Neverknock (2017)

Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

This is a film on a far from original theme, even though it owes nothing to the "Halloween" franchise. In 1986, some kids knock on the door of a house at Halloween, something they are not supposed to do. They are murdered, and the first police officer on the scene - who reappears later in the film - sees something unreal.Fastforward 31 years, and it's Halloween again. This time, whatever was inside emerges to wreak its horrors on the wider world. Then our first responder rescues two of the damsels, telling them this sort of thing has been happening in other locations for a long time, going back to at least the 1940s. The key to the mystery is the door to the house. And this is where the film really begins to lose its way because this line of investigation is not developed, instead the guy is killed off.There is a bit more to it, the creature, daemon or whatever it is, feeds off fear, producing custom-made hallucinations for its victims, hallucinations that pack a punch or even burn. This could have been a decent film but it takes too much for granted, and the ending is utterly predictable.

Saw 'Neverknock', being fond of horror regardless of budget (even if not my favourite genre) and being intrigued somewhat by the idea. Being behind on my film watching and reviewing, with a long to watch and review list that keeps getting longer, it took me a while to get round to watching and reviewing it.Giving 'Neverknock' a fair chance with being interest and apprehension, it turned out to be better than expected. It is still a rather mediocre film and the potential, while not wasted, is not fully lived up to. Considering the large number of films seen recently being mediocre and less and wasting potential, was expecting worse and was relieved that while wanting in a fair few areas it was actually one of my better recent low-budget viewings.'Neverknock' started off quite well, the first twenty minutes or so starting the film off on a promising, unsettling and atmospheric note that really does intrigue. The antagonist was creepy at times and there are a few neat kills.Production values did have some eeriness and nowhere near as cheap as expected, and the music, which not the most memorable in the world, didn't detract from the atmosphere. The setting is effectively spooky and a few actors were not bad. There are spooky and suspenseful moments and it isn't dull in the first, and the storytelling at first does intrigue.However, the story was severely wanting in the second half after starting off promisingly. It is very disjointed and after the promising start the final third especially loses atmosphere, one loses interest and things start to not make sense. Too much of the film is vague and doesn't explore some elements and story strands enough, parts are so silly it is hard to take it seriously or trying hard not to.Ending is completely unsatisfying, so clumsy, predictable, cheesy and stupid. Got the sense that the writers didn't know how to end the film. Would have liked much more tension and suspense, scares could have been more consistent and some weren't surprising enough. Found too the script to lack natural flow and with a fair bit of cheese and blandness going on, and the characters bland with some adopting some annoying and not always logical decision making. Too many of the actors are poor, Dominique Provost Chalkley grating on the nerves. The direction too often feels phoned in and most of the kills were uncreative and tame. Even the antagonist got cheesy as the film progressed.Altogether, mediocre but could have been worse. 4/10 Bethany Cox

RELEASED TO TV IN 2017 and written & directed by Sheldon Wilson, "Neverknock" concerns six teens that knock on a cursed house on Halloween. Unfortunately there's a demon linked to the entrance door and it only takes an itty bit of blood to trigger it, whereupon it preys on the fears of those present till they're dead.I expected to like this flick after seeing the trailer and promotion pics, but it didn't work for me. First, the good news: The filmmaking is just fine (cinematography, editing, etc.). The turning-to-Fall locations and Halloween setting are great, especially the haunting graveyard and the hay maze. The lumbering, misshapen demon-creature is excellent in a creepy, almost shocking, sort of way. I don't know if it's a guy in a costume or CGI or both, but it's effective.The no-name cast is decent and there are a few worthy females, but their presence is never properly highlighted (and I'm not talking about sleaze or nudity). The two most beautiful ones are the first to buy the farm (Kiriana Stanton in the prologue and, later, Eliana Jones, the 'cheerleader'). There's an eye-rolling insinuation of lesbianism regarding the two main girls (Dominique Provost-Chalkley & Jodelle Ferland), but it's so light it can be overlooked.As the first act progressed and segued into the second act I found myself becoming disengaged, which continued till the close. It was an overall feeling of "Meh" and pointed to problems in the script. SOMETHING needed done to perk the movie out of the doldrums beyond the attributes noted above. It's a shame because everything was here for a great TV-budget horror flick. SOME of it works, though, and I appreciated the positives despite my tedium.THE FILM RUNS about 90 minutes. There's no info on where it was shot, although it looks like the Northeast, e.g. Pennsylvania. Since it's a Canadian production, it might've been shot somewhere outside of Toronto or Montreal.GRADE: C-

Some college aged nitwits takes a teen nitwit trick or treating. They go to a house (that should've razed since the first deaths) as a joke. Little nitwit knocks. All hell begins. The girl that was begging to go home gets killed second. the rest is just a pile of crap. I felt so bad for Jodell Ferland in this crap fest.