Reviews

• “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.”

• “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. ”

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

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

• “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.”

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

• “The film is impressively well made.”

• “Knocking is a Aronofsky-like knockout. ”

• “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.”

• “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. ”

• “Well worth watching in the cinema.”

• “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. ”

• “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. ”

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

• “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. ”

• “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.”

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

• “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.”