Knock Knock (2007)

Every week a slew of low budget horror flicks are released. It is as if unbeknownst to the general public some sort of law has been passed that two thirds of all independent movies have to be of the horror flick variety While this is an exaggeration the number of new horror flicks to preview would give at least some credence to the supposition. What is driving this trend is the old adage of getting the most bang for your buck. A horror movie is relatively simple to create and as long as there are high school and college aged guys around they will sell tickets and DVDs. A producer is taking a chance with a drama or comedy. It either hits big or flops. Film producers are much like a professional gambler. They know the house odds and bet with the flicks possessing the greatest potential for return, horror films. One of the latest members of this not too exclusive club is ‘Knock Knock’ written and directed by Joseph Ariola. Most films of this ilk appear to be generated by a computer program. You put in a location, a high school works nicely. Then you get a group of potential victims, okay, the students as long as the girls are beautiful and the guys handsome. Now you need an insane killer, any unstoppable evil being will do in this plot point position. Just for good measure throw in a couple of detectives. You can get a few points for making one hot woman and the other a broken down drunk. This gives a little connection to the standard cop buddy movies and a tiny right to claim the horror film is different from the pack. The thing is a lot of such flicks are employing this device. ‘Knock Knock’ is about as original as the jokes that share the same name.

This is the kind of movie that most members of the audience will either love or hate; few will place it in the middle. If you are a die hard fan of the genre it does deliver the required plot points providing enough gore and blood to keep them happy. Those in the audience that expect something new in a film will be disappointed. I’m going to detour from both extremes and place this dead center. It works for the genre but does not distinguish itself from the pack in any significant fashion. As the writer Joseph Ariola pens a script that screams ‘been there done that’. He has written and produced a couple of shorts previously and wrote and directed a film about the construction field. Since he is new to writing horror it can he said that he is still on the learning curve and will improve with subsequent films. He treads familiar paths in the genre since he does not yet have the experience to strike out on in his own direction. There is hope in the way he gears the plot more in the direction of a murder mystery than a low budget slasher flick. Other films have tried the same thing but Ariola gives a little shine to the endeavor. The same holds true for his style of direction. He over uses the jump cut apparently to create tension. He also felt it was necessary to impose flashing effects to highlight each of the deaths. The audience knows it is a horrible murder we don’t need a light show. Aside from that he has a keen eye for framing a shot and moves the plot along at a good pace. The mystery aspects of the story are given as much of his attention as a director as the required gruesome death scenes. He shows a lot of potential as both a writer and a director but like a fine wine just needs to age a bit to gain the nuances.

The movie starts with a point of view shot approaching a door. A hand reaches out for the brass knocker and knocks twice, knock, knock, get it. A young woman, Holly (Nicole Abisinio) answers it dressed in a mid drift tee and short pants. The torn tee shirt has Tyson H.S. on it but to tell the truth she looks a bit old to be a high school student. She looks through the peep hole, something not often done in a horror flick and no one is there. Of course she opens the door and asks ‘who’s there.’ As Holly walks away she hears knocking again and still no one appears to be there. The scene is played out again and this time she goes outside leaving the door open behind her, a rookie horror flick mistake. She goes back in, turns and checks the peep hole once more and an arm smashes through the door grabbing her by the throat. As the screen fades to the title we hear a bloodcurdling scream. Back at the high school Curt (Matt Fraley) is at his locker when his friends pass by and he joins them. They join a group of other students and one asks Uggi (Matt Lish) to make that when his father is elected he sets them all up with soft summer jobs. The sexy Diane Lee (Suzi Lorraine) hopes to work as a life guard at the pool but her boyfriend Billy (Jim Ford) is not happy about a bunch of old men staring at here. While this is going on a strange looking man is watching from a window in the school. Curt’s girlfriend Nikki (Joli Julianna) is asked why her grandfather was outside school. She replies that her mother told him to stay away from the house. She has never spoken about him before so something is up. He was a city cop his whole life and was so devoted that he missed her father’s funeral due to a case. There is another couple in the group Julie (Kat Castaneda) and Tom (Chris Bashinelli). This scene does show a well played economy in the script providing an introduction to the potential victims and setting a couple of possible killers.

Later that evening during a football game the kids gather to rank on each other while the strange janitor watches giving some of the corniest looks possible. There might as well be a sign over his head flashing ‘Suspect’. On his way home one of the football players is attacked by a man in a mask and brutally stabbed to death. The boy is dragged to his door, impaled and the killer knocks. The boy’s mother opens the door and screams. A police detective Billie Vega (Kim Taggart) catches the case. She is young, blind and beautiful. While looking for Cutter (Anthony Palladino) at the locals gin mill she runs into Nikki’s uncle Mike Soto (Tony Mastrantonio). The must have a very liberal dress code for the police since Billie is wearing a see through blouse that puts her lacy black bra on display. Okay, there are two reasons why guys are going to see this film and the gory blood is second. While the initial report is this was just a prank gone wrong Mike is certain it was murder. Everyone is nervous and Diane is taken home her Billy. At the door they are greeted by her mom, Toni (Erika J.) who makes sure Billy calls her by her first name. She invites Billy in and as Diane runs upstairs Toni chances her shirt in front of Billy. Toni looks like a stripper and obviously has an eye for much younger men. More murders occur and each time the victim is posed near the home in fashion that reflects the occupation of the parent.

The acting is wooden and overly staged. The cast seems to drift through the story without emotionally connecting to it. This is a little unexpected since several members of the cast do have previous credits to their name; albeit bit parts. There is plenty of gore to go around. Some of the methodologies employed to kill the teens are imaginative. There is a scene with a blow torch that will test the mettle of your intestinal fortitude. For a low budget horror flick there is not that much nudity, sorry guys. The one big scene of this sort is the required shower featuring Ms. Taggart. No one with a ‘Y’ chromosome will go for popcorn during it. Overall the film works a little better as a mystery than a horror flick. It should have been marketed as such.

This film is released to DVD by Lion’s Gate, a distributor that is bringing out a lot of these Indy horror flicks lately. There are several extras listed but not available on the screener. They include ‘Ricco Behind the Mask’, Music and Sound’, Special effects makeup’ and ‘the Beat Down Featurette’. While not as good as it could have been it was viewable.

Posted 03/16/08