Movie Review: Don’t Knock Twice

Number 7 on the Countdown to Halloween

Don’t Knock Twice

Movie Review by Siobahn Harris

Here’s a creepy movie for you that can be found on Netflix, Don’t Knock Twice. I’ve seen this movie pop up on my recommended list for a while now, but I finally decided to give it a chance. Unfortunately, I was just left confused after watching it.

Breakdown:

After getting through a rough patch in her life, Jess (Katee Sackhoff) sets out to bring her daughter, Chloe (Lucy Boynton) home from boarding school (I’m assuming that’s what it is). However, Chloe isn’t super excited to see her and refuses to go home with her. Not only that but she refuses to call her mom, which just sticks the knife in deeper.

Later, Chloe and her boyfriend head over to an abandoned house, where he tells her a story about knocking on the door twice to summon a witch. It’s only then that Chloe reveals that she already knows the story and the old woman who used to live there. Which makes it very weird that he told her the story at all. After solidifying that they both know the story and they both believe that the old woman who used to live there kidnapped their childhood friend, they decided to…knock twice. Huh?

Welp! Their stupidity earned them a place in the final round of Britain’s Witches Got Children. Soon both Chloe and her boyfriend are haunted by a creepy entity. Sadly, the boyfriend doesn’t make it, but Chloe gets luckier. She decides that living with her mom…I mean, Jess, isn’t so bad after all.

A few days later Chloe and Jess start seeing things around the house. Jess chalks it up to a bad dream, which in her case it was, but Chloe knows better. The sad part is, Jess is doing everything she can to keep Chloe safe from whatever is after her, but because of her past everyone is keeping a close eye on her. Anytime Chloe looks a little sad, they assume Jess is the reason. But how does one explain that? No no, I’m not hurting my daughter, a witch is, okay? Annnnndddddd straight jacket!

Chloe and Jess have to work together to stop the witch, but also they need to prove that Jess is capable of raising Chloe. However, that can be difficult when there is much more going on than anyone could imagine.

Thoughts:

Despite the fact that I was left confused, I really did enjoy Don’t Knock Twice. The story idea was awesome, the witch was creepy as fuck, and they did a great job utilizing soft scares. By soft scares, I just mean those scares that happen in the background. The ones that are meant to scare the audience, not the characters.

The first two attacks were amazing. I loved how terrifying it was and how quick it happened. Unfortunately, after those, you can settle in for a nap. Here’s what I mean when I say I was just left confused. The movie was great, but for some reason, it felt so dry. I think they were going for that slow burn, but it just made it feel like a very long movie, when it really wasn’t.

On top of that, the meaning of the movie was debated throughout the movie. Normally, people will argue the true meaning of a story after reading the book or watching the movie, but this was different. Here we got at least three different possibilities about what was going on. They bounced from idea to idea, and it just made it feel busy or confusing. It felt as if the writer had multiple ideas, landed on one, but still wanted to use them all, so they did.

A couple of words confused me too. For one, Przepraszam, which is polish for I’m sorry or excuse me. It was said right before an intense moment, but no one ever talked about it again. I immediately thought, okay, this woman is Polish, but she spoke English the rest of the time. So, why? Also, she kept saying run. I couldn’t figure out why. Is she trying to save them? Does she just like the hunt? I don’t know.

There was a good twist, but it felt like they took way too long to get there. I didn’t see it coming, and it was well done. But if they revealed it a little sooner, we could have learned more about it and it wouldn’t have felt dry.

True Fear?

In parts, yes. I think that when the creepy parts are in full swing, they did a great job capturing that True Fear. Unfortunately, because of those dry moments, the fear fades away. It was like watching a race but every time the cars hit a high speed, they suddenly slow down. It was a weird. Overall, it was a pretty good movie, just be ready for some dry spots. Oh, and for those of you who are worried about blood, you should be fine with this one. While there is blood, there isn’t a bunch, so you can enjoy.