is a supposed arachnid creature in a large forest that this group just happens to stumble upon by the mistake of Riggle's character. Lyndsy Fonseca plays Megan (a woman who has lost a lot). The beginning is very dramatic and sets the stakes high but the tone is undeniably off after beginning with something exceptionally traumatic. Alongside this is a character named Ricky Vargas (played by a man known only as Russ) who has ulterior motives to come along. Again the structure is very slipshod. Once it gets out to the woods, the play of the scenes turns into a horror film (which is not quite scary) but there is still something not quite right with the characters. The kills try to happen mostly off screen (sometimes with the right reason). But the score offsets it in the wrong way. When the action finally reaches a cabin it seems it might be getting back on track especially when Megan discovers what is actually going on. But at that point, it wants to try to do its own low-budget form of "Aliens" which both works slightly and doesn’t (because the VFX isn’t that good). Ricky Vargas’ trajectory and throwing caution to the wind after his actions also don’t quite wash. It is understandable what "Don’t Move" was going for. It is just comes off too DIY without a sense of its own identity, like an after-school special gone wrong. 67%/D
By Tim Wassberg
