Cast overview: | |||
Keanu Reeves | ... | ||
Lorenza Izzo | ... | ||
Ana de Armas | ... | ||
|
Aaron Burns | ... |
Louis
|
Ignacia Allamand | ... |
Karen
|
|
|
Dan Baily | ... |
Jake
|
|
Megan Baily | ... |
Lisa
|
Colleen Camp | ... |
Vivian
|
|
|
Antonio Quercia | ... |
Uber Driver
|
|
Otto | ... |
Monkey
|
When a devoted husband and father is left home alone for the weekend, two stranded young women unexpectedly knock on his door for help. What starts out as a kind gesture results in a dangerous seduction and a deadly game of cat and mouse. A sexy new thriller from director Eli Roth and written for the screen by Eli Roth & Nicolás López & Guillermo Amoedo and story by Anthony Overman and Michael Ronald, KNOCK KNOCK stars Keanu Reeves as the family man who falls into temptation and Lorenza Izzo and Ana de Armas as the seductresses who wreak havoc upon his life, turning a married man's dark fantasy into his worst nightmare. KNOCK KNOCK will be released by Lionsgate Premiere in theaters and On Demand on October 9th. Written by Lionsgate
After skimming through some of these reviews, I'm not sure what people were expecting from Knock Knock. It plays out like a cross between No Good Deed and The Loved Ones. The story isn't original of course but this is Eli Roth's take on a home invasion thriller and it's refreshingly sadistic. Two strangers knock on Keanu Reeves' door, he invites them in, their sociopathic tendencies start to peek through, and things escalate from there. The acting is largely impressive. Keanu comes across as silly at times but, for the most part, he fits the part of the innocent dad and he bounces off the chemistry of the two female leads very well.
Lorenza Izzo and Ana de Armas really make this movie what it is. They have palpable charisma, and they provide Reeves excellent scenarios to react to. The dialogue could sound outlandish and childish if read in a different context, but Izzo and de Armas pull it all off with a straight face and their character's intentions progress to the downright sinister. It's actually interesting subject matter, and Roth does have something to say with this film, and I believe he accomplishes it elegantly with as little blood as possible.
Knock Knock is not perfect - it goes on for a few minutes too long and sometimes Reeves reads lines as if he'd just shot up heroin, but it's intriguing and truly captivating once it gets going and becomes a psychological horror house in its finest moments. Callously covering up a dead body with papier-mâché? That's chilling. Being buried alive? Macabre. It's nice to see Roth hasn't lost his touch, and the humor is definitely there intentional or not. I highly recommend this movie to fans of home invasion thrillers. Just don't go in expecting a polished masterpiece; Knock Knock is depraved, raw and filthy in the best ways possible.