Natty Knocks review.
Natty Knocks brings together genre legends for an original tale with a classic feel. If that feels like a lot of things pulling in different directions…you aren’t wrong. Thankfully, they’re good directions.
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Natty Knocks
Directed by Dwight H. Little
Written by Benjamin Olson
Starring Charlotte Fountain-Jardim, Thomas Robie, Bill Moseley, Danielle Harris and Robert Englund
Natty Knocks Review
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers is one of my favorite slasher sequels. For my money it is the Halloween sequel that feels the most like the original. Not that it feels the same…that it feels like what a movie made ten years later should. The director (Dwight H. Little) of that movie reunites with its star (Danielle Harris) for Natty Knocks. They bring genre legends Robert Englund and Bill Moseley along for a ride that feels like what a movie made 35 years after Halloween 4 should feel like.
That feel…something that came from your childhood with a fresh coat of paint on it…is not an easy thing to pull off. I liken it to the recent Capcom remakes of Resident Evil games. They don’t look like they used to (or even play like they used to) but they feel like you remember. If we had a nickel for every movie that got lost chasing this feeling, we could produce our own. Natty Knocks pulls it off effortlessly.
It begins by fleshing out its own legend. Natty Knocks was…well…a lot of things as we learn over the course of the story. A prostitute, a B-movie scream queen, a witch (probably). She is a woman of many talents. Too many if you ask the townsfolk who stole her away one night and lit her on fire. She swears revenge on them and their descendants. Natty Knocks becomes a town legend akin to the Candyman. And we’re off.
Flash forward to the modern day and we are introduced to many, many characters. Danielle Harris plays Diane, a mother of two (Wyatt and Jolie), who is separated from their absentee father. Their babysitter Britt (Charlotte Fountain-Jardim) is preparing for a collegiate future and dealing with her boyfriend. We also have Wyatt’s (Thomas Robie) friend Robby (Noen Perez) and his mother’s shady boyfriend. Robert Englund works with Diane as a realtor. Bill Moseley plays the antagonist of the piece Abner Honeywell. There’s also a police presence.
All of this leads to the first of two problems with Natty Knocks. Our point of view bounces around so many characters that it is difficult to figure out who the lead is…let alone connect to everyone. Britt settles into the apparent lead eventually…but we go on many side adventures with other characters even after that. Much of the first half of the movie is spent with Wyatt and Robby. When they appear to witness a murder at a supposed abandoned house…they launch an investigation into the matter.
That’s the second problem with Natty Knocks. I enjoy a good investigative horror movie as much as the next person. And…to be fair…Natty Knocks understands the pace with which to reveal information. It’s just not information you don’t already know or, at least, heavily assumed to be true. Much of it feels very procedural. Pieces of information are learned by different characters throughout…even though we are learning/already know it all. It can make your head spin trying to remember who knows what. It is smart enough to give Robert Englund the big exposition scene. If you need someone to fill you in on a long backstory…there are few people who can do it better.
With those notes out of the way…Natty Knocks is a good movie. Its classic feel houses some original ideas. The whole thing can be a bit confusing at times…but that’s by design. There may be less mayhem than you would expect in a modern horror story…but it makes the murders we get more impactful. By the time we get to the third act…Natty Knocks is humming. There’s enough suspense and murder to sustain the first hour…and a fun payoff to your investment after that. In particular, Natty Knocks delivers a dynamite ending.
Bill Moseley’s character is the most interesting one in the story. He sits in the abandoned house watching old Natty Knocks movies all day. He’s excellent as the clear bad guy who is exactly who you think he is. The whole cast turns in great performances from the genre stalwarts to the fresh faced. Each character gets their moment to shine (even and especially Robby’s mother’s boyfriend…who has maybe the best character arc in the movie). You’re just never quite able to pin down which character’s moment it is until it’s passed.
Natty Knocks waits a long time to get down to business with the main cast. It takes out ancillary characters for a while until it becomes its best self in the final act. It also leaves off in a place for a sequel. I hope it gets one. The world building here leads to a place you’d like to return to. Characters don’t all end up where you’d expect them too…which would be great to explore further in the future.
Scare Value
Natty Knocks feels like a movie you grew up with. That’s not an easy thing to pull off. Many have tried to do what director Dwight H. Little pulls off effortlessly. Using genre legends helps…but the vibe of the movie is what’s most impressive. There is some excellent world building here. The downside to that is that we don’t spend enough time with our (eventual) lead character. The climax feels diluted a bit because that is the first time the story truly becomes hers. Hopefully we see a sequel that explores everything (and everyone) in more detail.
3/5
Natty Knocks Link
Rent/Buy on VOD from Vudu
