Knock Knock

(2015) ***1/2

Evan’s a happy, wealthy family man.  His wife and kids are cute, he’s slightly sex-deprived, but loves his family.  His wife decides to take the kids to the beach for a weekend, and Evan is left at home alone to work.  Late that night, during a rain storm, two girls show up, drenched from the rain, lost, being supposedly unable to find their friends’ house. 

Evan is at first cordial and polite, then friendly, then mildly flirtatious as the two girls gradually throw themselves at Evan.  From there, things gradually grow from awkward to dangerous over the course of the weekend. 

Knock Knock isn’t great, but it’s much better than it has any right to be.  I wouldn’t watch it again, but I was definitely entertained, and eager to see how things would play out.

Knock Knock was written and directed by Eli Roth, and knowing that, it’s easy to assume that this would be some kind of torture porn gore-fest, but instead, the 25 minutes of the film that comprise the girls’ arrival feel much more like a stage play.  The horror of the coming situation is gradually hinted at through the dialog, wherein we slowly watch Evan (Keanu Reeves) go down the downward spiral as his interest in the girls changes from fatherly to friendly to salacious. 

The second act gets a little ridiculous and incongruous with the somewhat cerebral beginning, but someone didn’t tell Reeves how ridiculous the plot grows, as he continues to give his all to reveal more about his character. 

Available on Amazon Prime if you’re interested.  I’d love to hear what others have to say about this one.