Knock Knock

I'm not really a new film kind of guy. When I look at my DVD buying habits these days, it's mainly Italian Gialli, Christopher Lee flicks, or action packed 70's crime. Knock Knock is a film I would never have went for just due to these habits. But I have to say I was ready for a breath of fresh air to review a new American horror flick.

Knock Knock kick starts with a brunette bimbo being tormented at her home. Someone is knocking on her door but there's no one there. She gets a little macho and threatens to kick ass, bam, someone grabs her.

The film then follows a bunch of school kids, slowly but surely they are murdered in gruesome ways by a guy with curly hair and a mask who resembles Leatherface a little too much. Just before the bodies are found, there's a knock at the door...

The finger is pointed at the school janitor, mentally ill Troy (Sal Sirchia). But not everyone is convinced, old timer Mike (Antonio Mastrantonio) thinks there's something else going on. The investigation begins and the killings continue. Can Mike save his granddaughter in time?

OK, not a lot going on plot wise but Knock Knock is not a terrible film. It's full of nice gore, nice girls, and it is well filmed for the budget used. Shame about the painfully bad acting. The actors in this film truly drag the movie down and the dialogue they spit out is just unconvincing and sometimes cringing.

The gore is very real and nasty, always a good thing, and does help the otherwise empty film. We get stabbings, limbs being chopped off, burnings, and even a cringing killing at the dentist's. However something I didn't like too much was the long lasting zoom-in shots of the gore. Kind of unnecessary and this reviewer felt this camera work was added just to pan out the film.

Knock Knock didn't quite deliver the fresh air I was expecting but it did bring some (a very small amount though) to modern horror films. In this day and age of violent crap and "torture" flicks, it is nice to see a "normal" horror film. For the moment I'll stick to my 70's Gialli and wait and see what other horror films are being churned out in recent times.

Take in mind that the DVD I reviewed was a screener and may not be the final product. Quality-wise the image was clear and pleasant but the sound could have been better. I found that the dialogue was a little quiet while the screams were too loud, but a good use of music cues made up for that. The screener was a no-frills affair with only a trailer.

Knock Knock, Who's there? A film for a slow Sunday afternoon.

Reviewed by Broonage.