Delayed Reaction: Knocking

Premise: After being release from a psychiatric ward, a woman becomes obsessed with a knocking sound in her new apartment.

 

There probably needs to be a term for these movies that are technically features but a little too thin to feel like a proper film. Basically, we need the film equivalent of a novella. Bring back the double feature. Two shorter films shown in theaters with a short intermission. I'd love that. Knocking would work great in that context. It's a short movie and could be cut even shorter if needed. It's very effective at what it's trying to be though.

 

Molly (Cecilia Milocco) is recovering from a nervous breakdown after something happened to her girlfriend/wife on a beach. She's technically well enough to leave the psych ward and move into her apartment. Right away, she starts hearing a knocking from above. She tries to locate it and ask her neighbors above about it, but no one knows what she's talking about. This knocking and her inability to source it only makes her recovery more difficult. And that's the crux of this psychological thriller: is Molly going insane, is she actually hearing the knocking, or both?

 

I won't say the movie really surprised me anywhere. Milocco's work is solid. That's key, as the whole movie hinges on her ability to sell her madness and obsession. In balance, that makes it all enjoyable enough.

 

Verdict: Weakly Recommend