Knock

*Knock* is the upcoming sophomoric feature film from Jarrod Van Hauen. Set to release on November 11th, 2022, it is written by Mike Barkhoff and stars Barkhoff, Sarah Kellysen, and Harry Scott.

## Plot

Wesley drives down a rainy road before returning home to work where he listens to his true crime podcast and hears about a missing child from the 1980s in Iowa. He hears a strange sound coming from his house and goes to investigate it with a knife.

Wesley talks to his therapist, Ms. Andrews, about the incident and she proposes his mental state is deteriorating. Wesley's friend, Ferris, talks to him about life and through the conversation it is revealed Wesley recently lost his wife and kid to unknown circumstances. After Wesley jokes about killing, Ferris suddenly departs the conversation, upsetting Wesley to the point he considers self harm. Ferris then replies via text and tells Wesley he will call him later as his phone acted up and ended their conversation.

Wesley talks to Ms. Andrews in a manner of which he'd be introducing himself to someone, here we learn he is a gardener for hire and sometimes considers stealing people's property. Ms. Andrews informs him that he shouldn't tell people the last part. Wesley's sanity spirals after receiving a call from his elderly neighbor whom he admits to finding attractive. The turn down results in him imagining romance with Ms. Andrews and threatening his elderly neighbor in a mirror by himself, before falling asleep and almost being late for work. The next time he talks to Ms. Andrews, he gets mad at her for falsely leading him on romantically, something she refuses to admit because it's not her intent. Wesley cuts off their therapy and collapses out of anger.

Upon awakening, Wesley hears knocking sounds once more in his house. Upon investigation, he discovers a girl in his basement who claims he has abducted her, an act he has no recollection of. Wesley's immediate response is anger but he mellows out and tries to make the victim happy by offering her food. Upstairs, whilst making food, Wesley contemplates putting pills on her food to make her silent.

The electricity goes out due to riots outside, and Wesley's attempt at being a good samaritan fall short when he realizes the phone lines to the cops are so busy he cannot reach them. Wesley then contacts Ferris and asks him to reach out to a cop in Wesley's town from his overseas location, hoping it'll have better luck.

Wesley returns downstairs and gives the girl a sandwich. They begin to talk about Wesley letting her go, with Wesley suggesting she was threatened on the street and went to his basement for safety (a safety protocal put in place following the world's downward spiral). The victim tries to work with Wesley's suggestions but Wesley defies them all with the fact the cops haven't replied. They begin to talk about their personal lives and open up to one another. The victim introduces herself as Veronica, and suggests they become romantically inclined and even offers they smoke weed in her pocket. There's then a knock at the door upstairs which prompts Wesley to scurry away.

Wesley answers the door to see a cop who is responding to Ferris' call. Wesley tells the cop that he checked his house and it is clear, but Veronica makes a noise and the cop demands in the house. Wesley lets the cop in but kills him when his back is turned, before locking the door and returning downstairs with a gun to find Veronica near her phone.

Wesley forces Veronica back into her corner and takes her phone. Looking through it, he sees Veronica has a boyfriend and his anger bursts. He threatens Veronica's life before returning upstairs to touch himself to Veronica's portraits on her phone. Wesley returns downstairs and kills Veronica after they torment each other verbally for a period of time.

Wesley buries the bodies and returns to the basement and scene of Veronica's abduction missing her. He talks to her as if she is still there and imagines that they get married, as he bought a ring for her. Wesley returns upstairs and tries to set up therapy again with Ms. Andrews, apologizing for his behavior. As Wesley does dishes and listens to his true crime podcast discussing Veronica, a case the cops are seemingly closing in on, he hears another knock and grabs a knife to investigate.

## Marketing

The film was announced in February 2022 and has been teased further in March 2022. Release dates teased have ranged from October to November.

A teaser poster commenced in February, following an article that confirmed the film and teased it's release, as well as cementing Sarah Kellysen as one of the leads. Harry Scott confirmed his participation in the film in March.

On May 31st, 2022, Live Free's Instagram revealed Behind The Scenes stills showcasing a photoshoot done by Kellysen for her character, a virtual meeting between her and Barkhoff, and a picture of lighting gel placed conveniently in between two levels of light frames for the scene's studio lighting taken during filming.

The first trailer for the film was released in July, followed by two posters releasing in the span of that month to September, when the film was discussed to varying degrees in varying methods, notably once on Stephen J. Holloran's YouTube, where the host pried the premise of the film out of his guest Mike Barkhoff.

On September 8th, a teaser released announcing the release date for the film would be confirmed in a second teaser the next day, as September 9th marked the four year anniversary of Barkhoff's first feature film INFINITE. Following the promise, on September 9th, the release date was confirmed for November 11th.

## Production

Barkhoff conceived the idea when considering a potential movie release for Halloween of 2021. He was incredibly busy at the time, so wanted a movie he could produce quickly, particularly because a proposed film set to release from Dylan Van Hauen during this timeframe hadn't even started filming.

Barkhoff ultimately let the project, and the Halloween release in 2021, go due to his schedule. He cited as the number one cause that there was no complete script. Following this, however, Barkhoff completed the script, wanting to release it in 2022. Initially, Barkhoff considered directing the film but decided against it, feeling like it was such an "interesting composition" to Van Hauen's previous film, "Death, My Darling" that it fit to keep it attached to that film in terms of production roles.

Upon partaking in the Live Free Podcast in January 2022, Sarah Kellysen suggested collaborating with Barkhoff on projects. Barkhoff gave her some suggestions and a secondary starring role in Knock struck her interest. Barkhoff also tasked Harry Scott, his co-lead on Drakoloid's Men of the House series, with a minor role.

In late May 2022, it was revealed that filming was underway and that Kellysen tutored Barkhoff on scene lighting for the film. The production was noted with being Barkhoff's first foray into expierementing with studio lighting for every single scene throughout production.

Barkhoff's first scene was filmed in early May of 2022 and was sent to Kellysen so she could film a scene of hers around it; Scott's scenes were completed as early as March of 2022. This was one of two films Scott collaborated on Barkhoff with in 2022 - the other being Monster At Home. Barkhoff's filming was delayed due to an injury to his toe. He resumed in June 2022.

Similar to Van Hauen's debut feature film, Barkhoff edited as filming concurred and sent over what he was working with to Van Hauen. Van Hauen had final say over scene usage, in particular for Sarah Kellysen's performance, as she recorded numerous takes.

As Writer/Producer, Barkhoff envisioned the film as being a "polar opposite" to Death, My Darling, as that film featured minimal sound effects and almost every scene featured a score. This film, meanwhile, relies heavily on natural sound effects and conversation, with only a handful of scenes being silent or bearing any kind of original music.

## Reception

Sarah Kellysen has been on record for complimenting the script.
Upon the film's release, it was met with critical acclaim. Piero D'agostino was vocal in complimenting the film, being proud of his music's usage in the film.