Knock Knock Movie Review (Spoiler Free)

Keanu Reeves is confronted by his sexual urges when two really beautiful and soaking-wet women knock on his door. Directed by Eli Roth, this bizarre mix of psychological thriller and torture porn is an attempt at creating something different. 

Genre: Horror / Thriller

Director: Eli Roth

Cast: Keanu Reeves, Lorenza Izzo, Ana de Armas, Aaron Burns, Ignacia Allamand, Dan Baily, Megan Baily & Colleen Camp. 

Run Time: 99 min.

US Release: 09 October 2015

UK Release: 26 June 2015

German Release: 10 December 2015

Eli Roth’s name is usually connected with blood, gore and a lot of torture, as seen in his previous titles (Cabin Fever and the Hostel films). This movie sways away from Roth’s typical horror approach and presents us with a psychological thriller, the likes of Basic Instinct, meant to disturb audiences in a deeper way. Sadly, Knock Knock doesn’t reach that level of depth, leaving viewers dissatisfied. 

Knock Knock is somewhat of a mixed bag; it has an interesting premise, but it’s poorly executed. Early screening reviews gave this film a mediocre score, and I fully understand why. Although Roth manages to direct a flick that shows us more than just blatant violence and blood, the erotic horror-thriller fails to intrigue due to the weak script. 

Evan Webber (Keanu Reeves) is a devoted father to two children and a good husband to Karen (Allamand). When he is left alone at home during a long holiday weekend, he receives an unexpected visit at night from two young women (Izzo and Armas) who have been caught in a storm. They explain that they got lost and their mobiles stopped working when they got wet from the extreme downpour. Evan offers shelter and calls an Uber to pick them up, but when both show sexual interest in him, a cat-and-mouse game ensues. 

Knock Knock is an updated version of the 1977 trash horror Death Game, also featuring Colleen Camp (who makes a short cameo in this film) and Sondra Locke (the executive producer of this film). As stated before, Roth squanders an opportunity here; the core idea is truly a fascinating one, and while not everything about this feature is bad, there are several issues with it that are difficult to shake off.

The beginning of this horror-thriller, a happy Father’s Day morning with the family, was not only over-the-top cheesy but simply felt staged and unnatural. The lovey-dovey montage is so sickening sweet, it nearly made me barf. 

The movie truly starts when Evan is left alone at home, and the two strangers knock on his door, asking for help to find their way to a party. In the next few scenes, Roth starts building up tension as these two girls try to seduce Evan, who is trying to fight back, yet ultimately gives in to his urges, culminating in the early climax of this film. 

From here on, the picture quickly derails, turning into some sort of psychological torture porn. It uses confusing and repetitive scenes, and the situation the protagonist finds himself in quickly runs out of control, much as the course of this movie. 

The main issue I had with Knock Knock was the weak script. It is poorly written, contains extremely cheesy dialogue, and does not really portray the premise’s true intention: to demonstrate how social media changed the norms of society. But not everything is bad; for example, I really liked the fresh take on this horror subgenre. It is nothing I have seen before, using sexuality, temptation and infidelity instead of blood and gore as means to induce fear.

Character-wise, the movie features a palette of intriguing personas. We have the two young women, played by Lorenza Izzo and Ana de Armas, who transform from these open-minded, and sexually hungry persons to complete psychos. Although they start acting completely over the top once the plot progresses, I did think they did a satisfying job, serving the premise well. 

Keanu Reeves, although a limited actor, is one of my favourites and he did a satisfying job portraying Evan. He is cool, tries to stay calm, and when things get out of hand, he starts losing his patience, stating how ridiculous and insane the situation is and making no sense, thus sharing the audience’s feelings. 

The kid actors, though, were poorly cast, giving very wooden renditions! Reeves’ interaction with them is that of a father playing with toddlers, rather than talking to kids who are around the age of eight to ten years old. 

In contrast, Knock Knock is rather beautifully shot. Most of the plot takes place inside Evan’s house, and the camera makes good use of spatial awareness, gliding through halls as we follow different characters. The beginning scene is shot as a flyover above the Hollywood hills, moving out into the idyllic suburban neighbourhood. One of the best filmed scenes is during the intercourse between Evan and the two girls. It consisted of quick cuts, reminiscent of a slasher horror, and I found it an interesting approach to capture a sex scene.  

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Verdict: Knock Knock is based on an interesting concept, but was executed poorly. The script by Roth, Amoedo and López is clumsy, the narrative is confusing, and the ending makes no sense, plus the dialogue was trashy. The acting is mostly fine, despite the miscast children. Best, however, is the cinematography. I give it a 5.0 out of 10 - not recommending to waste money on this mediocre erotic horror-thriller.