User reviews

I do enjoy a good scare and a proper horror movie. I had not known about "Don't Knock Twice" prior to finding it by random luck. And being the horror aficionado that I am, I did of course sit down to watch it.

And it turned out that "Don't Knock Twice" was genuinely creepy and had a very compelling and immense storyline. So the movie instantly reached out and pulled me in, and I enjoyed every moment of it.

The storyline shown in "Don't Knock Twice" was unpredictable and director Caradog W. James was doing an excellent job of building up suspense and keeping the audience in the dark. And these build ups of drama and suspense were always well-finalized with fulfilling results as the climax of such a moment was reached.

"Don't Knock Twice" has some good acting performances by the cast hired to portray that various characters and roles throughout the movie. And it was nice to see some unfamiliar faces in a movie, and especially so when these actors and actresses were doing such good jobs at bringing the characters to life in the creepy story.

The characters in the movie seemed fairly well-enough fleshed out, although you could of course always argue for characters needing more time on the screen to evolve and show more aspects of their personalities. But in overall, the character gallery in "Don't Knock Twice" was good and deep enough in terms of characteristics and personalities.

Now, this is not the type of horror movie that depends much on having an impressive and in-your-face display of effects and such. No, this is more of a deep-rooting horror movie that plants a seed and lets it fester and slowly sink into your psyche. And for me, at least, it was a nice switch of approach to a horror movie. And I ended up being quite entertained by what director Caradog W. James mustered here.

I will say that "Don't Knock Twice" was actually one of the more interesting and entertaining horror movies to make it to the screen in 2016. And if you haven't already seen the movie, I can highly recommend that you take the time to do so. I was genuinely entertained by it and it turned out to be a nice surprise of a movie.

It's kinda strange though, who doesn't knock Twice when banging on a door? Kinda puts everyone in danger.

So Kastee Sackhoff plays an artist who's trying to rebuild a relationship with the daughter she left behind for her career, when her daughter becomes hunted by the town's urban legend.

The story lays out pretty cool, but the movie overall is very cheesy, but at the same time it can scare you (or at least the attempt to is decent).

Don't knock twice has good creepy sound effects and music that really help set that mood. It's amazing how two movies could have similar visuals yet one movie is able to scare you with those visuals and the other doesn't. Don't knock twice is the other. What this movie does have for you is some great sound that makes up for stereotypical and non scary visuals. The grunts the bumps and the music all work in the films favor Makes sense as the movie's sound is design to make that knocking on a door hunting, which it can be.

However, despite that little enjoyment, I would not really recommend going to see it. It's met to scare but it's best effort was not good enough.

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The special effects are nice and the acting is passable, but this film is way too cliché and formulaic to be enjoyable.

The plot is the same as every single other "chick horror" movie ever. A pretty girl pisses off a ghost, has lots of scary visions, people don't believe her, she freaks out and acts crazy, at the end she discovers "a terrible secret". Bonus points if there's an old house and a mysterious magical person who knows all about the demon/ghost/spirit.

It's disappointing that a team of clearly creative and talented British people chose to use this tired clichéd formula instead of writing something fresh and new.

Too many horror films do this, it's predictable and boring and it needs to die. I refuse to believe that teenage girls are the only worthwhile demographic for horror.

The ever-likeable Katee Sackhoff strands herself in a well-made but trite Candyman knock-off that desperately strives to franchise itself out, but leans back on moldy haunted house tropes for the majority.

A troubled teen is released into the custody of her estranged mother, but a demon from the past comes back to wreak deadly havoc.

Dramatic horror with a completely incoherent mythos, but an iron determination to ramp up the tension in every scene. The daughter's peril is introduced immediately with the urban myth key to the plot, then we switch to the mother's predicament, and nothing is normal or easy going - every scene infested with unsettling '80s synth. It ends with flash-back reminders of how the plot is supposed to make sense, culminating in a clumsy twist.

The mother is well played, with good emotion in her regret at being inadequate yet loving. The detective is poorly played, and there's hardly any point in the character of the husband. The initial feel is London soap opera, and at various points tributes to The Shining, Ju-On, and Time Bandits.

There's one interesting sequence in the photography, when the cliché of ghost passing in the background is repeated three times - otherwise it's ordinary. Bad judgment on the music, but it fits the story telling style of constant huffing and puffing to maintain interest.

Overall: meh.

A good portion of whether something is watchable is not whether it has been done before (most things have been) but whether it is done well.

Don't Knock Twice does nothing that has not been done before. That said, what it does do, it does awfully well. This is a very atmospheric horror, sounds as well as visuals, play a key part in its success. As does things hinted at or glimpsed, as well as things that are seen.

The pacing is good with well timed scares occurring throughout this flick. Moreover, it manages to feel fresh and new even though its a well worn proposition. I personally put this down to decent acting and directing.

Ignore the detractors and give Don't Knock Twice a go. Seven out of ten from me.

This review of Don't Knock Twice is spoiler free

** (2/5)

Don't Knock Twice is a lot of things: a supernatural legend about a witch, has murky shadows for intent on better impact just to name a couple of points, but is it original? No. There are so many things this could have been, even scary but unfortunately it isn't. Among the flaky jump scares that hit you with a seemingly decent flow but you rub them off without a shudder; it's also a warmed hash-over of Candyman, Oculus, Insidious and a half-dozen other spook-shows, in addition there is no recollection as to where this is going. With that and the slower than usual pacing this is about as interesting as watching a hamster on a wheel.

The demon is also a rehash, from Lights Out it lurks in the shadows chasing after its victims slow at first but gains speed over time, this speed of course is still slow. Director Caradog W. James (The Machine) seemingly didn't know now what he wanted to do here whether he wanted to make a drama about a depressed mother reconnecting with her estranged daughter, or if he wanted to make a supernatural horror about an urban legend instead it's a mixture of the two. Although that is an interesting touch he forgets to go back to its original idea, the concentration on the two central characters sculptor Jess (Katee Sackhoff), and her artsy daughter Chloe (Lucy Boynton) is also the problem it tries too hard to make their story interesting, they both have a past filled with neglect, drug addiction and later regret, and for a while it has a decent flow, they're wobbly chemistry shatters it to pieces.

The idea comes early into the film when Chloe knocks on the door of a thin house in the middle of London, in a belief that a witch resides there "Once to wake her from her bed," her friend says "twice to raise her from the dead." Of course as is the idea with these supernatural horrors she wakes up and steals anybody who wakes her up, one gets away and she chases down the one who got away. It's the same, all this is, is just a horribly thought out rehash of other spook-shows and although there are some decent scares in place, the rest is a flaky, sadly clichéd mess that means nothing in the world of horror. Miss this one out, it'd be better to watch the original, if you can figure out what the original is.

VERDICT: Don't Knock Twice is an awfully thought out horror with an all too familiar story at other spook-shows. Ultimately leaving it as a shallow attempt at flaky scares, murky shadows and atmosphere. Miss.

Director: Caradog James

Well, let's get down to it then. Being an avid horror fan for manys a year now, I would consider myself fairly clued up on current and upcoming releases within the genre. It was then more than a bit of a mystery how this flick somehow managed to slip through the net until I found out about its existence this very week! Needless to say, it went straight to the top of the must watch pile...

BASIC PLOT: A woman tries to regain custody of her teenage daughter after years spent apart. The daughter however has struggles of her own, with close friends vanishing simingly at the hands of an old urban legend surrounding a sinister house nearby. As things escalate and apparitions become more violent, can the estranged family finally put the past behind them to try and save their future?

REVIEW: This is a tough one. I can easily see why the internet is awash with such mixed reviews and agitated confusion regarding the movie. A simple explanation for this is no doubt because of the promise the film holds in its premise. A straight forward storyline to be sure, witches and curses a plenty, but don't we all love that in horror when it's done right? The film jumps straight into it and although it can be stated that it perhaps suffers from a lack of character development (particularly in the early stages), it did also surprise me how quickly it gets down to the initial scares. My hopes weren't all that high in the 'scare' department going into this one, but absolute credit where it's due, there were indeed some unnerving scenes scattered throughout which almost called for the flip of a light switch! The cinematography is what really drives this piece however. The camera work and shot choice help to propel the overall tone of the film, keeping things very bleak and murky but with a beautiful depth and clarity also. The acting of the 2 leading ladies is to be commended also. Both Katee Sackhoff & Lucy Boynton do their upmost to sweat out anxiety and fear for the full 93mins that the movie plays out, and indeed without these convincing performances playing off each other, the movie would have been a sure bust. It is fair to say then that the real unraveling of Don't Knock Twice is in its screenplay. It's all there-a scary urban legend, heavy and dark cinematography to back it up and strong leading actresses to deliver the characters, but when the initial story and dialogue that's drafted is mediocre at best and at worst bogged down by countless plotholes and underdeveloped characters, then the amount that an audience truly invests in the story and it's characters fates will always suffer. The ending itself is testament enough, with what should have been a thrilling and indeed terrifying conclusion instead playing out as what felt more like a rushed half-explained brush off.

VERDICT:: Beautiful visuals, strong acting, a good creepy musical score throughout and a few genuinely disturbing moments help keep an underdeveloped and messy plot afloat. Well worth a watch for a fan of the genre, just don't expect the world. (6/10)

Worth a watch. Good storyline, good twists and keeps you guessing! Some scary parts.

If you want to watch a horror movie without actually investing too much of a thought to it or don't want much - just a few scares with a so-so plot, then go ahead and watch Don't Knock Twice.

But; if you want a GOOD horror movie with suspense and building up the tension until you're about to crawl all over the walls, then just skip this.

Don't Knock Twice makes it absolutely clear from the very first few minutes of the film; it tries way too hard to be scary. So it relies to jump scares, shadows in the dark corners, blood, scary masks and hands reaching out from whatever. These effects would be absolutely fine when scattered just right, but when they're all mushed together and presented within the first 20 minutes in, they lose their power. Sadly, this is something the writers and/or director didn't realize, and so they just start with full steam when you haven't even got the chance to get to know the people you're supposed to relate with.

The acting varies greatly. Katee Sackhoff, who plays the mother, is okay, but Lucy Boynton playing the daughter is far from believable. I do understand that a role of a teenager with a difficult past is a challenging role.

So in conclusion; lots of jumpscares and clichés, and you can forget about any relateable main characters, since there isn't one. But if you tune your brain to low setting, grab a bowl of popcorn and just go with it, it's bearable.

I wanted to like this I really did. I watched the trailer and thought to myself that this had potential, this is the one that will turn the tide.

Alas I was wrong.

Starring Battlestar Galactica's own Katee Sackhoff this highly clichéd standard Hollywood formula horror takes an interesting concept and neuters it.

It granted does get under your skin a bit and isn't scare free but as for originality, as for competence, as for entertainment not so much.

It tells the tale of an urban legend where if you knock twice on the door of an abandoned house then the witch who once resided within will come after you.

What comes next is a blend of several movies including Lights Out (2016) but it just fails to bring anything new to the table.

Again I wanted to like this but simply couldn't, I've seen it all before and done considerably better.

The Good:

Neat concept

Creepy in places

The Bad:

Failed vision

Whole thing feels stale

Not worth your time unless you have nothing but time and are bored. It has an interesting concept is all that's good about this movie. Everything else is bad. Dialogue, the way the movie moves, the way they had the lead character act was lifeless and lackluster.

After some minutes viewing, i thought this's a mediocre horror film. But i noticed how the film direction takes and i actually really like the screenplay though. Honestly this is the kind of horror film i'd make if i'm a filmmaker. That's why i tried to put myself in the character position. After 25 minutes, i got hooked in its simple plot. It's a bit boring in some unnecessary scenes. The horror presentation's good, i like especially the crying ghost scene. But some also don't scare at all, no goosebumps or scary feeling whatsoever. Background music's OK but not creepy enough. The character development's not presented so well. Acting's not bad, i care more Katee Sackhoff character more than the girl character which's rather annoying to watch. The ending's not good and satisfying enough. The execution's not good as the vision. Well it's a rather interesting horror flick to watch for me.

7/10

Another film I a was duped in to watching by reading positive reviews from so called movie critics. Where do I begin, it started off fairly promising with a warning like the Ring and Candyman, but I swear this film went from fairly promising to down right incredibly stupid very fast.The story was just all over place and ended up absolutely no where...omg. This was by far the most stupid horror film I have ever watched, all because I took a chance on believing what these so called critics wrote about this crap and throwing ninety minutes of my life away. By all means if you like movies with Katee Sackhoff, feel free to enjoy. Personally I will never watch another film she is in, because her acting skills simply suck. She has no range or depth whatsoever. Give me a Ali Carter or Jennifer Connelly any day over Sackhoff for roles like that. Horror buffs stay clear of this garbage. With a better script and a true directors eye, this could have been a cult classic like the Ring or Candyman.

90 minutes of a pretty good, scary, well-acted movie totally trashed by an absurd, nonsensical ending. Too bad.

The Caradog's movie is trying to find a balance between being an indie horror movie and typical, wanting to be, scary pseudo-blockbuster.

Unfortunately, because of hesitancy of director, the movie fails, by being too much, or not enough, of everything.

We have great shots, cold atmosphere, really climatic music and sound effects. But on the other hand, film is attacking us with cheesy dialogues, not so original scenes (don't want to say clichés)and really rushed ending.

To end on a positive note, I must say, that movie is better than most of nowadays horrors, and it can scare you with a few scenes.

What a load of rubbish.

The horror genre is riddled with bad movies, and is an arena most fresh film directors like to enter, as it is fairly straightforward and doesn't require the same skills a serious drama does. The problem is: to make a really good horror, you do need a lot of skills. Whoever made this had no idea what they were doing. The script is lazy and predictable, with one overused cliché after another. It's so tedious and frustrating. And then there's this ridiculous premise with an interracial couple... Guess what race the girl is? No surprise there.

This film is absolute bottom.