FAQ

Successful, English-born, Wall Street trader Emma Connaught (Natalie Press) decides to move back to England with her 5-year old son Thomas (Miles Ronayne) and her French husband of two years, Henri (Matthieu Boujenah), after learning that Henri purchased Parkside Lodge, a large English manor, some three years ago, before they even met. Soon after moving in, Thomas reveals that he's made an imaginary friend, who tells him that the family can't stay there. Emma possesses some psychic abilities (which is what made her successful on Wall Street), and she soon begins hearing voices and having visions that lead her to believe the house is haunted. The question is whether the house is haunted, Emma's having visions of the past, or of the future, or is she just being driven insane?

Knife Edge is based on a screenplay written by screenwriters Fiona Combe (who wrote the original story), Robb Squire, and English film-maker Anthony Hickox, who also directed the movie.

Emma's sister tells her that the house, which has been vacant for 30 years, was previously occupied by a professor of music at King's College, his much younger wife, and their son Tobias. There were also a number of students lodging there.

Many viewers have pointed out that Emma's hair sometimes looks mousy blond, sometimes light red, sometimes copper red, and sometimes dark red, but in no particular sequence. Without confirmation by the film-makers as to why Emma's hair color changes so frequently, chalk it up to (1) lighting, (2) scenes being shot out of order or re-shot at later dates after which the actress had her hair re-colored, or (3) continuity errors.

Henri finally recognizes the ring that the man was wearing the night he saw his father, the gardener, murdered. It belongs to Charles (Hugh Bonneville). Henri rushes back to tell Emma, but Emma has already been confronted by Charles, who tells her how and why he killed his lover, her husband, and the gardener who happened to stumble in on them. Suddenly, cries of 'Mommy' can be heard from a tape recorder held by Nanny Marjorie (Joan Plowright), who reveals that she was the wife of the gardener and that she recognizes Charles as one of the students who lodged there. Charles runs a knife through her. Emma grabs Thomas and runs upstairs. Thomas hides in the trunk. Emma locks herself in the bathroom, but Charles breaks through the door with a knife. Emma climbs out on the roof. Charles follows. Emma falls to the ground, but Charles pursues. Just as Charles is about to catch up with Emma, Henri drives up and hits Charles with his car. Henri rushes to his wife, they hug and kiss, but Charles suddenly stabs Henri in the shoulder. Emma grabs the knife from Henri's shoulder and plunges it into Charles. Thomas breaks free from the trunk and runs out to his mom. Henri, his shoulder bloodied, joins them.

Knife Edge has been likened to horror/thriller movies such as Rosemary's Baby (1968) (1968), The Amityville Horror (1979) (1979), The Shining (1980) (1980), House on Haunted Hill (1959) (1959), and Alfred Hitchcock's Gaslight (1944) (1944) and The Birds (1963) (1944), not so much because of a similarity in plot but for two other reasons: (1) the movie keeps the viewer guessing until the end, and (2) similar scenes in this movie are reminiscent of the previous-mentioned movies..