Knocking is an indie horror movie that will have audiences in suspense from beginning to end, wondering if they themselves are going crazy.
Horror movies are some of my favorite movies — especially Indie horror films. Sometimes a big budget can effect the feel of a horror movie and go a bit to overboard. Knocking is a great example of a lower budget film that can suck you right in and have you completely invested from beginning to end.
In this film there is a woman named Molly that we know to be on medication, and to have suffered a great tragedy, who hears knocking on the ceiling of her apartment. She becomes obsessed and figures it is Morse code, writing messages down on any papers she can find. She convinces herself that someone in the apartment building is in trouble and sets out to find her.
The longer this goes on, the less people believe her, and the more people thing she is crazy. This is one of those movies that started to make me think I was going insane myself. The cinematography stands out in certain moments where we see her staring at walls, peaking around corners — but especially a certain hallway scene as all her neighbors seem to close in on her, calling her crazy.
At one point while watching, my daughter knocked on my office door and I jumped a mile — which shows how into this movie I was. I was completely enthralled, in suspense, and needing to know what was going to happen next.
My biggest issue with Knocking is that I wanted more of a backstory for Molly. While we do eventually get most of her story, I needed more. That being said, the fact that I was in the dark for so long did help build the tension.
This movie is a bit slow to start, but gets into the good stuff quickly enough to keep most entertained. It should be mentioned that this is a foreign film with captions, but that didn’t bother me at all. It was easy to follow along with. The length is perfect allowing almost no time for the audience to get distracted or bored.
Knocking kept me on my toes from beginning to end. I was right there with the lead character — not sure if I was going crazy or not. It never went off track and the payoff is there in the end for those that allow themselves to get completely invested.
About Knocking
What. Is. That. Noise. When Molly hears knocking coming from the ceiling in her new apartment, she naturally searches for the source. The upstairs neighbors don’t know what she’s talking about and dismiss her with cool indifference.
Is this all in her mind? After all, she’s still processing a traumatic event that left her mentally unwell, and the unprecedented heat wave isn’t helping her think clearly. As the knocking intensifies and gives way to a woman’s cries, Molly becomes consumed with finding out the truth. Could it be Morse code? Is someone trapped? And more importantly, why doesn’t anyone care?
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.