Knocking opens with an animated credits sequence featuring grotesque designs, desperately scrawled maps, and tense, eerie music that leaves the audience waiting to see what horrors are to come. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long for a hint of tension to subside.
The film revolves around gay couple Eric (Jonathan Groff) and Andrew (Ben Aldridge), who retire to a cabin with their daughter Wen (Kristen Cui). Their perfect family retreat is quickly interrupted by the arrival of four strangers led by a man named Leonard (Dave Bautista), who tells them they must sacrifice one of their family members to save the rest of humanity. Otherwise, the aliens, introducing themselves as Sabrina (Nikki Amuka-Bird), Adriane (Abby Quinn), and Redmond (Rupert Grint), will begin spreading plagues one by one until all of humanity is judged.
It is worth noting the good performance of Bautista. His first interaction with Wen is awkward in its fair measure. His portrayal of Leonard is nuanced and makes the explanatory segments of the plot more enjoyable. Finally, the only tense moment of truth in the entire film is played by Bautista in a bathroom.
Unfortunately, the rest of the movie isn’t as compelling. Apart from the flashback sequences which do not add anything interesting to the film and a few brief scenes in the woods, the story takes place in the main room of the cabin. With an extremely small cast, concentrated in this isolated place, and a predictable plot of necessity (it wouldn’t last as long if the family decided to sacrifice one of its own right away), the film must fend for itself so that the public is interested in their characters. But he doesn’t understand.
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As the strangers sacrificed themselves in bizarre ways one by one and the family “struggled” over who to sacrifice to prevent the end of the world, my great indifference to the absurdities of the film and the deaths of the characters grew more and more. . The script does little to meaningfully reflect on the conflict between same-sex marriage and religion, which it did sporadically, perhaps in case you fell asleep and forgot Eric and Andrew were a couple. .
It must be recognized that they made a great effort to relate the figure of the four foreigners to the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Leonard (the conquest) is a teacher who prefers joy to victory, Redmond (the war) regrets his violent past and allows himself to be beaten by Andrew without defending himself, Adriane (the plague) is a cook and provides food for the characters, and finally Sabina (death) is a nurse who not only treats the wounds of the family, but also refuses to kill anyone.
This level of sharpness suffers when the film goes to the trouble of spelling out their biblical iconography that is so obvious to audiences, intentionally and mistakenly, in an attempt to humanize the riders and win back audience sympathy for them, though that unfortunately this is not the case. But even more excruciating, when Eric and Andrew decide which one will sacrifice themselves at the film’s climax, the extreme close-ups of the two in the mirror tore them between dark and light. It’s very tiring.
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It’s a film that plays with lighting, exaggerated close-ups, Dutch angles, among other techniques, to show audiences how they should feel about the characters. Whether it’s humanizing a character or creating unease, the direction is too superficial to do so. Instead, it looks like a sentimental paint-by-numbers.
In short, Knocking at the Door is a film with a lot of style and little shisha. I understand the appeal of a plot that delves into the aspect of same-sex relationships versus religion. I also understand the appeal of tense, funny horror around the dilemma of choosing who lives and who dies. However, he cannot cover as much and fails. Long before the world was in danger of ending, I already expected the film to do so.