A mother desperate to reconnect with her troubled daughter becomes embroiled in the urban legend of a demonic witch.
Directed by: Caradog W. James; Written by: Mark Huckerby, Nick Ostler; Starring: Katee Sackhoff, Lucy Boynton, Javier Botet, et al
Don't Knock Twice is a Welsh film that combines a mother's recovery from addiction, the loss of innocence in adolescence, and a mythological demon from Russia into an almost interesting hodgepodge thriller. Of course, every decent thriller/horror requires a flawed heroine seeking absolution from someone she’s wronged. That’s where Katee Sackhoff comes in, a recovering drug addict who is trying to make amends with the daughter she left behind. As the angsty daughter, Lucy Boynton seems born for the role. There are no issues with the acting here. Sackoff is a veteran to brooding and Boynton is wearing enough goth clothing to feel the part. Cinematography and musical ambience is classic Hammer style, the British sure know how to keep us on edge and feeling morose. The story is a mixture of mythology, demonology, supernatural misdirections and supposed twists. Our antagonist is confusing at first, not really in a mystery way, more like “It’s a demon? No wait, a ghost! No, a child molesting cop? Hah fooled you!”.
Don't Knock Twice isn’t a horrible horror/thriller, if anything it is the perfect example of following the formula to closely, with little room for originality, choosing to rely on the tricks of the trade and a few “gotcha” moments to keep us enthralled.
