The Cutting Room: Knock Knock

When a devoted husband and father is left home alone for the weekend, two stranded young women unexpectedly knock on his door for help. What starts out as a kind gesture results in a dangerous seduction and a deadly game of cat and mouse.

Why we’re looking forward to this: Why we’re looking forward to this: When it comes to truly horrific spectacles, there’s very little to match the sight of Keanu Reeves acting, is there? Actually, we’re being unfair, as like the great Jack Nicholson, Reeves may only have one character in him but he plays it well. To redress the fair balance, one thing Reeves is never afraid to do is to take a chance with a role, and that’s exactly what he’s doing here in Eli Roth’s latest chiller.

The trailer for Knock Knock promises a dark, twisted film that harks back to the old school grindhouse horror movies, mixing up the traditional home invasion trope with the modern phenomena of social media. Reeves seems well cast as the happily married family man who is effectively blindsided by the two attractive and tempting young girls who seem intent on seducing him. However, what initially appears to be a middle aged man’s fantasy come true soon ends up proving the old maxim that when something appears to be too good to be true, there’s usually a reason for that, and it looks as though Keanu is in for a rough ride.

Knock Knock is also up on our radar because it seems that Eli Roth has rediscovered his love of making nasty little movies, and that’s got to be a good thing. Whatever your thoughts are on Cabin Fever and his pair of Hostel films, you can’t accuse him of holding back on the violence and gore, so when it comes banging on our door later this year, we’re going to welcome Knock Knock in like a long lost friend.

Knock Knock played at cinemas in June and should be out on Blu-ray and DVD before the end of the year.

RICHARD COSGROVE