They Come Knocking – aka Into the Dark: They Come Knocking – is a 2019 American supernatural horror film directed by Adam Mason (I’m Just F*cking With You) from a screenplay by Shane and Carey Van Dyke (The Silence; The Sacred; Chernobyl Diaries). It is the latest entry in Blumhouse TV studio’s ‘Into the Dark’ series of anthology movies each of which is inspired by a holiday.
The movie stars Clayne Crawford, Viktoriya Dov, Josephine Langford (After), Lia Mchugh (The Lodge) and Robyn Lively (Teen Witch).
Plot:
After losing his wife to cancer, a father takes his two daughters on a road trip where he finds his family in the crosshairs of terrifying supernatural entities…
Reviews:
“All told, They Come Knocking is neither scary enough for a horror film, nor well-conceived enough to satisfy as a twisty psychological thriller. Where the movie does succeed is in its performances from actors willing to give their all to a script that certainly calls for it, but hardly earns it.” Arrow in the Head
” …anyone curious enough to fire it up on Hulu will find some effective surprises, and the film ends on a note that we haven’t seen in the series’ previous eight installments. Into the Dark: They Come Knocking is a middle-of-the-road entry, but it’s not without its moments.” Daily Dot
“What a creepy episode. Also extremely touching and beautiful. Despite Clayne Crawford being a bit of a dickhole in real life it seems, he does great work here as the father, as do Josephine Langford and Lia McHugh. Father Gore puts this up there with the better entries from Into the Dark.” Father Son Holy Gore
” …it remains a solidly entertaining entry delivering both horror and heart. The series still needs a bigger budget to help fill the feature-length running times with sharper cinematography, production design, and more, but for what it is this latest Into the Dark succeeds in bringing viewers back out into the light.” Film School Rejects
“Mason and the Van Dykes have collaborated to bring together a tear-jerking horror film with a message. It proves that the power of a family, a father‘s love and the love of his daughters, can be both the aggressor and relief of pure fear. Grief is the ultimate villain we struggle to shut out, but one we do not have to face completely alone. To put it simply, They Come Knocking is terrifying, and touching.” Nightmare on Film Street
“While the warning of holding onto grief and how powerful that emotion can be is a strong force within the script, the constant in-your-face emphasis ends up being a bit too much. That combined with a predictable plot makes me think this is more miss than a hit. Unlike its predecessors, this film won’t linger for long in the mind.” Sarah Musnicky, Nightmarish Conjurings
“While there’s clearly more to like here in terms of execution than recent installments of “Into the Dark,” They Come Knocking still sags due to its lengthy running time. There are just enough flashbacks to Val’s final days that it crosses the line from effective to manipulative.” RogerEbert.com
Release:
They Come Knocking streamed on Hulu from 7 June 2019.
Cast and characters:
- Clayne Crawford … Nathan
- Viktoriya Dov … Beta
- Josephine Langford … Clair
- Robyn Lively … Val
- Lia McHugh … Maggie Singer
- Christian Roberts … Dead Hiker
