Knackningar

Knackningar Knocking

When Molly moves into her new apartment after a tragic accident, a strange noise from upstairs begins to unnerve her. The disturbing knocking sounds like a call for help or perhaps a message in morse code. As its intensity grows, she confronts her neighbours but it becomes clear that no one can hear what she is hearing. As everyone starts to question Molly, including Molly herself, she is thrust into an unsettling quest to uncover the truth in a world where truth and reality appears to be just beyond her reach.

Based on Johan Theorin’s short story Knocks.

Awards

Narcisse Award Nominee (Best Feature Film) Switzerland 2021
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Reviews

  • “This Swedish psychological drama directed by Frida Kempff is a stifling, claustrophobic nightmare. /…/ Knocking does remarkably well to put us in the unsure shoes of someone struggling with their mental health. /…/ It’s a smouldering slow-burn of a movie that will linger in your mind for some time. ”

    ★★★★

    Starburst Magazine

  • “With Knocking, Kempff masterfully crafts the slow steady decline of a mind on edge. The director perfectly captures feelings of isolation and paranoia, and when coupled with Milocco’s excellent performance, the film takes on a life of its own. /…/ A real masterclass of building tension and character work. /…/ All will be kept on the edge of their seat.”

    ★★★★

    The Hollywood News, US

  • “A sharp debut. /…/ Strikingly atmospheric cinematography and an intense central performance.”

    Screen Daily, UK

  • “Frida Kempff embraces and revamps genre tropes, casting them in a trenchant feminist light and a character-specific poignancy. The action unfolds entirely through Molly’s perspective, and Cecilia Miloccco’s performance, by turns guarded and explosive, is gripping from first scene to last.”

    The Hollywood Reporter, US

  • “With Knocking, director Frida Kempff unleashes a film rich in textures and a foreboding atmosphere. /…/ Knocking is stunning. ”

    Slashfilm

  • Knocking is an elegant indictment of gaslighting culture, and Kempff uses it to take the audience to task over their own perceptions. ”

    Bloody Disgusting

  • Knocking is a Aronofsky-like knockout. ”

    Pajiba

  • “A sophisticated psychological horror and a masterclass in tension, spare dialogue, and intricate sound design. /…/ Frida Kempff’s film is as thought-provoking as it is unnerving. ”

    ★★★★

    The Queer Review

  • Knocking should create excitement around Kempff in the international directorial space. She crafts a film that grabs hold of you and doesn’t let go, one that’s equally absorbing in look and performance. ”

    ★★★★

    The Film Stage

  • “It doesn’t really matter if the knocking is real; what matters is that Molly believes it – but nobody believes her. A truly terrifying concept. ”

    ★★★★

    UK Film Review, UK

  • “Kempff’s film gets under the audience’s skin almost immediately. ”

    IndieWire, US

  • Knocking speaks volumes about the treatment of both women and those defined by a mental illness or episode. /…/ The ambiguity, and whose perspective you’re choosing to believe allows Knocking to haunt beyond the credits. ”

    IONCINEMA, US

  • Photography, sound, scenography… Everything is top class and contributes to the spectators practically taking a seat in Molly’s head, making it reminiscent of films like Repulsion or Hereditary, where the horror primarily lies in the characters’ own traumas.

    Aftonbladet, Sweden

  • Direction, flair, atmosphere – everything is in place here and creates a gripping discomfort. /… / Kempff employs the tools and tricks of the genre with assertiveness.

    SVT Kulturnyheterna, Sweden

  • “What a thriller. Skillfully executed and with an impressing Cecilia Milocco in the lead role. What an achievement. I get carried away, I feel her feelings and anxiety. /… / This director, Frida Kempff, I want to see more of ahead.”

    Kulturbloggen, Sweden

  • “The film is impressively well made.”

    Göteborgs-Posten, Sweden

  • Frida Kempff’s feature film debut Knocking mixes a deadly cocktail of mental illness, loneliness, female vulnerability and consuming feelings of guilt. The most successful Swedish film in the borderland between psychological thriller and horror in a long time.

    ★★★★

    Dagens Nyheter, Sweden

  • “Well worth watching in the cinema.”

    ★★★★

    Kulturnytt i P1, Sweden

Director
Photo: Johan Bergmark Frida Kempff
Premiere
2021
Genre
  • Thriller

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