Keanu Reevesis a rare type in Hollywood. He’s a bona fide A-lister and one of the only celebrities who everyone agrees is a truly good person. Just look at how he turnedJohn Wickinto a modern-dayhit action franchise. Establishing a successful new franchise in today’s crowded action market isn’t easy. But Reeves' assassin has given us four films and a spin-off television series.
The upcoming film,From the World of John Wick: Ballerina,will be a spin-off led byAna de Armas. But that doesn’t mean that we won’t be seeing Mr. Wick. The trailers make sure to emphasize his presence.Ballerinais likely to be a success and one of the better collaborations between Reeves and de Armas. What, you didn’t know that these two had appeared together before? Well, they have, sharing the screen in 2015’sKnock Knockand 2016’sExposed. Neither one of these enjoyed particular critical or commercial success, so you’d be forgiven for not remembering them. But let’s take a look at these two forgotten flicks. Why did they fall so flat with proven stars in the leading roles? And what else should we know?
What Happens in ‘Knock Knock’ and ‘Exposed’?
Knock Knock
Spoilers to follow.Knock Knockis a horror-thrillerhailing from director Eli Roth.However, the story itself is actually a remake of 1977’sDeath Game, directed by Peter S. Traynor. Reeves stars as Evan Webber, an architect who spends a weekend at home alone while his wife and children are on vacation. Two women named Genesis and Bel (Lorenza Izzo and Ana de Armas) knock on Evan’s door during a rainstorm and ask to use his phone to look for a party they’re planning to attend.
But they don’t leave and manage to seduce Evan into sleeping with them. They eventually torment Evan, forcing him into increasingly desperate situations, killing his wife’s visiting assistant in the process, before revealing their true intentions. Colleen Camp, who starred in the originalDeath Game, also produces and has a cameo role here.
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Exposedis another horror thriller by writer/director Gee Malik Linton, who used a pseudonym upon release. More on that later. Reeves plays a police officer, Detective Scott Galban, who investigates the circumstances surrounding the death of his partner, Detective Joey Cullen. But Galban’s colleagues fear that investigating Cullen’s death will bring his depraved past actions, such as assaulting a young ex-convict, to light. The film also follows a young woman named Isabel,played by de Armas. Isabel believes she can see angels in the streets and befriends a young woman whom she believes is being abused. At first, the two stories appear unrelated. That is, until Isabel’s connection to Cullen’s crimes and the toll it took on her mental health is revealed.
Why ‘Knock Knock’ and ‘Exposed’ Flopped
On the surface,Knock KnockandExposedseem like your standard horror/thriller films. There’s nothing outside the box here, but also nothing that’s offensively awful. But both films had significant flaws that contributed to their failure. TheKnock Knockflop is the more straightforward of the two. Most critics agreed that its tone and story did not mesh. The plotline was repetitive, and the tone was overly campy. It took a satirical approach to the home invasion horror trope, which didn’t work when it tried to be serious. But Reeves' performance was praised, as was the concept of never opening your home to strangers.Knock Knocknetted around $6.3 million worldwide against its modest $10 million budget.It is available to stream on Pluto TV, Peacock, and Roku.
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Exposedhas the more interesting flop story. Remember how the director used a pseudonym? Linton’s original story was a bilingual drama in the vein ofPan’s Labyrinth. The themes would have included sensitive topics like mass incarceration and violence against women and children. However,Lionsgate executives mistakenly believed thatExposedwas your run-of-the-mill Keanu Reeves cop drama. They ran with this angle and changed the story during production, believing it would have broader appeal. But Linton disagreed with their changes and asked for his name to be taken off the final cut. The studio changed Linton’s name to ‘Declan Dale’ as a result.
Maybe Lionsgate should have stuck with Linton’s version.Exposednetted just $270,000 at the box office, and it holds a rotten 8% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics slammed the plot as boring and contrived, though they praised the cast.Exposedcan be streamed on Sling, Philo, Peacock, Prime Video, and Roku.
BothKnock KnockandExposedsuffered from fatal flaws in their narratives that ultimately overpowered any strong suits. Would they have fared better had they been made today? In the mid-2010s, Ana de Armas was not a household name. She wouldn’t truly break out into the mainstream until 2019’sKnives Out. De Armas' increased name recognition today may have produced a better result, but nothing’s for sure. Let’s hope that the nextJohn Wickproject is the successful collaboration these two A-listers deserve.From the World of John Wick: Ballerinais in theatersJune 6.
