Natty Knocks

After watching 4 or 5 stinkers in a row, this one stood out as actually... good, at least in relative terms. This has a lot going for it in competent direction, good audio/lighting, stable camera, scene framing that made sense, and better than average acting. The story was homage-good, although a little leaky- but actually having one was a nice touch. Besides a few veteran greats in here with Harris, Moseley, and Englund, the young leads were far better than expected. Charlotte as Britt is very charismatic and delivers well. Thomas Robie as Wyatt showed good restraint in places where young actors typically overdo it. The one distraction was the age issue. I was trying to overlook that Wyatt looked basically the same age as Britt, and even Jolie was too old for a high-school sitter and to be crying often. But hey, the skill trade-off was worth overlooking this. This is more of a family-friendly (PG13) homage horror than say, the Hatchet series, but it's still better than quite a few I've seen lately. I recommend it if you try to catch all the new lower/mid budget offerings or indies.

Why spend this kind of money and production only to have the actors act like idiots and do and say unrealistic things. The ONLY character that seems realistic is the KILLER. All the other characters seem like high school theater kids. Although it is somewhat enjoyable to watch them get killed to stop the inanity. The utter narcissism and vapid discussions make you root for killer to take them out. WHY is this babysitter acting like the mother of these kids while the realtor mother is never home but never selling a house. She shouldve been the older sister. This wouldve been better as a black comedy since the stilted cliches dialogue already comes off as un self aware as it is. Babysitter is also moronically acted and her motivations are stupid. This is why People have no faith in Hollywood types. Clearly this was never test screened or it never get released.

No pun intended - I really did not want to think too much about my summary line. Casting wise this really made some great choices (even in smaller roles like Englund). But even with Moseley in a bigger role (and he is giving it his all, no holding back punches then). The story is quite simple and I think quite predictable to say the least.

The movie also looks good and it has nice effects, but I am quite certain it will leave you cold - shame because there was something there, with a "new" story to tell. We have seen the revenge angle before - but you can twist and tweak things. Try to find something unique maybe .. or at least focus on one thing or another.

Add to that quite the convoluted and bad ending too ... well I may have been too nice again .. but it is Bill Moseley ... and he is really good, no matter what.

It's good to see Halloween 4 director Dwight Little and Halloween 4 actress Danielle Harris working together again here, and with a movie taking place during Halloween, but this movie doesn't come close to that classic. Very confusing and I did not like the ending. The whole witch (at least I guess that's what Natty Knocks is because they never fully explain) made no sense to me. How/why did she become one, and the flashback in the beginning makes me question: since when did they burn women/witches in 1976?? Perhaps in 1676, but definitely not 1976! Then we have plot holes and sudden jumps from one thing to another with filler missing. Toeard the end, I'm pretty sure a character from earlier suddenly shows up where he wasn't even there a moment before. Just very confusing and hard to follow. And I did not like the end.

After witnessing a kill in action, a teen and his friends are insistent on proving the actions took place when no one believes them and are soon set upon by the killer himself as he tries to play out the work of his late actress mother who was burned alive as a witch years ago and is intent on making the town pay.

This was a somewhat underwhelming if still likable enough effort. Among the likable aspects of this one is the inclusion of the serial killer storyline into a film involving the spirit of a witch coming back for revenge. The means through which the kids are introduced as they're skipping school and stumble upon the location where he's involved with the torment of the victim and then sets his sights on them while they try to make everyone aware of what's going on. As this goes along nicely with the secondary setup of the life of the killer sitting around watching various horror scenes of his mother's actress days like they're home movies that manage to include some solid shocks, it sets off a generally enjoyable time. The only other aspect of this one that comes off rather well is the finale where it manages to get some action going again. With the killer finally given a reason to strike as the clues to what's going on finally come together, the incidents surrounding everything from the attack at the haunted house they visit and the subsequent abduction at their house all feature some intriguing action to set this going rather nicely. The big confrontation in the killer's house that ends this is a bit on the brief side but still manages to get enough twists, surprise reveals, and a nice bit of brutal action that results in a fun finish that has a lot of nice gore as well thrown in which give this one enough to like to make it entertaining enough. However, there are some big issues with this one. One of its biggest drawbacks is that the setup to this one is just not that well-developed and really loses interest quite easily. The small-town folklore of the witch living there, and the game associated with it, the involvement of the family, and how they draw the attention of the killer is all good enough on its own but is just so dreary that it's quite easy to be bored with the lack of action on display. The back-and-forth interactions that take place as a main part of the film's setup manage to bring more of a lackluster overall pace that isn't all that interesting nor make the group all that interesting to follow along with as none of this setup makes anyone likable or worthwhile in wanting to follow along with them. The other issue here is the fact that there's not a whole lot of sense that runs through this one. With the initial setup here supposedly being the killer stalking the babysitter for what they know about his crimes but then also mixing together a witch that moves into the town where they live but not being a vengeful spirit witch and some interpersonal drama taking place around this central storyline, it doesn't really feel connected to anything and more as several random storylines chucked together to make the movie. These end up being the main factors that hold this back.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence, and a brief clothed sex scene.