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KNOCK KNOCK. Directed by Eli Roth, with Keanu Reeves, Lorenza Izzo and Ana de Armas.
REVIEW: John DeFore
WISH-fulfilment turns to home invasion in Knock Knock, the latest titillation-fuelled thriller from Eli Roth. As an upstanding family man entrapped by two sadistic sexpots, Reeves is a lesson in victimhood, first struggling to resist their wiles, then trying to keep them from ruining his life. The actor’s presence will help the film reach beyond the horror maven’s usual crowd, but many in the audience will be left unsatisfied by a film that flirts with explanations for its action without ever delivering.
An architect living in a posh, secluded home outside Los Angeles, Reeves’s Evan has settled in for a working weekend while his family is away. Just a night with some drinks, some CAD software, some music... and two strangers at the door: young women who got stranded and soaked on the way to a party.
Reluctantly inviting them in while an Uber heads their way, Evan gives Genesis (Izzo) and Bel (De Armas) robes and puts their clothes in the drier. Perhaps you see where this is headed. The women flirt openly with the older man, offering unsolicited insight into the sexual habits of millennials, bending over strategically, cooing over their host’s biceps and his record collection.
What fun Knock Knock has to offer is in these scenes, watching Reeves mentally grapple with the Penthouse Forum scenario unfolding around him. Leaping out of seats when they sidle up too close to him, refusing to take conversational bait, volunteering praise about the work of his wife, whose sculpture fills the house – Evan is heroic, but doomed to failure. Even his wife, were she given a God’s-eye view, might not blame him for succumbing, though she might be hurt by the enthusiasm he shows during the eventual menage a trois. (Roth is surprisingly restrained in depicting this action.)
The next morning, the sirens have turned to gremlins, taking any opportunity to ruin the family man’s reputation. Izzo and de Armas’ performances grow increasingly difficult to believe as the characters become violent, tying Evan up and forcing him to play games whose rules only they know. We keep waiting for the justification for their sadism, but the script never manages to make sense of it. – Reuters/ Hollywood Reporter