Synopsis
Alone, and targeted on an isolated farm, 12 year old Henry finds himself at the center of a maelstrom of terror, and a dark family legacy, when his secretive grandfather dies suddenly in the night.
2018 Directed by Michael Peterson
Alone, and targeted on an isolated farm, 12 year old Henry finds himself at the center of a maelstrom of terror, and a dark family legacy, when his secretive grandfather dies suddenly in the night.
너클볼, Наклбол, 웰컴 투 헬 하우스, 凛冬秘辛, Sozinho com o Inimigo
It’s kind of like The Shining and Home Alone hooked up and made a super twisted little cat and mouse nightmare baby.
I really liked this “cat and mouse” isolation horror jam! It’s set in the dead of winter so I definitely want to revisit it that time next year and see if that changes my rating but for now I found it entertaining in spite of its flaws. Also, I should probably watch it sober for a fair assessment but whatever, that’s not my preferred state of mind and if anything that would hurt my rating and why tf would I want to do that?!
The film looks very good and has great direction. The lead child actor is perfectly cast and Micael Ironside is always a welcome addition to any horror movie. The two actors who play the parents are so fucking stilted that I figure it has to be intentional even if I’m not sure of the point it was trying to accomplish.
What an excellent lil winter chiller to start my holiday watches off on the right foot! A young kid gets left at his gruff Grandfathers farm while his parents go away to a family funeral, and after Gramps up and croaks in the middle of the night, his deep dark secrets start coming to light... and the psycho pervy neighbor from down the way comes by with some secrets of his own.
I absolutely LOVE the setting here. A cold and desolate spot in the middle of the Alberta prairies (aka nowheresville), so isolated and completely devoid of life, buried under a thick blanket of snow. The perfect place for some Home Alone inspired chaos to unfold. Things go from…
Knuckleball plays like a darker, grittier version of films like Home Alone and Better Watch Out. A young boy is left at his estranged grandfather's house while his parents go to a funeral(seems like they would've taken him to but whatever). The grandfather dies in the middle of the night and the young boy goes to his neighbor for help. Unfortunately the neighbor is batshit crazy and has other, not so friendly plans for the young fella. Leading to a very intense game of cat and mouse in and around an isolated farm. It's also snowing heavily which adds to the coldness of the film.
The young boy and his psychotic suitor set traps and try to one up eachother…
A kid goes to stay with his grandfather on an isolated farm. Things get weird from there.
I couldn't help but think of this as Home Alone meets The Shining. In fact, there's one definite homage scene lifted completely out of The Shining, even the score suddenly went all Shining-ish. Then the lady sheriff shows up with her winter hat on and it felt like Fargo.
It's a small, Canadian, low budget movie, but it holds your attention for it's short running time, and there are surprises. Seeing Michael Ironside is always worthwhile.
I have some questions, but I liked this brisk one-location(-ish), wintery thriller.
Henry is left at his grandfather's (whom he's only met twice before) so his parents can go to a funeral. The actors playing the parents weren't the best, but it's OK as they have very little screentime (although, I did like Kathleen Munroe in The Void she was kinda wooden here. Lovely eyes though). Soon it's just Michael Ironside as gruff grandpa Jacob, Luca Villacis as resourceful kiddo Henry, and Munro Chambers as psychotic neighbor Dixon. And that's where the gold's at.
Grandpa Jacob dies in the middle of the night and when Henry goes to neighbor Dixon to use his phone, Dixon reveals he has uh... ill…
You might’ve seen Knuckleball compared to Home Alone, but that’s burying the lede on this mean wintry suspense thriller. Despite the best efforts by cutaways to a dull subplot, the tension gradually builds as a kid’s stay with his grandfather takes a brutal turn. The vicious cat-&-mouse resourcefulness and dark narrative depths remain intense throughout while Luca Villacis, Munro Chambers, and Michael Ironside play their parts well.
You know, catching the knuckleball, it’s like trying to catch a fly with a chopstick.
Home alone in the canadian middle of nowhere (although it's not a christmas movie).
the premise sounded good but I was expecting something else and not the direction it went to. If I had to describe it, it’s like Home Alone except with a psychopathic killer 🫠
A pretty slick and well-made low budget thriller, Knuckleball sets itself up beautifully but stumbles a bit on the home stretch. Imagine Home Alone was a movie NOT aimed at kids, and you'll hit very close to the plot of this movie.
The presence of Michael Ironside lifts the film considerably, but the whole cast is pretty good. My issue with the final reveal is that it doesn't seem to fit around Ironside's character as we had gotten to know him in the early stages of the movie - I found it pretty hard to swallow.
Gotta love me some straight up Canadian films eh 😁 rented this off of iTunes for like a buck or two & surprisingly it wasn’t half bad but it also wasn’t amazing although it was very bleak it still somehow kept you interested enough that you needed to see it through till the end. Very straight forward film that gets the job done but does have many flaws and questionable moments. I love that it’s filmed in Canada 🇨🇦 and the scenery was absolutely beautiful the whiteout snowfall ❄️ just added that touch to make it better !! For me personally this wasn’t really a horror film or anything scary, just like a snowy thriller to watch in the winter 🥶…