It’s always nice when Netflix surprises you with something you weren’t expecting. Such is the case with the Sam Raimi produced “Don’t Move”, the platform’s recently released feature, co-directed by Adam Schindler and Brian Netto and co-written by TJ Cimfel and David White. Set mostly in the California wilderness, “Don’t Move” meshes together psychological and survival elements into a taut and high-stakes thriller.

Kelsey Asbille (“Yellowstone”) plays Iris, a grieving young mother who recently lost her son Mateo in a tragic hiking accident. One morning she wakes up and slips away into the California mountains to the site of her son’s death with the intent of taking her own life. But while there she’s surprised by a stranger named Richard (Finn Wittrock) who quite literally talks her off a ledge.

But Richard’s kindness turns to malice after he suddenly attacks and injects Iris with a strong paralytic. He informs her that her body will quickly shut down and she’ll be temporarily paralyzed. But Iris is able to escape through the woods with Richard leisurely following behind. But the farther she goes the more she begins to lose her body’s functions which sets up a key part of the movie’s suspense. How does she survive all alone, off the grid, and with no use of her body?

Asbille gets a role that’s light on dialogue, but she does a stellar job selling Iris’ dread through her physicality and ability to express. Meanwhile Wittrock is convincing as a misogynistic charmer who’s barely able to conceal his sociopathic desires. A couple of well-acted side characters (played by Moray Treadwell and Daniel Francis respectively) pop up mainly to help ratchet up the tension and build Richard’s cold-blooded pathology.

Handsomely shot by cinematographer Zach Kuperstein, propulsively directed by Schindler and Netto, and fiercely acted by Asbille and Wittrock, “Don’t Move” makes for a thoroughly satisfying watch-at-home escape. Its simple and straightforward story arc follows a fairly obvious course so it’s easy to guess where it’s going. But there’s enough along the way to keep you on the edge of your seat and glued to the screen. “Don’t Move” is now streaming on Netflix.