Natty Knocks (2023) review – Dwight Little’s new halloween slasher

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are reviewing slasher-horror movie Natty Knocks from 2023. Considering this is a brand new movie that you can find completely free on Tubi, I am actually kinda surprised at just how high profile of a cast and crew we have here.

Reuniting horror legends

This movie reunites Halloween 4‘s director Dwight Little with scream queen Danielle Harris while throwing horror vets Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street) and Bill Moseley (Night of the Living Dead) into the mix. It’s got to be good, right? If not for slasher scares then for star power, alone.

“The reuniting of Dwight Little and Danielle Harris for the first time since Halloween 4 should have been a significant event; instead it feels like an afterthought.”

Natty Knocks follows the legend of a woman who was supposedly burned alive back in the 70s, coming back from the dead to haunt the residents of her former home town. The folk legend has lead to the creation of a popular game called Natty Knocks where kids knock 9 times at a person’s door before running away.

While playing Natty Knocks at a house in the lead up to Halloween, teenager Wyatt (Thomas Robie) witnesses a woman being brutally attacked. Determined to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding the woman’s identity, Wyatt and his babysitter, Britt (Charlotte Fountain-Jardim), find themselves on the wrong side of a vicious killer with a dark past.

Familiar slasher fare

Let’s be honest for a second here, this is a movie that doesn’t exactly get off to a glowing start. Everything about Natty Knocks feels extremely familiar and very tropey. Characters are your typical horror movie stereotypes; the virtuous babysitter, the teen protagonist with a heart of gold, the easily spooked little sister, and the protagonist’s rebellious friend.

They feel like they have been ripped right out of the pages of a “slasher horror 101” playbook. It’s not exactly promising and certainly doesn’t inspire much hope. The plot plays out in a similarly familiar manner, with a rudimentary backstory to explain the dark history of the town.

“Characters feel like they have been ripped right out of the pages of a slasher horror 101 playbook. It certainly doesn’t inspire much hope.”

You know exactly how this one is going to play out. The kids are going to find themselves in a bit of trouble and a maniacal killer is going to attack random people in an almost motiveless manner. It is one of those movies that is so generic that I guarantee you would instantly forget about it were it not for the stellar cast.

Story woes!

That speaks to the biggest issue with Natty Knocks. You have seen it all before in movies that do a much better job of executing. It is predictable, not very scary, overly concerned with its boring backstory, and feels far longer than its 90+ minute run time.

This wouldn’t be such a problem if the plot didn’t feel so damn disconnected but that’s just not the case. It really lacks in cohesion and bounces around mercilessly. One minute we are developing the lore of the town only for that to be pushed to one side for some boring character drama and lousy kills. There’s a vague attempt to tie things back together at the end that actually serves to make it worse.

“The thing that serves to distinguish good slashers from bad is the inclusion of some great kills and a compelling antagonist. Natty Knocks has none of those things.”

It’s messy and flows very poorly. Slashers are, by and large, derivative by nature. The thing that serves to distinguish good from bad is the inclusion of some great kills, a compelling antagonist, a protagonist that is easy to root for, and interesting lore. Natty Knocks has none of those things.

Kills are dull, the plot is instantly forgettable, the antagonist is one of the most uninspired and boring in recent slasher history, and the protagonists are completely forgettable. There’s nothing to hold onto here. I can’t recommend a movie purely based on the fact that you will recognise some of the names. When you realise that those stars comprise only a tiny portion of the runtime, you will feel very cheated.

A few plus points

That doesn’t mean that Natty Knocks is entirely without positives. It is very clear that Little wanted to try and recapture some of that 70’s and 80’s style horror magic that made the Halloween movies so great. To be honest, the aesthetics actually go some way towards achieving that.

It’s easy to appreciate just how much of a throwback Natty Knocks is to a beloved period in horror. It almost feels like slipping on a familiar piece of clothing. It’s not trying to be edgy or mature, it is a simple and straightforward Halloween slasher.

This is less of a plus and more of a nod to the fan-service. But, as a 90’s kid that grew up with the A Nightmare on Elm Street series and the Halloween movies, it is really cool to see Danielle Harris and Robert Englund performing together in a horror movie in 2023.

Harris is still a fantastic actor and it is a crime that she never managed to break through to Hollywood. I would have been really grateful to see a more fleshed out role for her here. The reuniting of Dwight Little and Danielle Harris for the first time since Halloween 4 should have been a significant event. Instead it feels like an afterthought.

Still, Harris is good here in a small role. Englund’s role is even smaller but he does a great job. Both Englund and Harris feel infinitely more experienced than most of the cast. Bill Moseley does a good job too but his character is rather underwhelming.

A competent cast

With all of the above being said, it’s hard not to smile seeing these familiar faces on screen together. Besides Moseley, they really are only here for fan service though, almost like a favour to the director. The young cast are going to be dominating the vast majority of the screen-time.

Charlotte Fountain-Jardim, as Britt, is a very promising actor but definitely needs more experience. Sometimes she is great and feels perfect for the role, other times her delivery is a little off. Especially when it comes to some of her facial expressions when tasked with not talking and just emoting. She defaults to an uncomfortable smile.

Thomas Robie is simply a “default teen protagonist” with almost no variation from every other similar role in horror history. He doesn’t do anything bad but doesn’t really stand out, either. I don’t think that is down to him so much as it is the poor writing. His character is just so damn generic.

Again, he has a good look so will probably do really well in the future. Noen Perez, as Wyatt’s friend Robby, has a bit of an overly rehearsed feeling to his line delivery. His role was fun, though, if nothing else. Amit Sarin, as Ajay, was a fun character and made me laugh. He feels almost cartoon like but it kind of works for some reason. All in all, everyone is pretty decent. 

Direction is a bit lacking

Dwight Little is an incredibly experienced director and it feels like he could have put this movie together in his sleep. It’s basic and nothing stands out in a glaring fashion one way or another. Pacing is a problem, though. As mentioned above, the movie feels too long and the story plays out in a messy manner.

“Sure, this is a slasher-horror tradition, but the characters here feel stupid beyond belief.”

Little has a tendency to have his characters do the dumbest things, as well. Sure, this is a slasher-horror tradition, but the characters here feel stupid beyond belief. It will have you rolling your eyes repeatedly. Later parts of the movie take some massive liberties with logic, as well. Especially regarding just how capable our antagonist is. 

I absolutely hated a few of Little’s shots and they definitely need pointing out. One, in particular, featuring a character looking at the camera’s point of focus through a mirror was one of the worst shots I have seen in horror in a long time. It felt painfully amateurish for such an experienced director. Characters making eye contact with the camera almost never works.

Benjamin Olson’s script was a big let down. It is predictable, lacking nuance, and frequently makes characters sound incredibly stupid. This is compounded by the fact that the characters act dumb, as well, as I referred to earlier. Somehow Harris and Englund manage to drag decent performances out of the script which shows their talent because it is pretty damn bad throughout. 

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