ThiefHott Too much of everything

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Justina The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Paul Andrews Knocking on Death's Door starts on a dark & stormy night as a policeman (Philip Sweeney) & Dr. Hadley (Colm O'Maonlai) break into the large isolated house belonging to Elizabeth Cartwright (Stella Feehilly) only to discover her dead body, her having apparently committed suicide with an OD. A violent force sweeps through the house & the cop has an axe embedded in his chest, Hadley manages to escape... Jump 'Twenty Years Later' & newly married parapsychologists Brad (Brian Bloom) & Danielle Gallagher (Kimberly Rowe) are told by their boss professor Paul Ballard (John Doe) that he wants them to investigate the ghostly goings on in the notorious Sunset House. They head straight there & set all their scientific equipment up in preparation, Brad is the brains & Danielle is the psychic one who can contact the 'other side'. It quickly turns out that the house is indeed haunted, from flying red hot pokers to killer Grandfather clocks & ghostly reflections in mirrors. Brad & Danielle feel there is more here than a simple haunting, the name Samuel is written in chalk on the basement floor & as they research Sunset House's history they find a dark & sinister past that still remains unresolved to this day...Directed by Mitch Marcus I actually thought Knocking on Death's Door was a decent film, surprisingly enough since it comes from king of the low-budget cheapies Roger Corman & his New Concorde production company. The script by Craig J. Nevius takes itself extremely seriously, it moves along at a fair pace & has most of the traditional haunted house clichés. Knocking on Death's Door concentrates on character's, story & atmosphere rather than cheap scares or gore. The ghost isn't overly hostile & certainly isn't scary as it tries to relay a message & settle old scores using Brad & Danielle. There is a fair amount of soap opera type drama but it sits quite well along side the supernatural happenings. One unusual aspect is that this ghost doesn't like anyone having sex & that's when it attacks people, in my opinion all this plot thread facilitates is to have brad & Danielle have sex & there's one bit when Danielle slips her hand down the front of her jeans & starts to masturbate at which our ghost is not best pleased... As one would expect it all rounds off with a twist climax & final revelation that to be honest is a little bit too obvious although is more than passable.Director Marcus manages to create a nice atmosphere overall although there's a lack of decent scares or jump out of your seat type moments. While Knocking on Death's Door doesn't have much in the way of visual style or flair it's well made & isn't as cheap looking as a lot of Corman productions. Apart from a gory axe killing at the start, a cut & some skeletal remains there is no blood or gore whatsoever although there is a fair amount of mild sex.Technically the film is fine & generally well made, it was shot in Ireland & for some reason takes no advantage of the location at all. The acting was decent enough & it's always nice to see David Carradine although bear in mind that even though he gets top billing in the opening credits he gets about 5 minutes of screen time, maybe he took the role because he wanted a free holiday in Ireland?Knocking on Death's Door is an alright little haunted house horror, I sub-genre that I don't usually like that much. I mean it's not brilliant or anything but you could do a lot worse. Worth a watch.

glassburn While the story lagged, in particular, with the Carradine character, and seemed mildly predictable around his character, Kimberly Rowe shone triumphantly. She demonstrated fine acting ability and followed through with a strong character development and portrayal until the end sequence.Brian Bloom again demonstrates his fine, handsome looks are yet only the front mask of an intense, estranged, and violently dangerous husband. This is the second film I saw him in, and is a great supporting role for him to keep under his belt.Check this one out!!!!

WritnGuy-2 Okay, not much of a title to this review, I know. But that was all I could say after watching this quite weak haunted house movie.Bloom and Rowe play a newly-married couple, Brad and Danielle Gallagher, who are also parapsychologists. They move into the Sunset House up in rural New England, the house supposedly and quite candidly haunted. Almost immediately, the ghost starts to lash out, but I won't tell you why, it's so cheesy. Like, there's a story behind it, but on the outside, his (the ghost's) motive is so dumb. Anyhoo, a drunken gravedigger with his interests set on Danielle and a creepy doctor (Carradine) are thrown in for good measurement. Anyhoo, things go on very timidly, with only a few creepy scenes. And then the ending which totally heightens the cheese factor, and a twist made painfully obvious. In any event, the acting is sort of average, as are the scares. Overall, a pretty cheesy movie, which, apparently, takes itself seriously. I didn't. You could do better, so pass over this one.

heavyC Being an admitted "haunted-house" movie nut, I'm always on the lookout for horror movies with more than just a maniac with a sharp object killing teenagers. Thanks to Roger Corman & Co. for coming through!The story follows a just-married husband and wife team of paranormal investigators who buy "Sunset House" and honeymoon there because of the ghost-rich history of the old place. Once inside, they don't have to wait long before not one but two ghosts take an interest in the wife (Kimberly Rowe). There are at least a few scenes with nudity and/or sex, and Rowe - who looks like Charlize Theron's slightly less beautiful sister - carries them well. Although there isn't much star-power here (just good ol' Corman-guy David Carradine, who looks more like his old-man in every film), I think it works for the film rather than against it. Having unfamiliar faces in the leads, and complete unknowns in the supporting roles (this one was filmed at Roger's new studio over in Ireland, but takes place in a New England town) - especially in horror movies - makes the suspension of disbelief happen easier. There are a couple of truly scary and disturbing images here, and the production values are really high considering the fact that it's from Roger Corman -King of Low Budgets. The story was solid, and holds up all the way to the end. No scratching of the head afterwards - no loose ends. All in all, I LIKED it! Reminded me of another Corman flick of a few years back - Spectre. Anyone who liked Burnt Offerings, Legend of Hell House, or even Poltergeist should rent this one when it hits home video this summer.