Knackningar

After her release from psychiatric care, a woman's attempt to settle into a new apartment is disturbed by a series of upsetting events.

Not-so-tight psychological thriller that left me unsatisfied. The main strength is the lead performance, which presents a difficult character who causes everyone around to take a step back. Plenty of close-ups, and a couple of scenes where psychotic-breaks are represented by body-cam focused on the actor's face as she moves around.

The story tries to have the apartment block stand in for society, with its well-meaning but uncomprehending reaction to the protagonist's deteriorating state. But it also seems to stand for her own psyche, as she insists that a woman is dying within its walls. It might have helped if we knew what she was actually missing through the unspecified tragedy in the flashbacks. Just companionship? But why would that induce psychosis? In the end the story seems to insist that the experience was all literally true, and does it through voice-over rather than imagery - not a great way to finish off a piece of cinema.

Just too many discrepancies left for me - am I supposed to believe the other residents and the social services were in bad faith? - and I always thinks it's a mistake for a psychic story to insist on literal truth, because it takes away the nuance that allows meaning to find a place in the gaps in the official version.

The editing is good, but the pace was a bit of a drag, mostly because the woman's behaviour became tiresome. Music and sound design created good tension.

Overall: Simple story that sedated its own psychology.

Knocking, directed by Frida Kempff, is a slow-burning psychological thriller that is equal parts haunting and frustrating. The film follows a woman named Molly who is released from a psychiatric hospital and moves into a new apartment, only to be tormented by a persistent knocking sound that nobody else seems to hear.

The film's cinematography and sound design are excellent, with Kempff using close-ups and atmospheric soundscapes to create an eerie and unsettling atmosphere. The film's lead actress, Cecilia Milocco, also delivers a strong performance, conveying both the vulnerability and the resilience of her character.

However, the film's pacing is a major issue, with the slow-burn approach feeling unnecessarily stretched out and repetitive at times. The film also struggles to balance its psychological and supernatural elements, with the latter feeling tacked on and underdeveloped.

The film's themes of trauma and gaslighting are timely and relevant, but the film's execution falls short of fully exploring them in a meaningful way. The film's ending, while intriguing, is also frustratingly vague and leaves too many unanswered questions.

Great performance from the lead. I felt her fear and anxiety the entire runtime. My wife and I were both felt so stressed and empathetic to the protagonists suffering.

After sitting with the ending overnight, I also really enjoyed it. It leaves me feeling happy, oddly enough.

Perhaps my favorite horror from Sundance? Censor was good too.

Give it a watch and stress out with our hero!

Knocking is more of a psychological thriller than a classic horror film, dealing with the idea of gaslighting and mental illness.

The story could be summed up in a sentence and the pacing is rather slow, but the cinematography is great - and as the film progresses so do the mental prisons of it's protagonist break and reveal the true reality.

Great movie. I worked at a Psychiatric Hospital and the character Molly, magnificently played by the actress Milloco, is an example of how a psychotic in crisis lives. Perfect direction, congratulations.