KNOCK KNOCK (2015)

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Eli Roth
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Lorenza Izzo, Ana de Armas, Ignacia Allamand, Aaron Burns, Colleen Camp
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Rating: R21 (Sexual Scenes)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 15 October 2015

Synopsis: Keanu Reeves stars as Evan Webber, a happily married architect who appears to have everything a man could ever dream of – a loving and successful wife, two beautiful children and an expensive home. During a weekend alone, his peaceful existence is interrupted by the sudden arrival of two lost and seemingly innocent young girls. After naively inviting them in while they wait for a taxi, the night takes a sudden and disturbing turn when a debaucherous mistake evolves into a living nightmare.

Movie Review:

The storyline unfolds with a too good to be true kind of happy day where the Webbers look like they are from an Ikea catalogue page. Everything goes fine until, an ominous knock was heard coming from outside on a rainy night. And there stood Genesis (Lorenza Izzo) and Bel (Ana de Armas), the nubile duo who looked like the damsels in distress in the most unsuspecting way. Happily married and a father of two lovely kids, Evan Webber (Keanu Reeves) was trapped between the whorish devil and the deepest blue sea.

There were well-written roles to fit everyone perfectly into the plot (if there was any to start off with). No one could have played it better than Reeves but on a second thought Liam Neeson would have been an ideal choice too except that it would make him look like a pedophile given his age and voice. Reeves’ role as a loving husband challenged to be unfaithful jerk hubby, nominally frames the movie. The plot that organically comes together when Reeves is left alone at home, revolves around this wholly believable central character who is trapped with the sirens of the night in the same house that is meant to be the most holistic place in his life.

Director-screenwriter Eli Roth has given plenty of horror and thriller content in recent years, such as The Last Exorcism (2010), Hostel and Hostel II. The actor and producer also hails as the father of torture porn or ‘gorno’ (deriving probably from the word gory porno) from his low-budget box-office hit Hostel that was predominantly set in Slovakia and Czech Republic. Roth did take Knock Knock to the next level with storyline that sends chills down your back sans the headhunters or assailants who normally fall in the gender trap of being males imperatively. This time, the females become the man eaters and once again, who would have been a best bet than Reeves given his chocolate boy image throughout the nineties with unforgettable romantic dramas like Sweet November and A Walk in the Clouds. Roth could have turned up the thrill ride by a notch or two at least, with a back story to fill in on why the strangers of the night were doing what they had to do. Knock Knock’s rank on the charts could soar if a sequel was done based on the provocative females’ side of the story.

Does it hail as an erotic thriller that one has to watch before dying? Perhaps not. It’s a really fun movie but it is also a little off the kilter. Supremely silly and funny in a least anticipating way. The trailer might lack in the allure of a hard-core thriller where you want to shadow trail the rest of the film, but Knock Knock would be an exception. As the title suggests, you might not want to even ask “Who’s there?” when someone actually initiates that joke with you 

Movie Rating:

(Watch this movie if you had liked: Misery, The Loft, Chloe and Plush)

Review by Asha Gizelle M