Knock Knock (2015)

Directed by: Eli Roth

Written by: Anthony Overman & Michal Ronald Ross (story), Eli Roth, Nicolás López & Guillermo Amoedo (screenplay)

Evan's wife and kids are out of town for the weekend, and he's supposed to get some work done. He is interrupted by two girls who are lost. Evan lets them get inside safe from the rain, but it's soon revealed how big this mistake was.

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The first thing I can say about this movie is I'm glad it's over. I didn't exactly enjoy watching this movie, but this is not the kind of "glad it's over" that's result of a really boring, bad movie that mostly made me frustrated. I wanted to see this movie because it is directed by Eli Roth, yet I had no idea it would be this twisted and sick. And when we're talking about horror movies, twisted and sick isn't a bad thing. And the biggest reason for the relief when the closing credits start rolling is the fact that you feel so hopeless during the whole movie. Evan tries his best yet he can't do anything, and all that. While you're watching you think "Even if he is left alive, how could he ever overcome this", and all that.

While Knock Knock is just 99 minutes long, the structure is amazing. The film is very slow, yet that 99 minutes doesn't feel too short. The whole situation develops slowly: at first it's seemingly normal, then turns weird, then turns disturbing, then it's just twisted and you experience all kind of feelings in the "What The Fuck" -spectrum. And that's the most wonderful thing about this film. Every other good technical detail feels kind of blurred after this really fucked up story in general.

Since this film is a remake, it's hard to say which parts of the writing come from the original movie, and what comes from Roth, López, and Amoedo. The dialogue is good. I always say good things about horror movie dialogue: it's natural. Well, maybe not during the most stressful scenes, but when nothing bad is happening, the dialogue is natural, relaxed, and extremely realistic. Another interesting thing are the few humorous moments. The thing is, their timing makes them so bad. They shouldn't be funny but that's why they make you laugh or at least chuckle: they are so horrible, ironic, whatever is the right word.

There are a lot of weird, awkward moments. One semi-annoying scene was when Bel and Evan discussed music, and Evan talks about how diverse his taste in music is. That's like one, two lines, but it feels like it's the writers patting themselves on the back, because they know weird bands or artists they can use in the movie. While all of that chit chat type of dialogue is quite unnecessary, that felt even more gratuitous.

It's hard to say what score Knock Knock would deserve. I was mostly so disgusted and confused it was hard to concentrate to if this is good in the most objective way possible of reviewing a movie. Thinking about the story, cinematography, and all those little things, Knock Knock is average. A viewer's opinion is mostly affected by how you feel during this film. And you without a doubt feel sick and disgusted or maybe even angry about how a movie like this ruined your night. Well yeah, the writers probably wanted that to happen. I don't think a movie like Knock Knock is made so you can enjoy it, it's a sick, twisted horror movie. It's meant to make you feel negatively, so this film definitely did its job.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

6 / 10

Cabin Fever (2002)

Directed by; Eli Roth

Written by: Eli Roth & Randy Pearlstein 

Five college graduates rent a cabin. They realise too late that it's way too easy to catch flesh-eating viruses.

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I rented this movie today mostly because I loved Hostel movies directed and written by Eli Roth. I thought it would be interesting to see his earlier stuff. But funnily enough the most interesting thing about the whole thing is that it's listed as both "comedy" and "horror".  Watching the film I had no idea it was supposed to be a comedy as well. Sure, it's slightly absurd, but not so much I'd see right away that it's comedy. There are jokes there, of course, but there are in several horror films, and they aren't automatically comedies. Well, you can always learn more about movies...

The music in this film is completely unnerving. The soundtrack of this film is magnificent, and a good score always gives a horror film something extra. There are genres where it doesn't matter so much, but in horror it's surprisingly important. It keeps you on your toes. And even the lack of soundtrack is extremely effective in horror movies. But in Cabin Fever there is a soundtrack, and it works.

The thing about Cabin Fever is that there's no serial killer hunting the young characters. The "bad guy" of the film is a disease. And what's the thing about that? You can't outsmart it. But still, the characters are idiots. That is of course a typical trope in horror, but sometimes someone does something so obvious you want to punch them. Someone is infected and you decide go touch them? Yeah that's definitely a great idea!

Cabin Fever is thrilling, yet there's something about it that makes it slightly annoying. I enjoyed watching it this first time, when I have no clue what's going to happen, but I doubt I'm going to see it again.

☆☆☆☆☆

5 / 10

Hostel: Part II (2007)

Directed and written by: Eli Roth

Three American college students are travelling to Prague, but they are persuaded to take train from Prague to Slovakia. They stay at a hostel, and are soon to discover the grim truth about it.

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Yes, after the first one I wanted to see the second one, so here I am. 

While Hostel: Part II is very much alike to the first one, there's one main difference. After the first movie people know what is going on. People know what's going on in Hostel and who is torturing the others and all that. So that's why Hostel: Part II has a chance to explore the people killing more than the previous movie, that tried to keep that a mystery for as long as possible. The second movie introduces us to two possible killers and we follow them as we follow the girls we know are going to experience what the guys in the first movie experienced. And while Hostel films are pure horror, it's interesting to see the two possible killers and their personalities - and see the development in the characters. That shows some true writing skills from Eli Roth.

Another thing was that the three main characters were female in this film. This offers a lot more plot devices for the story. Now I was worried that the female characters would be the kind of typical horror movie girls, but something about how they were written reminds me of Death Proof. While the genres are different both Eli Roth and Quentin Tarantino have proven they can write very interesting women.

Also if the viewer has seen the first Hostel movie, the second one isn't as thrilling, because you already know how the system works. Of course there's still the violence and torture that create the horror, but the thrill is gone because you already know. And while  you still may be excited to see if the characters are going to survive, it's too easy. Who survives is following the pattern. But the "how" is much more interesting in Hostel: Part II than the first one. 

Otherwise Hostel: Part II is pretty similar to the first one, and it's hard to not to repeat myself apart from those three key differences that I just pointed out. But the thing is, of course it's similar. I didn't expect it to be different in a major way. Still, Hostel: Part II is just as interesting, even if some of the mystery is gone. While the themes and patterns are similar, there are so many new details that make this one worth watching if you have seen the first Hostel movie. 

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

8 / 10

Hostel (2005)

Directed and written by: Eli Roth

Three backpackers in Amsterdam hear good things about a hostel in Slovakia, where beautiful women are interested in getting bed with Americans. But when they get to the hostel, they have no idea what is really waiting for them.

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One of my friends talked about she'd want to watch movies by Eli Roth, but they are so full of gore she couldn't stand it. Then another friend mention she liked Hostel. I was torn between two options: I'd watch Hostel with the chance I might throw up or worse, or not watch it and feel like I missed out on something. I took the chance of throwing up, but I didn't!

First of all, it takes quite a while before all the torturing starts. And that's magnificent, because the opening credits hint of violence, so even if you'd watch this movie without knowing anything about it, you know something horrible is about to happen. But it doesn't happen right away and you just have to follow these three guys being gross and annoying, and you're just wondering when the torturing is going to start. And the longer it goes on, the more frustrating it is. You want the violence to start, so you can get it over with. The waiting is the most frustrating part about it, and Eli Roth handles that wonderfully. 

The characters of this movie are annoying. They are very gross and to be honest, during the start of the movie I was hoping they'd all die. And I didn't like them at any point of the movie. They were the typical characters in a horror movie. You want to yell at them because they don't see the imminent danger ahead of them. Still. I didn't want them to be tortured to death, so during the most suspenseful part I was on the edge of my seat, hoping they'd survive all that. 

About the suspenseful parts, wow! They were so thrilling I don't think I've ever been that thrilled while watching a horror movie. The suspense was killing me! It was so excellently written and shot, wow.

I will always praise horror movies for their dialogue. Especially in the beginning the dialogue is so ordinary, because nothing horrible is happening yet. It's real, it's the kind of dialogue you hear every day, and I love it, because while all the torture is going down, how realistic or amazing can dialogue be anyhow?

Hostel is the first movie of this type that I've seen, but I love it! Of course these kind of movies don't have much substance or themes or anything like that, but that's not what they are for!

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

9 / 10