The Hollywood Reporter by Sheri Linden

First-time feature director Frida Kempff embraces and revamps genre tropes, casting them in a trenchant feminist light and a character-specific poignancy. The action unfolds entirely through Molly’s perspective, and Cecilia Miloccco’s performance, by turns guarded and explosive, is gripping from first scene to last.

CineVue by Martyn Conterio

The horror in Knocking isn’t supernatural or down to mental illness: it’s societal. The clever switch in perspective leaves a haunting impression and makes Kempff’s segue into fiction a triumph.

The Film Stage by Michael Frank

[Kempff] crafts a film that grabs hold of you and doesn’t let go, one that’s equally absorbing in look and performance, despite a diminished importance mere hours after it ends.

Original-Cin by Thom Ernst

Knocking is a configuration of atmosphere and dread, paced at a speed of unflinching stillness.

RogerEbert.com by Monica Castillo

Kempff immerses her audience into her character’s tortured headspace, like a tragic hall of mirrors that seems endless.

Film Threat by Matthew Passantino

Kempff walks the fine line of being frustratingly vague and trusting the audience to grasp the film fully. Knocking, for the most part, lands in the latter category.

Paste Magazine by Jacob Oller

The feverish Knocking puts together a fittingly upsetting portrait of lonely instability through its simple premise, visually inventive first-time director and physically invested star.

Consequence by Joe Lipsett

Knocking is an uneven film. Despite strong direction by Kempff in her feature debut and a daring, go-for-broke performance by lead actress Milocco, there’s just not enough weight in these hollow knocks and the payoff doesn’t feel earned or substantial enough.

Slashfilm by Chris Evangelista

As a sensory experience, Knocking is stunning. The heightened sounds mixed with a stuffy, collapsing ambiance create an unforgettable experience. Pity that the narrative in the midst of all of this fails to match that power.

Variety by Guy Lodge

Crisply made and gutsily performed as it is, this slender 78-minute film too often feels like pointed social allegory in search of a really good cover story.

Screen Daily by Wendy Ide

Milocco’s performance manages to walk a thin line between credibility and delusion, a line which is less successfully negotiated by other aspects of the film.

The New York Times by Nicolas Rapold

The film does strike one long, nerve-jangling note, but the style leaves Molly with nowhere to run.

IndieWire by Kate Erbland

Few contemporary horror films start this strong to end so poorly, and with such a lack of ease. Molly deserves answers, but “Knocking” forgets what the questions were in the first place.