Reviews: Don't Knock Twice (2016) Movie Review
Genres: Horror, Thriller, Drama, Mystery, Fantasy
Subgenres: Supernatural, Dysfunctional Family, Urban Legend, Witchcraft
HellHorror’s review of Don't Knock Twice (2016) breaks down the plot, scares, cast performances, and its lasting impact on the horror genre.
Don’t Knock Twice (2016) is a 1h 35 min rated R American drama horror film that was shot in Wales, UK. Director Caradog W. James (The Machine (2013), Little White Lies (2006), Plastic Wolves (2003)) executed his third full-length movie marvelously well without much experience under his belt. Caradog dramatic, scary movie, Don’t Knock Twice is full of suspense, frightening moments, jump scares and some unique twists throughout the film. The combination of family drama and horror works nicely together if done right and in this case, it was done right. I smile as I write this because who would have thought that a family’s drama revolving around horror or horrific tragedies will be something that is enjoyed by millions around the world because it makes a great horror story. With all said, I cannot help but feel that this movie borrowed several parts from other films, cliche - yes but that does not take away from an enjoyable experience.
Don’t Knock Twice revolves around Jess (Katee Sackhoff - Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009), Longmire (2012-2016), Oculus (2013), Riddick (2013)) who longs to reunite with her daughter Chloe. Jess was forced to put Chloe (Lucy Boynton - Sing Street (2016), Ballet Shoes (2007), Rebel in the Rye (2017), The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2015)) into foster care about nine years ago but that is not even the bad part of it. Chloe was marked by an evil/devilish force which comes in the way of Chloe and her mom reuniting, there is also her mother’s troubled past.
The supernatural mystery in this film was the weakest part of the movie. All of the actors gave us exceptional performances, especially our mother and daughter duo. I felt all sort of emotions towards the mother-daughter team as they fight the unbeatable entity. The visual storytelling was excellent as well as the direction style of the director, developed characters, sets, special effects, sound, and cinematography. I did not like the evil entity and how it looks because it was not done right, so I rate it below average. Overall, I would recommend all horror fans to see Don’t Knock Twice.
Sources Used to Shape This Review
Insights in this review are drawn from director interviews, fan commentary, production notes, and long-form breakdowns across genre-specific platforms. Content is written uniquely and reviewed for accuracy.
- Don't Knock Twice Rating Scores
- Our Score: 7/10
- Overall Score: 5.14/10
- IMDB: 5.1/10
- MetaCritic: 4.5/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 2.8/10
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