Delayed Reaction: Knock Knock

The Pitch: Two attractive women show up at a man's house while the rest of his family is away, then make him suffer for his transgressions.

I don't think I'm a fan of what Eli Roth has to offer. I could never get more than a couple minutes into Hostel. Cabin Fever I only kept with because of Rider Strong. I didn't realize that Knock Knock was his movie until the opening credits. I was just interested in seeing something recent with Keanu Reeves after how surprising John Wick was.

The basic point of Knock Knock is something like "all men are cheaters if pushed". It's all about role reversals that give an interesting perspective. What turned me off is that it turns into what I can only describe as a "victim fantasy". It's kind of like if you ask somebody to come up with an acceptable reason to commit rape. That's several steps further than the movie goes, but it seems to come from the same head space. It's pretty uncomfortable to watch.

The campy tone didn't work at all for me. It left Roth too much rope to not worry about the details of the story. Essentially, this is a home invasion movie. What makes home invasion movies scary/effective is the element of "this could happen to you". By shooting this like a cartoon world, those stakes are gone, so it turns into "isn't it fun to see Keanu Reeves get stabbed with a fork?". I don't think it's a coincidence that I disliked this about as much as Cheap Thrills.

Look, I don't think Keanu Reeves is a great actor either. However, I do think he's very good at picking projects that allow him to get around that. As part of the campy tone of the movie, I think Eli Roth told Keanu to give in to ever bad instinct he has. There are several scenes that [intentionally] play like they were in The Room. That's not an aesthetic that I enjoy.

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend