Michael Douglas’ Forgotten Gem With 23% RT Finds a New Life 24 Years Later on Netflix

One of the most unexpected thrillers from Michael Douglas’ entire career is making a run at the top of the streaming charts. The actor has starred in many critically acclaimed films, but not all of them hit the mark.

Per Flix Patrol, the 2001 crime thriller Don’t Say a Word has officially risen to number six on Netflix’s Top 10 streaming films list globally, and fifth domestically. As of the time of writing, Don’t Say a Word sits just behind the recently released dramedy Caramelo, while The Woman in Cabin 10 and The Perfect Neighbor continue to dominate the list from the number one and two spots, respectively.

Directed by Gary Fleder from a screenplay by Anthony Peckham and Patrick Smith Kelly, which itself was based on Andrew Klavan’s 1991 novel of the same name, Don’t Say a Word stars Michael Douglas as Nathan Conrad, a child psychologist living with his wife Aggie and daughter Jessie whose life is turned upside-down when his former colleague, Dr. Louis Sachs, asks him to examine the seemingly disturbed young woman named Elisabeth.

Soon enough, Nathan’s visit to a sanatorium becomes a fight for his life when the gang of jewel thieves led by Patrick Koster, who are after Elisabeth’s secrets, turn their attention toward the good doctor’s family in their efforts to force him to do their bidding.

The core cast of Don’t Say a Word was filled with fan-favorite Hollywood icons, including Oliver Platt as Dr. Louis Sachs, Sean Bean as Patrick Koster, Famke Janssen as Aggie Conrad, Skye McCole Bartusiak as Jessie Conrad, and the late Brittany Murphy as Elisabeth Burrows. It also marked Dakota Fanning’s film debut.

This helped Don’t Say a Word find its footing with audiences, as the film doubled its $50 million production budget during its original theatrical run. Unfortunately, that didn’t help the film at all in terms of critical reviews, with Don’t Say a Word currently holding a mere 23% “rotten” rating via review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, as averaged across 113 verified critical reviews, and only 49% from the audience.

What the Future (Might) Hold for Michael Douglas

Image via Marvel Studios

Back in July, Michael Douglas opened up about his not-quite-retirement, stating that since undergoing treatment for cancer, “I had been working pretty hard for almost 60 years, and I did not want to be one of those people who dropped dead on the set. I have no real intentions of going back. I say I’m not retired because if something special came up, I’d go back, but otherwise, no.”

This falls roughly in line with past statements made by Douglas, in which he expressed a desire to venture into the realm of horror, though not necessarily the desire to return to acting full-time. Among his most recent roles was Hank Pym in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Along with appearing in Avengers: Endgame, Douglas played Hank in all three Ant-Man movies.

Don’t Say a Word is currently available for streaming on Netflix.

Release Date

September 28, 2001

Runtime

113 minutes

Director

Gary Fleder

Writers

Patrick Smith Kelly, Anthony Peckham, Andrew Klavan

Producers

Anne Kopelson, Arnold Kopelson, Arnon Milchan

• Michael Douglas

  Dr. Nathan Conrad

• Brittany Murphy

  Elisabeth Burrows

• Skye McCole Bartusiak

  Jessie Conrad