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Knock Knock (2015 film)

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Knock Knock
Theatrical release poster
Directed byEli Roth
Written by
Based onDeath Game
1977 film
by Anthony Overman
Michael Ronald Ross
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyAntonio Quercia
Edited byDiego Macho
Music byManuel Riveiro
Production
companies
Distributed byLionsgate Premiere (United States)
Corazón Films (Chile)
Release dates
  • January 23, 2015 (2015-01-23) (Sundance)
  • October 9, 2015 (2015-10-09) (United States)
Running time
99 minutes[1]
Countries
  • Chile
  • United States[2]
Languages
  • English
  • Spanish
Budget$10 million[3][4]
Box office$6.3 million[5]

Knock Knock is a 2015 thriller film[a] directed by Eli Roth,[6] who also co-wrote the script with Guillermo Amoedo and Nicolás López. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Lorenza Izzo and Ana de Armas. The film was released on October 9, 2015, by Lionsgate Premiere. Knock Knock is a remake of Death Game (shot in 1974, not released until 1977), which was directed by Peter S. Traynor and starred Sondra Locke and Colleen Camp. All three individuals had a hand in the production of Knock Knock, while Camp also had a cameo in the newer film.[7][8]

Plot

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On Father's Day weekend, architect Evan Webber remains home to complete his work project and attend his physical therapy appointment for his injured shoulder while his wife and children go on a pre-planned vacation. His wife Karen, a successful artist, leaves their assistant Louis in charge of her sculpture that needs to be moved to an art gallery for her show.

Two women, Genesis and Bel, knock on Evan's door during a rainstorm. Soaking wet, they tell him they are looking for the address of a party but their phones are not working. Evan allows them in to dry off and use the Internet. He gives them robes so they can dry their clothes in his dryer. The girls make themselves at home, playing with the family dog, Monkey, and they flirt with Evan while he orders an Uber for them and plays a few of his vinyl records from his days as a DJ. They then disappear to the bathroom when their driver arrives. Evan brings them their clothes and finds them nude. He tries to convince them to leave, but as they seduce him, he gives in and has a threesome with them.

The next morning, Evan finds out that his wife's sculpture has been vandalized by the girls. When Evan threatens to call the police, the girls claim they are underage. Vivian, a friend of Karen's, stops by to see if Evan needs help. Seeing Genesis, Vivian angrily leaves. When Evan threatens to report a break-in, they give in and agree to be taken home.

He then returns home and cleans the mess. Genesis knocks him out with one of his wife's sculptures. Bel climbs onto him in an attempt to seduce him. Evan initially refuses, but the girls threaten to FaceTime his wife with him unless he agrees to do what they demand. He is tied to his bed, and Bel forces herself on him while Genesis records everything, calling him a pedophile. However, Evan breaks free and knocks Bel to the floor. He charges at Genesis, but she stabs him with a fork; she and Bel tie him to a chair with an electrical cord.

Louis arrives to collect the sculpture and finds Evan; he hears the girls smashing the vandalized sculpture. He runs to stop them, but then has an asthma attack and realizes they have taken his inhaler. As he tries to get it back, he slips on a piece of the sculpture, hits his head while falling, and dies. The giggling girls turn Louis' corpse into a red sculpture and dig a makeshift grave in the backyard for Evan. They also use both Evan's and Louis' phones to send text messages in order to give the appearance that Evan discovered that Louis had an affair with Evan's wife and because of this, was murdered by Evan. The girls trash the house, torment and torture Evan, cut his hair, and force him to play hide and seek. When Genesis and Bel begin trying to find Evan, he escapes from the house, only to be stopped and held at gunpoint by Genesis. The girls tell him that they have a sadistic fetish for killing men, having had multiple previous victims to satisfy their sexual urges for violence, and announce that he will die at dawn.

At dawn, they tie Evan up with a hose, bury him in the hole, leaving only his head above ground, and tell him they will crush his skull with a large stone. It misses his head by inches, and the girls reveal that the entire ordeal was merely a "game", as they never intended to kill Evan, nor are either of them underage, and that everything they did was part of a hobby of seducing, victimizing, and ruining the homes of married men with children who cheat on their spouses. Genesis shows Evan the video she recorded earlier with his phone of Bel assaulting him. As Evan looks on, she uploads it to his Facebook profile. They depart for another victim and take Monkey with them, leaving Evan to his fate. Karen and the kids arrive to find the house ruined.

Cast

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Production

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On April 4, 2014, Keanu Reeves was added to the cast to play Evan Webber. Chilean actress Ignacia Allamand also joined the film.[9][10] The shooting took place in Santiago de Chile. Eli Roth stated that filming in Chile is easier than in the United States.[11] Roth wanted the film to have a comedic approach, with physical humor too.[12]

Release

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Knock Knock premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2015.[13] Three days later, Lionsgate acquired the distribution rights to the film.[14] The film was released in the United States on October 9, 2015.[15]

Home media

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Knock Knock was released on DVD and Blu-ray on December 8, 2015.

Critical reception

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 37% of 76 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "Knock Knock brings a lot of talent to bear on its satirical approach to torture horror, but not effectively enough to overcome its repetitive story or misguidedly campy tone."[16] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 53 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[17]

Dread Central awarded it a score of four out of five, saying "what we do have is a home invasion film for the social media generation (yes, it does feature social media in its plot) that should make you think twice before offering warmth and shelter to a stranger on a dark and stormy night."[18]

Jeff Bond of Geek Monthly praised Reeves' performance, saying, "his [dramatic] turn in [the film] ... helps make the movie easily Roth's best work."[19]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Sources differ as to the exact genre of the film; some have classified it as a psychological thriller,[20] an erotic thriller[21][22] or a dark comedy.[21]

References

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  1. ^ "KNOCK KNOCK (18)". British Board of Film Classification. June 11, 2015. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  2. ^ "Knock Knock (2015)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016.
  3. ^ Sneider, Jeff (February 21, 2014). "Eli Roth to direct, co-write horror movie 'Knock Knock' (Exclusive)". The Wrap. Archived from the original on February 23, 2014. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  4. ^ Jagernauth, Kevin (April 4, 2014). "Keanu Reeves joins Eli Roth's 'Knock Knock,' Benicio Del Toro joins Denis Villeneuve's 'Sicario' & more". Indiewire. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  5. ^ "Knock Knock (2015)". the-numbers. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
  6. ^ Truitt, Brian (October 6, 2015). "'Knock Knock' aims to be 'Fatal Attraction'". USA Today. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  7. ^ Gingold, Michael (October 7, 2015). "Q&A: "KNOCK KNOCK"! Who's There? Director Eli Roth, on Keanu, "Free Pizza" and More". Fangoria. Archived from the original on October 23, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  8. ^ King, Susan (October 3, 2015). "In 'Knock Knock,' actress Colleen Camp has a cameo -- and a producer credit". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California: Tronc. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  9. ^ Phillips, Chaka (April 14, 2014). "Eli Roth New Movie: 'Knock Knock' To Star Keanu Reeves; Film To Debut In September?". latinpost.com. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
  10. ^ "Keanu Reeves finished filming his movie "Knock Knock" in Chile". twitter.com. May 11, 2014. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
  11. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (April 4, 2014). "Keanu Reeves, Eli Roth To Team On Thriller 'Knock Knock'". deadline.com. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
  12. ^ Abriss, Erik (October 7, 2015). "The Everlasting, Eternal Appeal of Keanu Reeves". Complex. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  13. ^ "Jason Segel's 'The End of the Tour' wows at Sundance". NY Daily News. January 24, 2015. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  14. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 26, 2015). "Lionsgate Closes Eli Roth-Keanu Reeves Thriller 'Knock Knock' At $2.5 Million". deadline.com. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  15. ^ "Lionsgate Publicity". Lionsgate Publicity. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  16. ^ "Knock Knock". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved September 14, 2023. Edit this at Wikidata
  17. ^ "Knock Knock". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  18. ^ Gelmini, David (July 2, 2015). "Knock Knock (2015)". Dread Central. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  19. ^ Bond, Jeff (August 2020). "Oh Keanu, you complete me". Geek Monthly. No. 11. EGM Media, LLC. p. 4.
  20. ^ Brian Truitt (October 6, 2015). "'Knock Knock' aims to be 'Fatal Attraction'". USA Today. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  21. ^ a b Dowd, A l.A. (October 8, 2015). "Keanu goes full Cage in Eli Roth's sick home-invasion comedy Knock Knock". The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  22. ^ Nashawaty, Chris (October 9, 2015). "'Knock Knock': EW review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
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