Last night, I watched 2016 British horror, ‘Don’t Knock Twice.’ I hadn’t heard of this film before, but from the cover alone I thought “wow, this looks good”… I was wrong! Now I had been warned. My good friend Cat (@toodamncat) shared with me her review, which in no uncertain terms stated her displeasure with it. But I had already started to watch it, and actually it was a case of so far so good. That changed quickly though!
A brief run through of the synopsis; disgruntled orphanage teenager Chloe, has a strained relationship with estranged sculptor mum Jess. Their relationship is forced back on track when Chloe unwittingly releases a demon that wants her soul, by knocking on the door of an old house… twice. That is pretty much it.
There is nothing original here. There are tropes and scares that we have all seen a million times before, and that’s ok, I quite enjoyed the scares. The idea for the story is decent enough though, so let’s start off with some positives. I loved the ‘crispy demon witch thing.’ I wanted to see much more of her, as I can’t think of a scene with her in that I didn’t enjoy. I adored the soundscapes that were wonderfully created. The music and sound effects were all on top form and was easily my favourite thing about the film. Unfortunately here is where the positives stop for me.
The acting was largely below par. I didn’t empathise with anyone and by just over the half-way point, I thought (and hoped) the film was over. What really turned me off though was my anger at what could have been. It was a solid idea for a film, that could have given an enjoyable viewing, but the writing let the film down hugely. The first half of the film was absolutely forced. Huge leaps were made in the plot without any explanation of why. That was nothing compared to the second half though, where the whole thing just stopped making sense. Honestly I have no idea what happened in the last bit of the film.
I cannot over state how bad this film is… 90% due to the writing. It got to the point where I literally had no idea what was happening or why. A not very convincing ghost. A policeman who’s role in the film I still haven’t grasped. A boyfriend who is there only to die and for some reason take Chloe to the house from nowhere. A husband who talks about money. A model who… again I’m still not sure. Did I like it? No. Will I watch it again? No. Should you watch it? Probably not.
I give it 1/5 stars. ½ a star for the witch demon and ½ a star for the music.
Chris @cw_stagg
