Knock Knock

Knock Knock

Starring Keanu Reeves, Lorenza Izzo, Ana de Armas, Ignacia Allamand

Directed by Eli Roth

The Story:
Evan Webber (Keanu Reeves) is a loving father and husband who adores his wife Karen (Ignacia Allamand) and their children.  One weekend they decide to go to the beach while Evan stays at home to work.  One rainy night he gets a knock on the door, and there's Genesis (Lorenza Izzo) and Bel (Ana de Armas), two drenched, attractive girls needing to use his phone.

Not thinking they're any threat, Evan invites them in to dry off and warm up.  However, as their conversation continues, they begin making advances on him.  He fends them off for a while but ultimately gives into his desires.  Afterward, they refuse to leave and threaten Evan, eventually binding and torturing him for the mistake he made.  And he wasn't the first one they did this to.

The Synopsis:
Eli Roth is best known for directing some of this generation's most prolific and violent horror movies, including "Hostel," "Cabin Fever," and "The Green Inferno," so with "Knock Knock," I was expecting some limbs to go flying, some heads to roll down stairs, you know...the usual.

Instead, he takes a 180 and delivers a profound thriller that's more realistic than his previous outings.  While the film itself has much to be desired, it does raise some philosophical questions.

First to the film itself.  As I said, there's a lot to be desired here.  Keanu Reeves (who doesn't age at all.  Seriously, the guy is over 50 and can easily pass for someone in their 30s), like Roth, does something different here.  Here he's not a no-holds-barred assassin like John Wick, no world saving hero like Neo.  Instead, he's an average married man with an average family and average job.  He's the average Joe, so to speak.  This is supposed to make him more grounded and someone you root for, but he becomes totally unhinged near the end of the movie, making a spit-inducing monologue that would make Nicolas Cage (in reference to his cringe-inducing role in the "Wicker Man" remake) blush.  He makes a mistake - a costly mistake - but it's hard to feel sorry for the guy.

The two antagonists are better looking than acting.  I don't mean that in a sexist way, but they perform very well with their facial expressions and body movements than with their talking.  Ana de Armas has a very innocent look to her, someone you would never see being a sociopathic person.  Lorenza Izzo (Eli Roth's real-life wife) has these amazingly big eyes that showcase emotions even when it's not needed.  However, once they open their mouths, all sense of attractiveness goes out the window, as they act like petulant spoiled brats, more five-year-old temper tantrum girls than quick-witted psychopaths.  Still, they relish their roles and especially Izzo's Genesis has some Harley Quinn-like glee in her torturing, so that's a plus.

Back to the story.  There really isn't one.  Two girls seduce a married man then tortures him for giving into his temptations.  It's rather bare-bones, and lacks some of the originality Roth gave in his previous director roles (although, in his defense, "Knock Knock" is a modern remake of the 1977 exploitation flick "Death Game").  The story goes in a circle, scenes seem repetitive, and  Reeves' character becomes one of the worst survivalists ever. 

That's the glossed-over version of "Knock Knock," but as I said earlier, there's a deeper psychological story here, and that's Roth's supposed view of marriage.  At the beginning, when Evan is with his family, it seems almost too idyllic, like a family you'd see in a Sears catalog.  Perfect smiles, perfect faces, everything about the family is utterly perfect.  Then Genesis and Bel come and ruin this picture perfect marriage - or do they?  Was the desire to cheat always in Evan, or was he a seemingly innocent man who falls into temptation once?  Roth seems to say through this film that every family man - when offered temptation...or as Evan put it, "free pizza" - will cheat.  Every time.  While I don't feel this is true, it's a very pessimistic view of family life.

Another story deals with gender.  Evan lets the girls - whom he's never met - into his home, lets them use his stuff, wear his clothes, touch his things - with little to no abandon.  He even tells them that he let them in because they pose "no threat" to him, and he could "easily take them" if problems arose.  To Evan, these were two harmless girls who posed no threat to him, so he could let his guard down.  I sincerely doubt he would've done the same if it were two men at his door, or even a man and a woman.  However, since women are often seen as less threatening, he doesn't think twice to let them in and even leave them alone for periods of time.  The girls showed Evan that, even though they appear to be the "weaker sex", they can still do some serious damage.

The Summary:
While the film is far from perfect, "Knock Knock" offers some deep insightful questions into the world of marriage and gender bias.

The Score: B