KNOCKING – A woman leaves a psychiatric ward to take up residence in a block of flats. From somewhere in the building comes the sound of someone knocking… cue suspense when our new tenant tries to find out what’s going on. ‘Knocking’ is a well-made horror/thriller that uses its apartment setting to claustrophobic effect. There are vague echoes of the likes of ‘Repulsion’ in that the whole trope of the possible encroaching madness of an isolated woman is played upon, but never too clumsily, and the film benefits from a narrative that always stays slightly aloof and doesn’t spell things out. The atmosphere of murky tension is backed up by good cinematography that accentuates the bleakness of the main character’s condition, not to mention her interior décor, which is a bit on the sickly side. But then again, you should see mine. I’m kidding, my flat’s quite nice actually, and so it should be, it’s a bloody rip-off and means I have to resort to streaming instead of splurging on the real thing. Would I splurge on ‘Knocking’? Well, I liked it, I guess what it’s saying is ultimately quite familiar, but ‘Knocking’ is a deftly insidious slow-burn that knows how to coax its viewer into a state of unease.
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