10 Years Before Ballerina, Keanu Reeves & Ana de Armas Starred In This Erotic Thriller With 37% RT

10 years before the release of From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, Keanu Reeves and Ana de Armas actually starred in an erotic thriller together called Knock Knock. The new Ballerina movie has earned a decent debut Rotten Tomatoes score of 77%, following Ana de Armas’ introduction to the franchise as the assassin, Eve. The John Wick spinoff movie also features a Keanu Reeves cameo as John Wick, with many critics praising his performance. However, Ballerina is not the first film de Armas and Reeves have appeared in together, making now the perfect time to revisit their previous collaboration.

Erotic thrillers were at the height of their popularity from the 1980s to the early 2000s, with iconic films like Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct (which both starred erotic thriller veteran Michael Douglas), and Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut. Therefore, it is quite strange that Eli Roth’s Knock Knock was released in 2015, especially considering Keanu Reeves had just debuted as John Wick the year prior. Nevertheless, Knock Knock is certainly an interesting movie, despite its less-than-stellar Rotten Tomatoes score, and offers a first look at an Ana de Armas and Keanu Reeves collaboration a decade before John Wick’s Ballerina.

Keanu Reeves & Ana de Armas Starred In 2015’s Knock Knock

Eli Roth’s Movie Was A Remake Of 1977’s Death Game

Knock Knock was inspired by 1977’s Death Game, an exploitation movie by Peter S. Traynor, with the plot very closely mirroring the original film, apart from a few modern touches. The movies follow a devoted husband being sexually coerced by two party-going young women, who seek shelter at his house during a rainstorm, only for them to torture, rape, and subsequently frame him. However, Knock Knock has some slight deviations from the original movie, following an architect called Evan Webber (Keanu Reeves), modernizing the concept with social media, changing the ending, and having a subplot surrounding Webber’s wife’s art.

Eli Roth’s dedication to remaking Death Game was even reflected in the involvement of the original stars and creator of the 1977 movie, as Traynor, as well as actors Sondra Locke and Colleen Camp, had a hand in producing Knock Knock. Unfortunately, this commitment also reflected the original film’s reception, as both movies received mixed-to-negative reviews for their misguided addition to the thriller genre. Knock Knock earned a 37% Tomatometer and 19% Popcornmeter, grossing $6.3 million on a $2 million budget. However, this Keanu Reeves movie definitely deserves more love, especially considering its significance for Ana de Armas.

Knock Knock Was Ana de Armas’ First Movie English-Speaking Role

The Movie Foreshadowed Ana de Armas & Keanu Reeves’ Ballerina Future

Born in Havana, Ana de Armas is a Cuban-Spanish actress who starred in many Spanish-language productions before her Hollywood breakout in the late 2010s. Armas rose to notoriety among Spanish audiences for starring as the character Carolina in the mystery drama thriller TV series El Internado for six seasons, from 2007 to 2010. While Ana de Armas has since appeared in many famous movies, Knock Knock actually marked de Armas’ first English-speaking movie role in Hollywood, making her role in the Keanu Reeves film somewhat of a personal milestone for the actress, after having a long career in Spanish roles.

*Debut scores, subject to change

Interestingly, as Knock Knock was Ana de Armas’ first English-speaking movie role, she learned all her lines phonetically. Regardless, this didn’t affect her performance much, as de Armas still played a convincing role as Bel in the film. Furthermore, just one year after Knock Knock, Ana de Armas teamed up with Keanu Reeves once again in 2016’s thriller, Exposed. Following these two collaborations, the actress had a breakthrough role in Blade Runner 2049 as Joi and Knives Out as Marta Cabrera, demonstrating her skills in Hollywood, which even led to a three-movie collaboration with Ana de Armas and Chris Evans.

Why Critics & Audiences Gave Knock Knock Such A Low Rotten Tomatoes Score

People Expected More From Keanu Reeves After 2014’s John Wick

Knock Knock earned considerably low scores from both critics and audiences alike, showcasing itself as one of Keanu Reeves’ lesser appreciated movies. According to various Rotten Tomatoes reviews, Knock Knock is “a dull homage to an exploitation flick,” with some even declaring it to be “awful” due to its poor writing, and its only redeeming factor is Keanu Reeves’ acting prowess. That being said, there are others who appreciated Knock Knock for its “uncomfortable” topics, stating that the film was better appreciated as a satirical comedy than the serious thriller that was marketed with the original film, Death Game.

With Keanu Reeves starring in 2014’s John Wick one year prior, audiences expected something much more impressive for his next role. Grossing $86 million and spawning a franchise, John Wick showed Reeves at his best – a highly skilled yet grounded assassin – demonstrating a brilliant mix of action and comedy. Therefore, Knock Knock’s left-field erotic thriller genre and Keanu Reeves’ “sacrificial lamb” character were rather jarring to John Wick fans. Nevertheless, Knock Knock is just one of those lesser-known thrillers that deserves to be seen at least once, especially as it foreshadows de Armas and Reeves’ John Wick future collaboration.

Despite being labeled an erotic thriller, Knock Knock is an unexpectedly camp movie by Keanu Reeves. In an interview with Complex in 2015, Reeves cited his character as, “one of the reasons that made the script and story so attractive.” With Reeves’ further comments about the “fun elements” to the film, and his comedic line deliveries, it becomes clear that Knock Knock may have suffered misleading marketing, as Reeves actively celebrates moments that reviewers disliked for being “misguided.” Yet, even stranger, it is surprising that this low-budget movie is actually darker than anything in Keanu Reeves’ assassin franchise.

Knock Knock Is Darker Than Anything In John Wick

Eli Roth’s Erotic Thriller Has Some Dark Moments

Considering just how many people are killed in the John Wick movies, it comes as a bit of a shock that Knock Knock is actually darker than a lot of elements in Keanu Reeves’ famous franchise. The reason for this is because, while John Wick follows a story about the deadly world of assassins – a world which frequently includes murder, betrayal, and torture – it tends to stay within its action genre, straying only slightly into comedy at times. Therefore, the themes present in John Wick are expected and commonplace for its genre, making it accessible to a wide audience.

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Conversely, Knock Knock delivers a much more psychologically stimulating premise, discussing heavy topics that aren’t as commonly explored. Reeves’ complex character causes his own downfall through his infidelity, yet viewers are still made to sympathize, especially when Bel and Genesis sexually assault him and then post the act on social media, forever tainting his image. Furthermore, home invasion-style movies like Keanu Reeves and Ana de Armas’ Knock Knock have a deeper psychological impact compared to action movies like John Wick, as they directly challenge audiences’ perceptions on the safety of their own homes, making them considerably darker in some ways.

Sources: Complex, Rotten Tomatoes

Knock Knock

Release Date

October 9, 2015

Runtime

96minutes

Director

Eli Roth

Writers

Guillermo Amoedo, Nicolás López, Eli Roth