Neverknock (2017 TV Movie) User Reviews (19)

Neverknock: What a shame, should have been better

[Platypuschow · 6/10 · 24 November 2017]

The Scyfy Channel are infamous for their bad films but it's rare they do horror. History has shown they can actually pull it off and within the first 15 minutes of Neverknock I was oddly gripped.

The film was tense, the concept original and I expected this to turn out to be a surprisingly entertaining little gem.

Sadly the movie runs out of steam quite early on, as if they ran out of ideas. Alas this doesn't turn around and plods along to a laughable pitiful finale that I actually did facepalm at.

Don't get me wrong Neverknock has a lot going for it and is still perfectly watchable, it's just one of those films that should/could have been so much better.

Further to its credit it actually looks great and raises the question why more Scyfy originals don't have the same level of cgi and practical effects.

Starring former child star favourite Jodelle Ferland this is still worth your time but don't expect the greatness that it failed to attain.

The Good:

Original

Fairly decent kills

Good antagonist

The Bad:

Loses steam real quick

Incredibly dumb ending

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

I suddenly want to knock on that door just to see what I'm scared of

Preying on worst fears

[TheLittleSongbird · 4/10 · 8 June 2018]

Saw 'Neverknock', being fond of horror regardless of budget (even if not my favourite genre) and being intrigued somewhat by the idea. Being behind on my film watching and reviewing, with a long to watch and review list that keeps getting longer, it took me a while to get round to watching and reviewing it.

Giving 'Neverknock' a fair chance with being interest and apprehension, it turned out to be better than expected. It is still a rather mediocre film and the potential, while not wasted, is not fully lived up to. Considering the large number of films seen recently being mediocre and less and wasting potential, was expecting worse and was relieved that while wanting in a fair few areas it was actually one of my better recent low-budget viewings.

'Neverknock' started off quite well, the first twenty minutes or so starting the film off on a promising, unsettling and atmospheric note that really does intrigue. The antagonist was creepy at times and there are a few neat kills.

Production values did have some eeriness and nowhere near as cheap as expected, and the music, which not the most memorable in the world, didn't detract from the atmosphere.

The setting is effectively spooky and a few actors were not bad. There are spooky and suspenseful moments and it isn't dull in the first, and the storytelling at first does intrigue.

However, the story was severely wanting in the second half after starting off promisingly. It is very disjointed and after the promising start the final third especially loses atmosphere, one loses interest and things start to not make sense. Too much of the film is vague and doesn't explore some elements and story strands enough, parts are so silly it is hard to take it seriously or trying hard not to.

Ending is completely unsatisfying, so clumsy, predictable, cheesy and stupid. Got the sense that the writers didn't know how to end the film. Would have liked much more tension and suspense, scares could have been more consistent and some weren't surprising enough.

Found too the script to lack natural flow and with a fair bit of cheese and blandness going on, and the characters bland with some adopting some annoying and not always logical decision making. Too many of the actors are poor, Dominique Provost Chalkley grating on the nerves. The direction too often feels phoned in and most of the kills were uncreative and tame. Even the antagonist got cheesy as the film progressed.

Altogether, mediocre but could have been worse. 4/10 Bethany Cox

Seeming .. Perhaps Too Familiar.

[InDyingArms · 4/10 · 15 October 2017]

Syfy's time of the year is here - Returning TV movie director Sheldon Wilson takes on 2017 with Neverknock; In a sense we pretty much follow a group of friends who decide to embark the Halloween night out around the town. Said town has a legend upon a specific house, 59 Oakwood lane. While out, they overall provoke the legend - And have to now survive and then some. Honestly, compared to some other SyFy original Halloween films, this one isn't the all time worst. However not entirely great either. The plot is a clichéd endeavor for sure. How many times have we followed characters who decided to provoke a legend, thus leading them to constantly run from said legend / entity - uncovering more and more of it? Get ready to watch it again! Only this time it involves knocking on a door! The overall following story- line and plot just prevail as tired, as well as just something we've seen many times before in general. The entity / monster we get to watch actually seems to borrow heavily from iconic Freddy Krueger, seeming to lead on a demon contortionist version of him. This can only be emphasized if the movie is seen - to not spoil. To keep fair, however. This film manages to keep said creature interesting, leaving us to want more of him. His gimmick is, much like the plot, clichéd however. We've had such a gimmick through a threat also done plenty times before. However through a visual stand. The entity.. or "The Neverknocker" looked well done for the most part, standing out as practical, and not CGI, which for me personally was an interesting surprise; Going into this film completely blind, not knowing this was even premiering, the visuals including the Neverknocker, and overall camera work was all pleasant surprises, comparing to other SyFy films that is. The acting isn't the most abysmal either, with the exception that there are a select few that emphasize flimsy, as well as a few who seem to not even care. Looking back further upon the film however, most to pretty much all the characters weren't the more intriguing. The film seemed to focus solely upon their fears ( Which were the most common or basic. ) Not so much upon the characters themselves. We only truly focus on two characters, others there for the sake of dying, it'd seem. For what story or background was given, it wasn't the most in depth-given. Again, it seemed to give off a vibe that it was just there for the sake of being there, or giving the monster a motive. With the given story, really, the film seemed to drag upon getting to the point; Despite the overall pacing being actually decent, the point being drawn across the line was overly slow it felt. As audience, sitting there listening to out characters sit, yelling "JENNA, JENNA! WHERE ARE YOU!" Throughout the first 15 - 25 minutes or more of the film, we sit and listen to the characters yell each other's name, running around constantly continuing such, not ceasing to do so for a bit of a tediously long amount of time.

To conclude - If you're going into this with typical SyFy original movie expectations, you may find a slight, slight surprise or two. However this film is nowhere near special, spectacular, or unique. With a cliché, tired plot as well as creature flick motive / gimmick, In and out pointless characters, and rushed-like actions that follow. This film could've been so much worse - But still had relatively bad, noticeable cons. Though as said. This had a surprise or two. This wasn't the worse film. It just became tired after time as it used and based its entirety on a gimmick - The never-knocker. As said his motive is heavily similar to Freddy Kruger. ( I can't emphasize my view upon that factually enough. ) Fears kill. Hint, hint. Finally the payoff, ending perhaps even wasn't really worth the ride, lowering my view on this overall experience just a bit. Like this entire film, nothing spectacular, nothing new, and I could even go as far as to say disappointing. Would I recommend giving this film a watch? If you're bored, looking for something to just watch with a group of friends - This would probably be a good resort. This is simply another SyFy film with a bit of a pleasant little outcome. Note - LITTLE. But for me personally. It wasn't terrible; Just over the top cliché offerings that didn't totally work.

Kinda transparent

[oldguy7547 · 3/10 · 16 November 2017]

So this is the typical teenage scream movie. Dominique Provost-Chalkley spent two hours screaming throughout the whole thing. For me, it got to be too much. I like her in Wynona Earp but not so much in this movie. The really disappointing thing was the cheesy monster I think they could have done better. Anyway, after about 20 minutes I was pretty sure how it would end.

Pretty Bad

[jnmarable · 2/10 · 15 April 2018]

Knowing it was a SYFY film I didn't go in expecting too much which helped with the disappointment some. The opening scene was interesting but when you get to the main characters of the story it all goes downhill quick, unless you like watching characters running around endlessly and annoyingly yelling for someone for about 30 minutes. I got so tired of hearing "Jenna, Jenna, Jenna, where are you?!" Basic horror troupes. Can't outrun the monster, no one calls for help, yada, yada, yada. Not even sure who actually lived and who didn't because the end never really shows for sure. I give it 2 stars. One for an interesting concept. Too bad the concept didn't play out well. The second is for Jodelle Ferland, although how she got roped into making this movie I'll never know.

Nice Halloween ambiance and excellent malformed monster, but meh script

[Wuchakk · 4/10 · 17 October 2017]

RELEASED TO TV IN 2017 and written & directed by Sheldon Wilson, "Neverknock" concerns six teens that knock on a cursed house on Halloween. Unfortunately there's a demon linked to the entrance door and it only takes an itty bit of blood to trigger it, whereupon it preys on the fears of those present till they're dead.

I expected to like this flick after seeing the trailer and promotion pics, but it didn't work for me. First, the good news: The filmmaking is just fine (cinematography, editing, etc.). The turning-to-Fall locations and Halloween setting are great, especially the haunting graveyard and the hay maze. The lumbering, misshapen demon-creature is excellent in a creepy, almost shocking, sort of way. I don't know if it's a guy in a costume or CGI or both, but it's effective.

The no-name cast is decent and there are a few worthy females, but their presence is never properly highlighted (and I'm not talking about sleaze or nudity). The two most beautiful ones are the first to buy the farm (Kiriana Stanton in the prologue and, later, Eliana Jones, the 'cheerleader'). There's an eye-rolling insinuation of lesbianism regarding the two main girls (Dominique Provost-Chalkley & Jodelle Ferland), but it's so light it can be overlooked.

As the first act progressed and segued into the second act I found myself becoming disengaged, which continued till the close. It was an overall feeling of "Meh" and pointed to problems in the script. SOMETHING needed done to perk the movie out of the doldrums beyond the attributes noted above. It's a shame because everything was here for a great TV-budget horror flick. SOME of it works, though, and I appreciated the positives despite my tedium.

THE FILM RUNS about 90 minutes. There's no info on where it was shot, although it looks like the Northeast, e.g. Pennsylvania. Since it's a Canadian production, it might've been shot somewhere outside of Toronto or Montreal.

GRADE: C-

Neverknock

[a_baron · 4/10 · 1 July 2018]

This is a film on a far from original theme, even though it owes nothing to the "Halloween" franchise. In 1986, some kids knock on the door of a house at Halloween, something they are not supposed to do. They are murdered, and the first police officer on the scene - who reappears later in the film - sees something unreal.

Fastforward 31 years, and it's Halloween again. This time, whatever was inside emerges to wreak its horrors on the wider world. Then our first responder rescues two of the damsels, telling them this sort of thing has been happening in other locations for a long time, going back to at least the 1940s. The key to the mystery is the door to the house. And this is where the film really begins to lose its way because this line of investigation is not developed, instead the guy is killed off.

There is a bit more to it, the creature, daemon or whatever it is, feeds off fear, producing custom-made hallucinations for its victims, hallucinations that pack a punch or even burn. This could have been a decent film but it takes too much for granted, and the ending is utterly predictable.

daylight kills

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 20 November 2017]

In 1986 Halloween, 3 trick-or-treaters are killed after knocking on the door of 59 Oakwood Lane. One is found with Never Never Knock carved into his belly. The case remains unsolved and the house becomes urban legend over the next 40 years. In present day, Leah (Jodelle Ferland) and her friends invite troubled Grace (Dominique Provost-Chalkley) to a haunted house show. Grace survived a car fire which killed her mother. She brings along little sister Jenna. The group decides to do the Never Knock. Jenna disobeys Grace and knocks on the door after bloodying her hand.

Daylight often kills horrors. That is the major drawback in this movie. It would help in the kills and especially the CGI monster. All the CGI looks cheap which is par for TV movies. The idea of a creature killing with your greatest fear is good. The creature design is feasible and should only come on the screen after day turns into night. The horror designs are simply not good enough. It needs more creepy atmosphere. Otherwise, it's functional as a lower grade horror. The filmmaking is inferior but passable as a TV movie.

Knock knock..whose there?

[kermitdgorf123 · 7/10 · 15 October 2018]

Never Knock. A creature that knows your fears and uses them to kill you. Step above the usual Halloween themed scary movies. A case of young, mostly females. Urban legend has it if you knock 3 times on the door of a house that 3 kids were murdered in the creature will get you too. Shot mostly in day light..in cemetery and outdoors during trick or treating. Would have upped the scare quotation if entire film was set at night...but overall a good Halloween time horror film. Some good jump scare scenes. The creature itself is a cut above most B horror films. I watch a lot of fright type movies every October. I recommend this for a quiet night in October.

Keep your finger on the Fast Forward button.

[FloridaFred · 2/10 · 6 September 2018]

Low budget scream fest with lots of blood and gore. But the movie goes nowhere... the characters are dull and boring; the action (if you can call it that) is limited and stereotypical. How can a house that has seen multiple murders not be thoroughly investigated, and possibly demolished? Drive-In Movie silliness for high school kids. Don't waste your time.

Not meant to be studied. It's a decent Halloween date movie.

[gasport-08429 · 8/10 · 2 February 2021]

It was an all around fun story with relatable highschool students that only get borderline cliche at times. It has got some gore, but nothing too brutal. It's sorta like 'Monster House' so if that's nostalgic for you and you enjoy more adult horror movies then I think you'll have fun with this. It's a pretty original setup compared to most modern day horror films. My personal favorites are the ones that really terrify me, but I'm never upset to say I at least had a good time.

Don't come knockin' at this door

[michaelRokeefe · 6/10 · 9 August 2018]

A better than average SyFy feature and worth taking a look at every Halloween season. Back in 1986, three teens dressed in their best Halloween gear knocked on the door a 59 Oakwood Lane only to be brutally murdered. The years go by and "trick-or-treaters" are all advised not to visit that address on Halloween night. The local urban legend grows and when a couple of new kids come to town, what else is there to do but go to knock on that door in hopes of a good scare. Instead of some short lived chills, the never knock warning proved to be legit. A hideous creature is unleashed and ready to instill your worst fear.

Written and directed by Sheldon Wilson, this treat features tension, fear and a scary looking creature. Starring are: Dominique Provost-Chalkley, Jodelle Ferland, Klana Maderia, Varun Saranga, Lola Flanery and the Neverknock Creature played by Troy James.

Hallmark Channel of Horror

[deweypilot-119-166851 · 5/10 · 9 October 2020]

If you don't mind B-D list actors doing super predictable things then you will not be disappointed. Some decent special effects earned this rating.

Well, it's a movie

[el7 · 5/10 · 29 April 2021]

This movie exists in the strange neverland between 'it ain't bad, but Lord it ain't good' and 'not bad enough to motivate me to pick up the clicker.' It's fairly competent on a technical level, nowhere near as bad as The Midnight Man on an acting level, and the score was not distracting. A note on the acting: Jodelle Ferland is becoming a bona fide Scream Queen of our times. She deserves a better vehicle than this.

I did appreciate the misdirection in regards to who the real Final Girl is going to be. Another clever thing this movie did was to have the characters go through a pretty decent carnival haunted house at the beginning of the main plot, so that when the creature eventually comes knocking, the audience knows exactly what each character is most afraid of without exposition required.

This is one of those movies that uses urban legend as a backstory. In this case, it's a house where a lurid murder took place in the 1980's. We're shown this story in the cold open. Then we're shown a montage of reckless trick'r'treaters daring the entity to emerge from the door over several decades, but none of those people has the magic ingredient necessary to call forth the monster. I won't spoil that, but it will be obvious what that ingredient is from the very first act. The premise is fun, the setting of a small town Halloween is a classic, and the cast is comprised of TV stalwarts. This should be a slam dunk, but unfortunately in the second act we get treated to that hallmark of low budget TV horror: people running around in a dark place hollering out other people's names and yelling "What's happening?!" over and over again. This is filler, and if I never see one of these scenes again I'll be a pleased horror fan. But then the Neverknock ups its game and the kids each get treated to their greatest fear. You can base a drinking game around Gavin's. Drink an extra shot every time a particular character shows up to torment him covered in blood that only he can see (and it's more blood every single time, which gets to be kind of hilarious).

Eventually, though, the survivors have to discover the crusty old coot who knows the whole backstory and has been plotting the creature's demise ever since. Then we get the falling action and more screaming people's names in the dark before finally we get the reveal over who the real Final Girl is. I actually liked that part, YMMV. Character design of the creature is not too shabby, he's kind of like if the Jangly Man from Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark decided to put on the gimp suit from American Horror Story. That's when he's not masquerading as one character's deceased parent.

Overall, this movie isn't going to replace anything in my standard Halloween lineup, but if it comes on while I'm doing the dishes I won't turn it off.

What a turd

[draftdubya · 2/10 · 16 October 2017]

Some college aged nitwits takes a teen nitwit trick or treating. They go to a house (that should've razed since the first deaths) as a joke. Little nitwit knocks. All hell begins. The girl that was begging to go home gets killed second. the rest is just a pile of crap. I felt so bad for Jodell Ferland in this crap fest.

Knock, Knock, Nobody is There

[mfoda19 · 5/10 · 7 December 2017]

This is a Halloween-like movie, but it's not a Halloween movie. A group of friends goes to a cemetery, where rumor has it that there's a door you should NEVER knock on. One little girl decides to knock anyway. It's a myth, she believed. Only then all hell broke loose. She awakens a monster. A freakish-like monster starts to hunt them down one after the other in an expected, yet gripping way. The only message that you get out of this movie is that you have to face your fears no matter what. Sometimes fears are not real. They're just fears. That's what eventually happened in the movie. When the girl faced her fears, they vanished. They no longer existed. That's what the movie is trying to deliver.

Far better than expected SyFy Channel original

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 9/10 · 23 October 2017]

Decades after a horrific tragedy, a group of teens innocently partaking of a Halloween tradition release a ravenous creature in their small-town which begins feeding on their fears in order to kill them one-by-one and forces them to find a way to stop the creature's rampage.

This one here wasn't all that bad of an effort. One of the more prominent aspects of this one is the fact that this one really manages to incorporate a fine small-town feel throughout here. From the beginning with the crowded streets bustling with trick-or-treaters and seeing the decorations spread out here, it sets up the close-knit community very nicely while all the fine attractions and games that grounds this one nicely for its later set-up with the creature. Coming to life in the form of the superstitious ritual where the remote house is brought into play and the actions featured manage to give this the kind of charge which comes from this early setup as the idea that the creature needs to exploit your fears is woven nicely into the film as a whole. Those scenes here are where this one really works as the startling creepy ideas of their fears get exploited while in creepy locations, as the strong scenes in the haunted house where it features the fear of the lost sister and one characters' fear of blood to great effect in the darkened corridors of the house which gives this a strong and wholly stylish start to this. The later scenes here that take advantage of this factor, from the frantic search for her sister that includes the dizzying exploits in the corn maze to the scenes in the woods and finally them coming back into town where it shows how each one tends to let their fears get the better of them as they deal with the creature attacking them following an encounter. These offer up not only some rather fun action scenes here as the creature's constant activities bring about a thrilling pace while also giving this rather creepy moments. The other bit that works well here is the exceptional creature at the center of this one, which works so well here due to the idea of making this a real-life creature rather than a CGI creation as this blends into the scenes so well and adds an extra dimension to these scenes. Coupled with the fine gore featured, these here hold this one up rather nicely over it's few minor troublesome areas. The main sore point with this one is the fact that there's just way too much time spent in the first half of the group going around on the disappearance, tending to take up a little bit more time than would be expected in the corn-maze or out wandering the woods doing nothing but running in circles which is a bit redundant. As well, the final resolution to beat the monster is a bit weak and seems like a lame cheat to finally end it all which makes no sense and gives it a rather weak conclusion. Otherwise, there's a lot to like with this one.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Language.

Pretty good Saturday morning movie

[kjc-32205 · 9/10 · 11 July 2021]

Pretty good Saturday morning watch. Although the story is a little weak and the monster is not really scary, it was filmed pretty well and the acting was really good. I appreciate that it is void of the typical horror movie unnecessary ploys like bad language, objectification of female characters, and a foolish "funny" guy. It was just a pretty good movie that I would recommend and watch again. It has a air of realness and these actors- they are great! (well except for the extras)

Fun, bloody, surprisingly solid TV movie horror

[I_Ailurophile · 8/10 · 19 September 2022]

As one may expect of television productions, there's a certain lack of subtlety in the presentation. Plot development, characterizations, dialogue, and the writing and orchestration of scenes speak to us in no uncertain terms - not by way of being blunt and heavy-handed, but this is to say, just very direct and leaving little to the imagination. Even at that, though, there's a good bit of intelligence behind the narrative, and ultimately it's pretty well made. Count me as a fan; I think 'Neverknock' is pretty fun.

I really like the cast. The only actor I'm specifically familiar with is Dominique Provost-Chalkley, having loved them in 'Wynonna Earp,' but everynoe else on hand also impresses with the time they're given. Provost-Chalkley, Jodelle Ferland, Kiana Madeira, Varun Saranga, Lola Flanery, and Eliana Jones all give solid performances of capable range, nuance, and physicality that bring their characters to life and vividly realize their fear and terror. For that matter, hats off to Troy James, credited as the creature, as the unnatural body language he embraces absolutely adds to the horror thrills. Just as much as the ensemble, all the blood, gore, effects, and stunts look outstanding, alongside other visuals like costume design (James' suit above all), hair and makeup work, production design and art direction, and other visuals. Instances of pure CGI are sometimes less than seamless, but for as sparingly as they're employed, I'm not going to raise a fuss.

The core concept inherently demands suspension of disbelief, and at least to me feels a bit like an expansion of a story idea we might have gotten in R. L. Stine's 'Goosebumps' series. Even at that it's rather enticing, and as suggested, I think Sheldon Wilson's screenplay is great. The narrative is well written and compelling, taking classic horror ideas in a slightly different direction - and his direction is just as strong in my opinion. I'm also a big fan of Luke Sargent's editing, sharp and tight and especially important in a few scenes, and consideration for everything from cinematography to lighting is quite fine.

The climax, like the thematic content, is maybe a little too on the nose. When all is said and done there are tinges of inelegance in the writing in particular that keep this from being a perfectly gripping thrill ride; e.g., for declination of any lore to give explanation to the house in question, we're left to just take it at face value. 'Neverknock' is, however, much more well made than not, a fine exploration of the genre that surprisingly doesn't seem like it's been especially toned down for television. I'm not saying it's perfect and essential, but not least for a medium (and a specific network) known for low-grade schlock, I think this is an unexpectedly good slice of horror. Opinions will vary, but as far as I'm concerned 'Neverknock' is highly enjoyable and worthwhile.