Knock Knock is somewhat interesting as a reversal of the typical Eli Roth movie, which tend to be about young tourists stumbling into danger as they travel a foreign land. Knock Knock allows young people to be the threat in this instance, with two comely girls invading the sanctity of a middle aged man's home. But the intrigue doesn't go much further than that. Though this a well put together film, it is mostly pretty dumb. It is a movie that aspires to subversion, but isn't really thoughtful enough to be in any way effective.
Architect Evan (Keanu Reeves) is spending some time along in his house while his wife and children are away on a beach trip. While working one rainy night, Genesis and Bel (Lorenza Izzo and Ana de Armas) show up on his doorstep, soaking wet from the rain. They say that they're supposed to be heading to a party, but ended up in the wrong neighborhood. He lets them in and helps them out, offering worth and shelter while they wait for an Uber to pick them up. But over the course of the night, the two seduce Evan, which proves to have some pretty dire consequences.
Though the film doesn't seem to acknowledge this, it is actually a remake of the 1977 film Death Game. And if one is familiar with the earlier film, then what happens next should come as no surprise. But even if one is unfamiliar, it shouldn't be too tough to figure out where this is all going. The story never really makes much sense, its psychology sketchy at best. In theory, this setup could be a chance to study modern sexual dynamics, or it could be an introspective look at the insecurities and fears of middle-aged men. But the film is ultimately too dumb to let any of those ideas play out.
But it is also somewhat finely made. There is some craft involved in putting together this nasty bit of business. The film makes good use to the space that the main setting provides, the camera traveling down long hallways, and using corners and other areas just out of frame as a means of building tension. And it is just unhinged enough to be mildly amusing in some portions. Other movies (most notably, Michael Haneke's Funny Games) have done this kind of thing better, but there is some appeal to just how trashy this film does get.
And the key to this appealing trashiness is Keanu Reeves' bonkers performance. The actor holds nothing back, channeling the worst that Nicolas Cage tends to deliver as he screams madly and pointlessly at the fate that he has been dealt. It is a treat to see Reeves so lively, and so willing to look silly in service of what the film is trying to say. Lorenza Izzo and Ana de Armas offer equally fun performances, the two reveling in the chance to play crazy, completely unreasonable predators.
It ought to be mentioned that Knock Knock is being shown in two versions in our cinemas. There is an uncut R18 version and a sanitized R16 version. If one really wants to experience this film, one probably has to embrace the trashiness and look for the version that hasn't been cleaned up. But that might still not be worth the trip. There are certainly intriguing bits to Knock Knock, but in the end, its pieces just don't hold up. This kind of thing has been done by smarter, more accomplished films; films that have a better hold on the messages that are being put across.
My Rating:
