#the night they knocked

[webbywatcheshorror]

Webby Reviews Horror: The Night They Knocked (2019)

The Night They Knocked is about a group of friends who are spending one last weekend together at a remote summer home in the woods before they graduate college and part ways, but their plans are disrupted by a knock on the door.

 This movie is an hour and a halfish and I gotta say I only enjoyed a few minutes of it. I can’t recall exactly why this one had been on my watchlist, but I’m willing to bet Whatculture Horror had something to do with it. 

Review under the cut, and as always, SPOILERS AHEAD!

Let me preface this with some honesty: I am only reviewing this so that I don’t only limit myself to covering movies I enjoyed. It didn’t leave much of a lasting impression when I watched it the first time, and the second viewing only really highlighted things about it that annoyed me. So let’s dive in.

The opening of this movie is pretty promising, if longer than it needed to be. The establishing shot of the house in the wood takes several seconds that I suppose are intended to raise tension and discomfort, but it. Just doesn’t. And listen. I grew up in a house in the woods. I can promise you that hearing a knock at the door without first having heard the sound of a vehicle is intensely alarming- but the nameless First Kill doesn’t seem at all perturbed.

There are several shots in this opening sequence that seem to serve no purpose beyond padding the runtime and showing that First Kill is alone and can expect no rescue from neighbors, as there aren’t any. These shots persist throughout the movie with very few actually seeming to add anything to it- more on that later.

I did like the fact that the off screen brutality took place during full daylight- the sounds of First Kill’s scream and assumed murder playing over the image of a cheery, sunshine-filled home is a delightful and underutilized dichotomy in the horror genre imo. Daylight is supposed to be one of the safe havens, right up there with covering yourself completely with a blanket. I really do wish the rest of the movie had followed suit and kept the timing, but it doesn’t. In fact most of the ending sequence is near pitch black and I couldn’t see shit.

As the opening credits play, a car radio gives us some plot updates as we are introduced to some of our main characters driving out to join the rest of the cast. We are supposed to believe that these people are best friends, and have been for years, but never once do I get that vibe at all. Maybe it’s just the bad dialogue, maybe it’s the less than stellar acting, but you could have told me these were four people who were forced to spend time together as a punishment of some sort and I would have bought that explanation.

There is a lot of interpersonal drama we suffer through for the entire first half of the movie. There are six friends who are all paired off, plus the brother of one of the guys; I could not find myself caring about any of them except possibly one of the couples and the ex-convict brother. It’s never explicitly stated, but I get the distinct feeling that these are all rich kids who are used to a cushy, privileged life. Maybe it’s because at their final hurrah party, these college kids get wasted on wine and weed only. Maybe it’s just the unrealistic way these characters behave/are written.

Things really don’t start popping off until somewhere around minute 43, and until then we are treated to unending and perplexing drama, more lingering shots on the environment, and a few short scenes from the POV of the intruders complete with unsettling heavy breathing and sinister whispering.

I keep complaining about the drama because in the end, almost none of it becomes at all relevant or is even ever brought up again. For example, one girl cheated on her boyfriend and might be pregnant- she never tells him. I had expected her to let it slip and then it causes him to let her die in a moment of weakness, but no. It goes nowhere and really only served to make me like her less.

These ‘friends’ are all so incredibly quick to get hostile with one another. They’re instantly suspicious of offhand comments and seem to jump at the chance to misinterpret each other. I feel like if they’d framed the group as a bunch of people who were friends in name only, but actually ready to sell each other to Satan for one corn chip, it would have worked so much better and been far more believable than what we got.

Anyway, shit goes turnways with a pretty decent scene of one of the girls upstairs crying in the bathroom before getting grabbed by an unseen intruder behind the shower curtain- a nice way to introduce the concept that they’re not alone in the house, and we get our first taste of the violence to come since First Kill’s demise. Sadly, we get little more than nibbles for the rest of the movie.

In short order, two of the friends (and the ones with the least amount of Assholery in their personalities) are taken out by a man in clown facepaint and wielding a metal bat. Their quick deaths aren’t all that disappointing, as they weren’t really very focused on to begin with. Clownboy taunts the friends who are left alive, locked inside the house with no way to call for help, while his friend Pretty Dress leaves his bloody handprints on the backdoor.

Clownboy is immediately more interesting to me than the entire rest of the cast, even including the ex-con brother, and honestly I’m disappointed it took so long for him to show up. He’s unhinged and clearly enjoying himself while he inflicts physical and emotional damage on the group. I really liked the energy he brought to the movie and feel like he could have redeemed it, had he been given more screentime.

The remaining deaths are quick and largely unseen, and we find that there’s more than just Clownboy and Pretty Dress- there’s an entire circus of these clowns just itching for some ultraviolence. We never find out what their motivations are, but as one of the characters muses, ‘They don’t need a reason’. I do wish we’d gotten this from the painted mouth of Clownboy, but the closest we get is him chanting ‘I love it’ while slowly strangling one of the group before being bonked to death by his own bat.

The ending is left open, but it’s very likely that neither of the two surviving protagonists make it out alive given just how many clowns they’re surrounded by. As endings go, it’s pretty dull, but honestly I’m not sure how else they could have ended the film. 

This movie makes me want to do a complete rewrite of the story, with more emphasis placed on the psychological aspects of being trapped in a house by menacing strangers. I’d also at least use some of the interpersonal issues and hostility of the friend group to heighten the tension and pit them against one another; I’d also use those long, lingering environment shots to hint at the terror to come. I am not, however, a scriptwriter, so maybe someone will remake this movie in about six years and have some similar ideas.

The Night They Knocked ultimately left me disappointed and a little bored, to be quite honest. I didn’t really feel sympathy for the characters, the deaths were lackluster, and it felt like a lot of it was only there to keep it from being a short film. It did have some enjoyable parts and an intriguing villain, so it wasn’t a total waste of time.

Giving this one 4 out of 10 ghosts, as I did at least like the opening and overall concept, but I can’t really recommend it, except for maybe the scene where Clownboy shoves an eight ball down a girl’s throat so she asphyxiates to death. I’d have given it a higher score if there had been at least one knock knock joke, but alas. Clownboy just isn’t a funny guy.

[moviesandmania]

THE NIGHT THEY KNOCKED Reviews and free on Tubi, Vudu and YouTube

‘They are outside. They are watching. They are waiting…’ The Night They Knocked is a 2020 horror thriller about a group of friends whose weekend away becomes home invasion survival. Written, produced and directed by Sean Roberts [as Sean F. Roberts Jr], the movie stars Linnea Gregg, Mickey Roberts, Connor Roberts and Jack Buckley. Plot: During their last weekend together, a group of friends…

[supurrb]

he keeps knocking this chair down due to being TOO big to be on it but by god will he keep jumping up anyways

[synthwavecryptid]

mods are asleep, post tender old men

[teddybeartoji]

bakugou hates it when you don't take good care of yourself. no matter whether he's your friend or a lover, doesn't matter if he's just your roommate, he can't stand it at all. it pisses him the fuck off.

he sees way more than he lets on, making it impossible for you to hide; when you brush past a question about whether you've eaten or not, he'll clock it immediately and when the bags under your eyes grow darker, he'll see that too. he notices the stupid things you think nobody would and it's weird to feel so seen by him.

he'll check the fridge and take note of the food that's still there, but he won't say anything – without asking whether you want it or whether you need it, he'll make you something on his own. he knows what you like and he knows what you don't like, he knows exactly what'll make your eyebrows raise up in surprise and what'll make your nose scrunch up in disgust. he'll prepare the meal and he'll give it to you with a huff.

sometimes he'll just let you eat in your own room but sometimes he'll try to lure you into the living room with him. and it's not even about him making sure that you'll finish it or anything, he just wants to eat with you. he's trying to be as gentle as he can because he realizes that a lecture would only make the matters worse; so, he'll simply put on a film he knows you'll like and he'll take his seat on the couch while waiting for you to join him. no pressure, no harsh words.

there are times where he'll be a bit more straightforward, though.

if he catches you ignoring some of his questions, about you drinking water etcetc, the likelyhood of him calling you out on it is high. he doesn't have time for that – he'll interrupt whatever you were rambling about and he'll demand an answer. silence will do, if that's all you have for him. he won't even give you a reaction, he'll just urge you to continue on with your talk while getting you a glass of water.

he gets straight to the point and there's really no point in trying to fight him.

you not dressing correctly is also something he'll immediately reprimand you for because where the hell are you going like that? no scarf on a windy day? he'll click his tongue and throw you his. no gloves during winter? he'll come back the next the with a completely new pair that he'd gotten for you. at the time, he might even chuck a pillow at you and tell you all about how he won't take care of you if you were to get sick.

and you'll laugh because you know he's lying, and he'll tut and avert his gaze.

because he knows he's lying.

oh, and he will nag about your messy room.

while cleaning it.

at first you think he's just there to mock you but then he's actually dusting your shelves and folding your clothes and taking away your dirty dishes and when you finally pull yourself together to tell him to stop, he gives you a glare that would seem harsh to a stranger, but you know better.

just let me do it.

if you try to thank him for it, he'll pretend like it never happened. like you don't have anything to thank him for, even less apologize for, because well... in his mind, you don't.

he isn't mad at you, he's just mad at the situation. this isn't laziness and he knows it, and so, he'll do his best to make it better, to make it easier for you. he'll make you something to eat and he'll clean your room and he'll bark at you for dressing too lightly and he'll let you fall asleep on his shoulder without a complaint because this is his way of letting you know that he cares for you.

[cosmicrhetoric]

carpe jugulum / small gods / lords and ladies / night watch

HERE AND NOW! HAPPY GLORIOUS 25TH!

[textsfromcybertron]

(603): Who the fuck stole my fridge again?

[rimatsu]

setting pessimism aside to daydream about my ideal bucktommy makeup scenario and i just... keep oscillating between buck extending an olive branch and tommy reaching out first. there's merit in both. yes i'd love for buck to discard passivity and fight for this salvageable relationship — for buck to look tommy straight in the eyes and tell him that his sharp edges and his vulnerable insides don't make him any less deserving of love. that he's not blinded by the excitement of novelty or misguided admiration — even without the full picture, buck has seen enough pieces of the puzzle that makes up tommy's whole to know that he loves the entirety of him, unspoken faults and past sins included. that buck can't guarantee forever but he sure as hell can try to build the sturdy foundation of a shared life based on the hope for more. that sometimes you just luck out on the first draw and there's nothing wrong with good fortune.

but it would also be extremely healing if tommy knocked on buck's door to chase after his own second chance. to say "i want you more than i'm scared of hurting" when buck asks him what's changed in 4 months — because tommy would rather live with scars than be haunted by regrets and what-ifs. because buck is worth the risk of never recovering from having loved him

[drenched-in-sunlight]

Yesterday for the first time I saw a post in a public forum that actually points out Marika has every reason to be so cold & distant towards Maliketh... thanks God.

The Two Fingers/ EIden Beast stood aside & let her entire family die, then when it successfully entrapped her in a literal divine prison it said “here we gave you a brother lol” like istg WHAT are you even saying. Her entire real family is already in a ditch !!! No prayers to the Gods help them! And now these Godlike beings are like take this random guy as your bro???

It’s confirmed in the base game Shadowbeast is like sleeper agent that the Two Fingers put there to monitor their Empyrean & off them if they try to rebel, no matter how earnest the Shadowbeast sounds. Ranni and Blaid literally grew up together & we still have to get rid of him at the end of her questline 💀 Marika was a young woman who had lost everything then forced to recognize some stranger as family. To her that must be some fucked up joke.

And get this, I do believe Maliketh and Blaidd care for Marika & Ranni genuinely, it’s a tragedy that they were born to bring “nothing but bale” to the person they love. Just like how Messmer, the beloved son in the Shadow, also became a curse to the person he loves the most in the end. That’s the doomed narrative they are trying to portray.

[bunnyboy-juice]

a bred bunny's a happy bunny 🥰🥰🥰

[flamingpudding]

Red Hood: Okay you little shit. Give me three reasons why I shouldn't fucking shoot you right now?

Danny: I only need one. You would miss.

Red Hood: I would miss. At point blank? You fucking serious?

Danny: Yup, point blank doesn't matter. You would still miss.

Red Hood was very tempted. His gun was loaded with rubber bullets. The worst the kid would get would be a big and ugly bruise right on the forehead. Like the once he gave his brothers when they were especially annoying, mostly Dick thou. That would teach this little shit of an overconfident teenager a lesson.

Danny just got separated from his class during the school trip and wandered into Crime Alley, interrupting a drug deal and getting then discovered by the local Crime Lord after he beat up the bad guys. Really, he had just wanted to buy a shake real quick.

[kuromi-hoemie]

was drunk at my friend's place yesterday and her bf was given some throwing knives, played around for a bit and i still got it 🧐 that was my last push to get back into knife throwing, haven't been into it since i was 17/18 lol. i ordered these ૮ ᴖﻌᴖა

edit: if ur here from my top posts you can see me throw them here!

[yi3248]

do they go honk shu or honk mimimi or does soap's chest go honk honk like a clown's nose if you squeeze it

@youredyingthatsallthereis kirby caps soapghostroach has arrived‼️

[trappedinafantasy37]

"Minthara is so abusive to the player" *INCORRECT BUZZER NOISE*

Minthara would literally go to fucking hell for the opportunity to personally beat the absolute shit out of the person who actually did abuse you. She will throw hands with gods and devils just to avenge you.

And you will not be able to convince her not to.

[draco-glacialis]

Lilia, yelling through Agatha’s bedroom door: Are you decent?

Agatha: Not morally, no. But I am wearing trousers if that’s what you’re asking.

[solplease]

clingy