Movie Review - Knock Knock

Knock Knock (2015)

Starring Keanu Reeves, Lorenza Izzo, and Ana de Armas 

Directed by Eli Roth

On Father's Day weekend, husband and father of two Evan (Keanu Reeves) finds himself home alone with his wife and kids out of town.  With thunder cackling, lightning streaking, and rain pouring down one evening, Evan hears a knock on his door and, upon opening it, finds two young women soaked to the core having been accidentally dropped off by Uber at the wrong house.  Evan invites them in to allow them to wait for their ride, but the two girls Genesis and Bell (Lorenza Izzo and Ana de Armas) begin to sexually flirt with Evan who, after initially resisting their advances, eventually succumbs to their charms.  However, when he wakes up the next morning, Evan realizes that Genesis and Bell may have some more deviant intentions than just a one night stand with a married man.

While Knock Knock has potential, its story grows tiresome after Evan wakes up following his first-ever sexual indiscretion.  Co-writers Eli Roth and Nicolás López (who were behind Aftershock, the worst film of 2013) refuse to flesh out the characters of Genesis and Bell, rather having them be motivated simply by however they want the film to turn plot-wise.  There are some tremendously ridiculous moments in the film's last two-thirds that play out as cartoonish and poorly planned rather than integral to the plot.

Color me surprised, however, that Lorenza Izzo who topped the RyMickey Awards Worst Acting list in 2013 comes off the best here.  While her character is over-the-top and oftentimes hilariously manic, Izzo showed me hints that the former model (and wife of Eli Roth) has grown a bit since I last saw her in a film.  She certainly fares better than Keanu Reeves whose dumbfounded looks and dry line readings had me laughing more than once as Knock Knock unfolded.  As he's tortured and ransacked by these two young women, Reeves' Evan had me hoping the two gals would off him sooner rather than later.

Knock Knock isn't nearly as bad as the aforementioned Aftershock, but it continues to prove that Eli Roth as an actor, director, writer, or producer may not be my cup of tea.  One of these days, I'll learn...

The RyMickey Rating:  D+