Grade: (D+)
“DON’T KNOCK TWICE” stars; Katee Sackhoff, Lucy Boynton and is directed by Caradog W. James.
The story follows a mother who tries to reconnect with her daughter after years of estrangement, but is unaware her daughter is being tormented by the spirit of a demonic witch.
It is hard to really expect much from these small budget horror films. This one was yet another of the endless string of forgettable titles that come from the genre. As well as another movie that really shows none of its own inspiration, and literally goes through all the motions of these common plot-lines.
The performances are not bad at all and they are actually more than serviceable. Sackhoff does give effort in the role, and she does hit some of her more dramatic moments. Lucy Boynton was also very good, and the two shared a believable chemistry to sell them as a mother and daughter with a fractured relationship.
But with such a lack in the ambition and creativity put into the writing of the script, or the dialogue, this film was impossible to generate interest in. This movie just gives us one recycled scene after another and the result is the same story-arcs and character dynamics we have seen countless times.
The unfortunate thing is there were some good elements to this movie. There were some scenes that were actually creepy and fun to watch. There were some moments of good special-effects and I thought the creation of the witch was well done. The direction by Caradog James was very well done also, and for a film of this theme, it does come off as more polished than the usual.
James used some fun angles, lighting and filters to create some ominous and creepy moments. But from a story aspect, it was so cliche riddled, and left on auto-pilot, the intrigue was hindered in a major way.
For die hard fans of these ghostly horror films this may have some fun moments. If you have not seen many movies like this, it will certainly entertain. But if you have seen more than a couple movies with stories like this you will find it extremely predictable, and way to easy to forecast the third-act even down to the routine twist to find this one at all engaging.
Time: 93 min
MPAA Rating: R (For horror violence and language)