United Kingdom · 2017
Rated R · 1h 33m
Director Caradog W. James
Starring Katee Sackhoff, Lucy Boynton, Javier Botet, Nick Moran
Genre Horror
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Jess desperately wishes to reconnect with her troubled daughter, Chloe, who is initially reluctant to do so. One day, Chloe and her boyfriend Danny approach an abandoned house that is rumored to be haunted by a demonic witch. After this encounter, Chloe and Jess spend time together, as, all the while, disturbing things happen around them...
The new supernatural horror film Don’t Knock Twice benefits greatly from the direction of Caradog James. He takes a story that almost immediately plunges viewers into an unexplained and messy mythology and, for the better part of an hour, manages to distract from its weaker aspects by implying something far more interesting. Unfortunately, then the third act happens, and the spell is broken.
Although replete with creepy shocks, this lacks the narrative finesse to match the committed performances and slick visuals.
The Hollywood Reporter by Frank Scheck
If it had skipped the clichéd supernatural elements to instead concentrate on the relationship between the two central characters, Don’t Knock Twice might have emerged as an interesting film.
Slant Magazine by Henry Stewart
The film's storylines fail to inform or intensify each other in any theme-deepening or character-developing ways.
Inventive camerawork and a creepy (crawly) monster can’t save this messy supernatural horror.
Los Angeles Times by Noel Murray
The best reason to see Don’t Knock Twice is the volatile chemistry between genre favorites Katee Sackhoff and Lucy Boynton.
RogerEbert.com by Simon Abrams
Disappointing because its creators don't do anything interesting with a fairly novel theme: a mother's possessive love for her estranged daughter.