Knock Knock
When a devoted husband and father is left home alone for the weekend, two stranded young women unexpectedly knock on his door for help. What starts out as a kind gesture results in a dangerous seduction and a deadly game of cat and mouse. A sexy new thriller from director Eli Roth and written for the screen by Eli Roth & Nicolás López & Guillermo Amoedo and story by Anthony Overman and Michael Ronald, KNOCK KNOCK stars Keanu Reeves as the family man who falls into temptation and Lorenza Izzo and Ana de Armas as the seductresses who wreak havoc upon his life, turning a married man's dark fantasy into his worst nightmare.
The film underperformed commercially against its limited budget of $10.0M, earning $6.3M globally (-37% loss). While initial box office returns were modest, the film has gained appreciation for its unique voice within the crime genre.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Knock Knock (2015) reveals meticulously timed story structure, characteristic of Eli Roth's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 39 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.1, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Evan Webber enjoys a peaceful Sunday morning with his loving wife and children in their beautiful home, establishing his role as devoted family man and architect.. The analysis reveals that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 11 minutes when Two young women, Genesis and Bel, arrive at his door on a rainy night claiming to be lost and needing help, disrupting his solitary weekend.. At 11% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 26 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 26% of the runtime. This demonstrates the protagonist's commitment to Evan makes the active choice to have sex with both women, crossing the moral boundary and betraying his marriage vows despite knowing it's wrong., moving from reaction to action.
At 50 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Notably, this crucial beat Evan is bound and tortured, realizing this isn't a misunderstanding but a deliberate game. His attempts to reason or escape have failed; stakes escalate to life and death., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 74 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Evan is buried alive in his backyard, facing literal death and the complete destruction of his life, family, and reputation through the uploaded video confession., shows the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 80 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 81% of the runtime. Evan is dug up by the women who reveal it was all a game; they leave him alive but destroyed, forcing him to live with consequences rather than escape through death., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Knock Knock's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs proven narrative structure principles that track dramatic progression. By mapping Knock Knock against these established plot points, we can identify how Eli Roth utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Knock Knock within the crime genre.
Eli Roth's Structural Approach
Among the 9 Eli Roth films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.0, demonstrating varied approaches to story architecture. Knock Knock represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Eli Roth filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional crime films include The Bad Guys, Batman Forever and 12 Rounds. For more Eli Roth analyses, see Borderlands, The House with a Clock in Its Walls and The Green Inferno.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Evan Webber enjoys a peaceful Sunday morning with his loving wife and children in their beautiful home, establishing his role as devoted family man and architect.
Theme
Wife Karen mentions trust and boundaries before leaving, foreshadowing the film's exploration of temptation, fidelity, and consequences of transgression.
Worldbuilding
Family departs for weekend getaway, leaving Evan alone to work. His comfortable life, marriage, and moral framework are established through domestic interactions.
Disruption
Two young women, Genesis and Bel, arrive at his door on a rainy night claiming to be lost and needing help, disrupting his solitary weekend.
Resistance
Evan debates whether to let them stay, tries to maintain boundaries, calls them a rideshare, but their seductive behavior increasingly tests his resistance.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Evan makes the active choice to have sex with both women, crossing the moral boundary and betraying his marriage vows despite knowing it's wrong.
Mirror World
The women transform from seductive visitors into manipulative tormentors, revealing this encounter will teach Evan harsh lessons about his choices and vulnerability.
Premise
The psychological torture begins as the women refuse to leave, destroy his property, and reveal they are underage, exploring the premise of consequences for moral transgression.
Midpoint
Evan is bound and tortured, realizing this isn't a misunderstanding but a deliberate game. His attempts to reason or escape have failed; stakes escalate to life and death.
Opposition
The women gain complete control, humiliating Evan, recording his confessions, destroying his art and home, while he becomes increasingly desperate and powerless.
Collapse
Evan is buried alive in his backyard, facing literal death and the complete destruction of his life, family, and reputation through the uploaded video confession.
Crisis
Buried and helpless, Evan confronts the consequences of his choices in darkness, processing the complete annihilation of his former life.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Evan is dug up by the women who reveal it was all a game; they leave him alive but destroyed, forcing him to live with consequences rather than escape through death.
Synthesis
Evan must face his family's return to a destroyed home and viral confession video, the full synthesis of his moral failure manifesting in total life collapse.
Transformation
Evan sits in his destroyed home, broken and alone, transformed from comfortable family man into exposed transgressor facing permanent consequences—a corruption arc completed.