Without a doubt, Netflix has crafted a spine-chilling Halloween catalog that will keep you awake from start to finish, but “Don’t Move” is undeniably the star of the lineup. Led by Kelsey Asbille and Finn Wittrock, the thriller produced by Sam Raimi is sure to give you nightmares.
The story follows a grieving woman attacked by a seasoned killer who injects her with a deadly paralytic agent. From that moment, she has 20 minutes to find a way to escape the psychopath, with her body gradually losing function and inching toward what seems like an inevitable death.
Naturally, as with all nail-biting stories, one essential question arises: Is it based on real events? Discover what directors Adam Schindler and Brian Netto revealed about their inspiration for the horror film.
‘Don’t Move’: Fact or fiction?
Since the first trailer for “Don’t Move” dropped, it became clear that the picture would leave viewers terrified of being trapped like the protagonist in the movie. To achieve that sense of dread, the production needed to feel absolutely realistic. So, how did the directors bring this realism to life?
The answer is: It wasn’t based on a true case. While there have certainly been horrific crimes committed in similar ways, Schindler and Netto were not inspired by any specific assassin with this modus operandi, whether recent or from the distant past. Instead, they first considered the airless situation from a more general perspective. As they explained to What’s on Netflix:
“Don’t Move was an idea that Brian and I came up with several years ago. We asked ourselves, ‘Can you make a movie that has somebody paralyzed for a majority or significant portion of it? What’s the story? What’s the character that fits into this kind of concept?’ We knew it was going to be a genre exercise. It took us a while to figure out the best character and antagonist for this situation.”
In this conversation, the duo also revealed that they were interested in experimenting with the universal fear of immobility and the claustrophobia that comes with it. Additionally, there was a desire to explore this dynamic in a beautiful setting, capturing the feeling of a gorgeous location turning into a nightmare.
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While they were not directly influenced by any specific sensory-focused flicks, they did reference popular movies that explore similar dynamics to “Don’t Move,” such as “Don’t Breathe,” “Wait Until Dark,” “Blink,” and “A Quiet Place.” So, all things considered, their creation is not based on any particular true story. Rather, it draws inspiration from a fear shared by all of humanity since the beginning of time.
