But wait, there's more: Jess rattles off a list of times when she knew she loved her daughter. This should be the moment where the conversation gets dark; it should say something substantial about Jess' needyiness, something that links the scene to a later moment where she screams that Chloe "belongs." Because really, if you look past the lame-o, sub-"The Grudge"-style ghosts and the unfortunate twist ending, you'll find that "Don't Knock Twice" is about a maternal monster, though it takes some time for that dynamic to become clear. Unfortunately, "Don't Knock Twice" never goes anywhere interesting because its creators don't really know what to do with their characters.
For starters, we don't really know much about Jess and Chloe. All we know about Jess is that she's an American sculptor of some means married to wealthy lawyer Ben (Javier Botet)—and she used to have a substance abuse problem that drove Chloe into foster care. Now that Chloe is a teenager, Jess wants to reconnect ... though why it took so long is unclear. We don't know much more about Chloe: she's got a boyfriend named Danny (Jordan Bolger) and has a tendency to make bad decisions, like when Danny talks her into knocking twice on the front door of an abandoned home that's rumored to be haunted by a witch.
Let's step back a moment: why would you do this? Granted, there's more to this story than the initial set-up lets on, as we eventually learn that Chloe has a personal connection to the house's former inhabitant. But let's say you're watching this scene and trying to make sense of it as it happens, at a crucial moment when you're being dared to suspend your disbelief. Why wouldn't I throw my arms in the air when a pair of teens knock twice on a haunted house's door? It's right there in the title, which clearly indicates that knocking twice is forbidden! I mean, yes, by all means, kick the plot off as fast as you can, but come on! Sure enough, one scene later, a completely forgettable ghost who walks on all fours and communicates by croaking like a frog trapped in a vice invades Danny's apartment and abducts him.
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