KNOCK KNOCK
Review by Adam Mast
“Knock Knock!”
“Who’s there?”
“Eli Roth!”
That’s right! Gore meister Eli Roth is back with his first film since the still unreleased–and underwhelming–cannibal opus, THE GREEN INFERNO. I wish I could say that this his strongest effort, but sadly, it is not. That honor still belongs to HOSTEL. Essentially, KNOCK KNOCK is HARD CANDY meets MISERY meets FATAL ATTRACTION but it lacks the undeniable tension of any of those films.
In this campy cautionary tale, Keanu Reeves plays a family man who makes a handful of very poor choices after his wife and kids go out of town for the weekend. The worst choice he makes is allowing two very flirtatious young ladies into his home.
Consider me a Reeves fan. He’s an easy guy to root for and it was nice to see him come back with a vengeance in last year’s stylized actioneer, JOHN WICK. As loving father and husband Evan Webber, Reeves proves to be quite effective in the earlier portions of KNOCK KNOCK. He’s charming and the sweet moments between he and his kids are kind of adorable.
Once the two young ladies come knocking, Evan makes a choice that ultimately sets up the events that follow. As these manipulative women try to break Evan down, I really enjoyed watching Reeves awkwardly reject their advances. Once the shit storm hits though, the BILL AND TED star struggles to convince us that he’s a man in any sort of real peril, although I must admit, a scene in which he angrily delivers an obscenity filled rant works splendidly. Beyond that, moments that are supposed to generate tension and fear don’t because Reeves is unable to effectively sell those moments.
Genesis and Bel are the attractive women in question and they are played with devilish delight by Lorenza Izzo and Ana de Armas. While their agenda is unclear at first, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out their primary motivation.
As far as Roth movies go, this is, by far, his most tame. Of course what KNOCK KNOCK lacks in shock value, it more than makes up for in nudity and sexual situations. Roth refuses to get through the first act without showing someone naked, but since sex is essentially a supporting character in this movie, it can’t really be faulted for that. It can, however, be faulted for lackadaisical direction. In terms of execution, this is a step up from GREEN INFERNO, but there are far too many moments where Roth doesn’t even seem to be trying. Take for instance, a scene in which Genesis and Bel challenge Evan to a game of hide and seek. What follows is far less interesting than what you might hope for. Still, I’ll give Roth props for a clever ode to SOMETHING TO TIDE YOU OVER from CREEPSHOW in the final act and I even appreciate his open book ending.
In the end, Roth has exposed us yet again to his own brand of frat boy inspired horror. Clearly, his message here is “Just say no.” I only wish that KNOCK KNOCK as a whole was as provocative and as frightening as it could have been.
Watch for more Sundance coverage soon!
