Knock Knock (2015 film)

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]

Knock Knock
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Eli Roth
Written by	Eli Roth Guillermo Amoedo Nicolás López
Based on	Death Game 1977 film by Anthony Overman Michael Ronald Ross
Produced by	Colleen Camp Tim Degraye Cassian Elwes Eli Roth Nicolás López Miguel Asensio Llamas
Starring	Keanu Reeves Lorenza Izzo Ana de Armas Aaron Burns Ignacia Allamand Colleen Camp
Cinematography	Antonio Quercia
Edited by	Diego Macho
Music by	Manuel Riveiro
Production companies	Voltage Pictures Dragonfly Entertainment Sobras International Pictures Camp Grey Productions Elevated Films Black Bear Pictures
Distributed by	Lionsgate 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]

Plot

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 her assistant Louis in charge of her sculpture that needs to be moved to an art gallery for her show.

Two young 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. The girls play with the family dog, Monkey, and flirt with Evan while he orders an Uber for them. They disappear to the bathroom when their driver arrives. Evan brings them their clothes and finds them naked. He tries to convince them to leave, but they seduce him and he has a threesome with them.

The next morning, Evan finds that his wife's sculpture has been vandalized by the girls. He threatens to call the police, but they claim they are underage. Vivian, his physical therapist arrives, but upon meeting Genesis who pretends to be Evan's lover, she angrily leaves. When Evan calls the police and begins to report a break-in, the girls agree to be taken home.

At night, after finishing cleaning the house, Evan is attacked and knocked out by Genesis. He wakes up tied to his bed as Bel climbs onto him and rapes him, while Genesis records them with Evan's phone. Evan breaks free and charges at Genesis, but she stabs him with a fork. She and Bel tie Evan to a chair with an electrical cord, torturing him into answering their provoking questions about his infidelity.

Louis arrives for the sculpture and discovers the girls' antics. He tries to free Evan, but has an asthma attack and realizes the girls have taken his inhaler. He slips, hits his head on the sculpture, and dies. The girls turn Louis' corpse into a red sculpture and use both Evan's and Louis' phones to send text messages in order to give the appearance that Louis discovered that Evan had an affair with Louis's wife, gotten into a fight with him, which resulted in Louis's murder. They announce they are planning to kill Evan at dawn as punishment for his infidelity. They also reveal they have been spying on Evan's family long before the weekend, preparing every detail of their plot.

The girls dig a grave for Evan in the yard and trash the house. When they find his home defense gun, Genesis takes it and gives Evan a chance to escape if he can hide from them inside the house. Injured and exhausted, Evan fails after realizing no one in the neighbourhood is at home to ask help from.

At dawn, the girls tie Evan up with a hose, bury him in the hole, leaving only his head aboveground, and tell him they will crush his skull with a large stone. It misses his head as the girls reveal the entire ordeal was merely a "game". They never intended to kill Evan, nor are underage; 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 uploads the video she recorded of Bel raping Evan to his Facebook profile, making him look like a pedophile. 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

• Keanu Reeves as Evan Webber
• Ana de Armas as Bel
• Lorenza Izzo as Genesis
• Ignacia Allamand as Karen Alvarado Webber
• Dan Baily as Jake Webber
• Megan Baily as Lisa Webber
• Aaron Burns as Louis
• Colleen Camp as Vivian
• Otto as Monkey

Production

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

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

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

Critical reception

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

• List of films featuring home invasions

Notes

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]