One of the most popular movies on Netflix in the U.S. right now is a thriller set in Manhattan, starring Brittany Murphy and Michael Douglas, that was originally released just a few weeks after the 9/11 attacks. “Don’t Say a Word,” from director Gary Fleder, is currently #6 on Netflix in the U.S., and it tells the story of a psychiatrist and father (Douglas) whose daughter (Murphy) is a traumatized psychiatric patient with a secret that a ruthless group of kidnappers is after.
The movie, which is almost a quarter-century old at this point, is part of a Netflix trend that one could write about almost daily. Basically, the movies category is a completely different beast from Netflix’s TV slate, such that older, acquired titles — like “Don’t Say a Word,” which just landed on the streaming giant a few days ago — frequently perform, at a minimum, on par with Netflix’s biggest films. And, as this latest one shows, they even make their way onto the Top 10 movies list from time to time.
Don’t Say a Word is finding a second life on Netflix
While our sister site Looper singles out the movie as depicting one of Murphy’s all-time best performances, it’s worth pointing out that the movie was generally not received well by either critics or fans when it first came out. “Don’t Say a Word,” which is based on the novel of the same name by Andrew Klavan, is currently sitting on an objectively terrible 23% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes (based on 113 reviews) and a 49% audience score (based on more than 50,000 user ratings). “‘Don’t Say A Word’ is slick and competently made, but the movie is routine and stretches believability with many eye rolling moments,” reads the critics’ consensus summary on the review site.
That said, it’s clear that what’s driving the Netflix performance right now is new audiences finding and making their own judgment about the movie — which is currently just a few slots behind “KPop Demon Hunters,” at #3 on the Netflix Top 10 movies list in the U.S. (that one also being Netflix’s biggest original movie of all time). “Very well written and directed,” one Rotten Tomatoes viewer praised, after “Don’t Say a Word” hit Netflix. “Great cinematography. Lots of suspense, mystery, drama, intrigue and twists. Amazing performances from (the) whole cast, all very convincing in character. Very memorable and highly recommended.”
