Knock Knock (2015 film)


Knock Knock is a 2015 American erotic thriller film directed by Eli Roth, 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 the 1977 film Death Game, 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.

Plot

Architect and happily married man Evan Webber has the house to himself and his dog, Monkey, on Father's Day weekend due to work and a physical therapy appointment for a shoulder injury while his wife and children go on a family-planned beach trip. His wife Karen, a successful artist, leaves their assistant Louis in charge of her sculpture that needs to be moved to an art gallery.
Two women, Genesis and Bel knock on Evan's door. He opens the door and they say that they are looking for the address of a party. As they have no means of communication, Evan allows them in to use the Internet and get hold of the party's host. The girls make themselves at home and Evan plays a few of his old vinyl records he has from when he was a DJ. They then disappear to the bathroom when their driver arrives. Evan tries to convince them to leave, but as they start forcing themselves upon him, he gives in and has a threesome with them.
After Evan, Genesis, and Bel have had sex, Evan finds out that his wife's sculpture has been vandalized by the girls. When Evan threatens to call the police, the girls reveal 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, cleans the mess, and tries to go back to his work. Just as he is getting closer to completing his project, he hears a shattering noise. He finds a broken picture frame of his family and Genesis knocks him out with one of his wife's sculptures. Bel climbs onto him trying to arouse him while role-playing as a schoolgirl in his daughter's school uniform. Evan initially refuses, but the girls threaten to FaceTime his wife with him unless he agrees with their methods. Bel rapes him, and Genesis records everything. However, Evan breaks free and knocks Bel to the floor. He charges at Genesis, but is then disarmed by her and Bel who tie him up to a chair with an electrical cord.
Louis arrives to collect the sculpture and finds Evan, but before he can help him he hears the girls smashing the vandalized sculpture. He runs to stop them, but then has an asthma attack and realizes they took his inhaler. As he tries to get it back, he slips on a piece of the sculpture, hits his head while falling, and dies. They turn Louis's body into a red sculpture and dig a makeshift grave in the backyard for Evan. They also use both Evan's and Louis' phones to text and make it look like Louis discovered that Evan had an affair with Louis' wife and because of this, was murdered by Evan. The girls trash the house and convince Evan to play hide and seek. When Genesis And Bel begin trying to find Evan, he makes an escape out of the house, only to be stopped and held at gunpoint by Genesis. At dawn they tie Evan up with a hose, then bury him in the hole, leaving only his head above ground. The two then reveal how 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 wicked hobby of seducing, torturing, and ruining the homes of married men with children. Genesis shows Evan the video she recorded earlier with his phone of him and Bel having sex. As Evan watches on, she uploads it to his Facebook profile. They depart for another victim and take Monkey with them, leaving Evan to his fate as Karen and the kids arrive to find the house ruined, with Evan's son, Jake saying "Daddy had a party".
In an alternate ending Evan takes his revenge by tracking the girls at another victim's house via Monkey's GPS tracker on his collar, where he knocks on the door and the girls ask 'Who's there'.

Cast

On April 4, 2014, Keanu Reeves was added to the cast to play Evan Webber. Chilean actress Ignacia Allamand also joined the film. The shooting took place in Santiago de Chile. Eli Roth stated that filming in Chile is easier than in the United States.

Release

On January 26, 2015 Lionsgate acquired the distribution rights to the film. Knock Knock premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2015. The film was released on October 9, 2015 in the United States.

Home media

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

Critical reception

On Metacritic, the film has a score of 53 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating that it received "mixed or average reviews". Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 37%, based on 71 reviews, with an average rating of 5.22/10. The site's consensus states: "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."
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 that should make you think twice before offering warmth and shelter to a stranger on a dark and stormy night."