Knocking (2021) Review

After the traumatic loss of her partner, Molly (Cecilia Milocco) moves into a new apartment in an attempt to move on from her suffering. Once moved in Molly begins to hear a series of frequent knocking from the floor above, sending her spiralling into a frenzy of paranoia and angst. The knocking soon turns to crying and screaming as Molly attempts to unravel what is truly happening within her apartment building, in a place where no one believes her warnings.

There has been a distinct influx in quarantine-esque cinema within the past year, ones that embody the agonising claustrophobia of our Covid-19 endeavours. Some recent flicks capitalise on the current pandemic in a more outlandish sense (who’d have thought zombie apocalypse films would make great Coronavirus metaphors ey!), and others take its simplistic torment of personal struggles and amplify them ten fold.

Knocking is very much of the latter, a Swedish fever-dream experience hellbent on reintroducing us to feel trapped in the thick air of our sweaty four walls. In its portrayal, this is a different flavour of claustrophobia, one that feels fresh, traumatic and hauntingly current.

Knocking is a daring and thought-provoking piece of psychological cinema, one that never fully realises the creepiness of its set-up but one that does a fine job in its craftsmanship of paranoia and trauma. The suspense itself is in its title, using the repetition of the knocking to build its own essence of terror as it slow burns its way to a satisfying conclusion. Knocking is never outright terrifying, but it really doesn’t need to be nor does it feel like that’s its goal – It’s simply not that kind of film.

What Knocking achieves however is an unshakable creepiness that slithers under your skin and rattles you right up until its final reel. Who is doing the knocking? Where is it coming from? Is there really a woman in peril? Or is Molly simply the one who needs the help? These are the questions Director Frida Kempff shackles us with, burdoining us with these questions right up until the curtains close and the credits roll. 

Where Knocking works best is in its portrayal of grief and loneliness, themes that are fully realised by the cloggy damp apartment that you can almost taste and smell. It’s an unpleasant experience, but one that forces us to endure all that torments our tight-lipped focal point Molly (Cecilla Milocco).

The loss of her loved one is traumatic, and is executed with such a beautiful simplicity in how it shows how our protagonist deals with grief. The dream sequences, the calling and listening to her partner’s voicemails and the eventual visual hallucinations really gives us a deep understanding of the importance of Molly’s loved one, and the traumatic effects of what happens when they’ve gone. All of this is amplified by the subtly of it being a Queer love story, and the respect woven throughout for it not to be a focal point of homophobic slurs or violence. It’s refreshing to see LGBTQ+ love stories in this genre without it becoming a factor in the protagonist’s downfall.

As Knocking carries on it begins to unpack the paranoia of the knocking itself, and the frequent cries for help that soon follow. At a brisk 78 minutes, it’s surprising how it can begin to drag around the middle mark, reiterating familiar beats that came before it with little to no variation. It’s evident the narrative itself has its limitations, that once we get an understanding of Molly’s grief-stricken mind and we’re familiarised with the questionable sounds from the floor above, Knocking fails to venture anywhere else until its final few minutes.

Once we have come to terms with Molly’s frantic portrayal we are left with essentially two options; are the cries for help real or is it all part of Molly’s mental deterioration. The symbolism between Molly’s lack of control over losing her partner at sea, having zero control over that situation, paired with the helpless cries of the woman above are evident, even if they do wear thin after a while. A short film formula could have benefited this story immensely, but the overall result here was still effective nonetheless. 

Whilst Knocking’s vessel for horror is in its psychological presence of grief, which will surely not be for everyone’s pallet; it is still a traumatic and effective portrayal in paranoia and trauma with a lingering eeriness. It’s a smart and discomforting experience, one you can’t knock until you try it.

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