‘I’m glad we knocked on your door...’
How many films involve a stranger knocking on the wrong door and then being sliced and diced as a result? The Last House on the Left, The Human Centipede and Don’t Breathe all offer variations on this theme and this is what horror director Eli Roth is attempting to subvert with Knock Knock whilst also nodding to Funny Games, The Strangers and even A Clockwork Orange (as well as 1977’s Death Game – the source material for this film). While Knock Knock lacks the originality and subtlety of the aforementioned films, it does have lots of Keanu Reeves shouting terrible dialogue whilst looking bewildered and that’s all that matters…
Evan Webber (Reeves) is a happily married architect with a beautiful family. When his wife and kids go away for the weekend, Evan settles in for a weekend of relaxing, music and finishing his latest work project. This small moment of calm is very quickly interrupted for Evan when two beautiful girls knock on his door and emerge dripping wet from a fierce storm. While the girls (gamely played by Ana de Armas and Lorenza Izzo) seem normal, they soon become flirtatious and overly friendly. From there, the plot unravels pretty much as one would expect. This is not a film that involves lots of twists and turns. The ending is funny and admittedly satisfying rather than groundbreaking but this is a film that is all about the journey. Forget about logic. Forget about originality. Buy a ticket. Take the ride.
Knock Knock echoes Roth’s previous work in as much as his breakout film Hostel (I refuse to entertain Cabin Fever) also features two alluring young women who turn out to be not quite what they seemed. This is a better film than Hostel, however. It’s dark in places and there are some nasty moments but this isn’t a film that sets out with the purpose to shock – instead Knock Knock simply wishes to entertain. And by that metric, it must be considered a raging success.
While nobody would consider Knock Knock to be anything other than a throwaway thriller, the material is elevated by Reeves and de Armas, both of whom deliver full-hearted, committed performances, and this ensures that the ridiculous moments (of which there are many) still land. I had a great time with Knock Knock – a twisted fable for the ages.