The kid does a great job! It really is like a scary version of Home Alone. Very enjoyable!
49 Reviews
Better than expected
kelleybyes14 April 2019
Nasty Little Horror Tale
larrys317 August 2019
One of these horror films that if one looks too closely at some of the preposterous plot elements it could be a turn off. Instead, I recommend just going with the flow and getting caught up in the most bizarre , bloody, and outrageous happenings on screen.
To me, it had some similar elements to the classic horror tale "The Shining". Director Michael Peterson and writer Kevin Cockle do not shy away from many grim and dark twists and turns
Certainly kept me guessing how this would all turn out, and on the whole the movie proved to be a nasty little horror tale.
To me, it had some similar elements to the classic horror tale "The Shining". Director Michael Peterson and writer Kevin Cockle do not shy away from many grim and dark twists and turns
Certainly kept me guessing how this would all turn out, and on the whole the movie proved to be a nasty little horror tale.
Low budget gem.
mac-ginty10 October 2018
A young/teenage boy is left at his Grandfathers while his parents go to a funeral. His Grandfather (Michael Ironside) teachs him how to pitch hence the title. Then things go awry.I was rather impressed by the claustrophic feel of this film. At times it plays like a grown up version of Home Alone, at others it reminded me of The Shining. I would recommend you avoid the trailer as it has spoilers and just watch it. A small cast in one location is often the way way to go in low budget efforts and this does it really well. Michael Ironside in a fat suit is a bit wasted though. Well worth seeking out.
The Best Thing About This Movie...****Spoilers
Mehki_Girl2 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
... was that smart kid. Others make comparing to Home alone and The Shining, but I didn't draw the link.
The movie starts of good in setting up forboding and being unsure about grandpa and his treatment of the boy when the issues leave him their to attend a funeral. However, while he's gruff with the boy, the boy doesn't appear to be afraid of him and you see some real affection for him from grandpa.
At one point a young male comes over from the next farm and offers to show him around but the boy is leery and so are you, the viewer. We see grandpa smack him one and send him off and I wondered if he meant to molest the boy.
What I liked most about this is that for the most part the kid made good decisions.
*******Warning Major Spoilers Below**********
That day, grandpa has some chest pains he shrugs off. During the night, grandpa dies and it's already set up that there is poor cell service, the kid's cell battery is dying, and a storm is brewing, so you know the kid's going to be isolated.
When he finds grandpa dead, he goes to the next farm and we get a better gander at the young male and he's very creepy. The kid's on alert and is watching him carefully. When he gives him soda to drink, the kid is smart and switches glasses with him, and, well you have to watch the rest.
In the end you have some idea of family secrets. Let's just say, I think the situation in the basement was temporary to prevent the grandson from meeting this person.
*******Big Spoiler Ahead*********"" "" "" One thing though that you may not have noticed: on.the drive up, mom drops a dark blue bottle of pills. Clearly she has some issues with depression or anxiety as she found hey mother hung in the barn street dad had an affair when she killed herself. Pills from this same colored bottle is what the young male puts in the drink that got switched and we see him hallucinate grandpa. Time and again throughout the chase he sees grandpa.
At the end we see the kid, seeing grandpa looking back at him as the family drives away and I think this was a clever way to say some mental illness runs through this family on Grandpa's side and this kid may have it.
The movie starts of good in setting up forboding and being unsure about grandpa and his treatment of the boy when the issues leave him their to attend a funeral. However, while he's gruff with the boy, the boy doesn't appear to be afraid of him and you see some real affection for him from grandpa.
At one point a young male comes over from the next farm and offers to show him around but the boy is leery and so are you, the viewer. We see grandpa smack him one and send him off and I wondered if he meant to molest the boy.
What I liked most about this is that for the most part the kid made good decisions.
*******Warning Major Spoilers Below**********
That day, grandpa has some chest pains he shrugs off. During the night, grandpa dies and it's already set up that there is poor cell service, the kid's cell battery is dying, and a storm is brewing, so you know the kid's going to be isolated.
When he finds grandpa dead, he goes to the next farm and we get a better gander at the young male and he's very creepy. The kid's on alert and is watching him carefully. When he gives him soda to drink, the kid is smart and switches glasses with him, and, well you have to watch the rest.
In the end you have some idea of family secrets. Let's just say, I think the situation in the basement was temporary to prevent the grandson from meeting this person.
*******Big Spoiler Ahead*********"" "" "" One thing though that you may not have noticed: on.the drive up, mom drops a dark blue bottle of pills. Clearly she has some issues with depression or anxiety as she found hey mother hung in the barn street dad had an affair when she killed herself. Pills from this same colored bottle is what the young male puts in the drink that got switched and we see him hallucinate grandpa. Time and again throughout the chase he sees grandpa.
At the end we see the kid, seeing grandpa looking back at him as the family drives away and I think this was a clever way to say some mental illness runs through this family on Grandpa's side and this kid may have it.
Adapting Home Alone into horror
SamlerSmoelf13 April 2018
Knuckleball is director Michael Peterson's first feature length foray into the horror genre. It is a huge improvement over his previous feature Lloyd the Conqueror, and works very well for a genre movie, with intense atmosphere throughout, some inventive scenes involving traps, even if more such scenes could have elevated the film to be a true classic in the genre.
The plot tells the story of a young boy being left with his grandfather in the country while his parents travel to a funeral elsewhere. Soon, the visit turn into a gruesome story of trying to survive a home invasion, from a deranged maniac, laying traps and uncovering some terrible secrets about the family's past.
Plotwise, the story draws many storybeats from Home Alone, with the boys parents having left him on his own, but then sensing something is wrong and hurrying back, while the boy is desperately fighting to protect himself and his home, by building death traps from whatever is lying around the grandfather's home. However, the storyline has been transplanted into the horror genre, and as such, the violence is somewhat more gruesome, and the implications of what will happen if he doesn't stop the intruder places the stakes much higher and really helps to bring the tension up.
About halfway through the movie, things take a turn for the darker, and the movie shifts the focus away from trap building towards exploring the backstory of the setting. Unlike many similar genre film, Knuckleduster manage to set up every plotline in advance without breaking the pacing. That said, having the inventive death traps in the first half of the movie does put a damper on what is probably the most enjoyable part of the film. Sure the story is effective in its own way, but the film is based around a gimmick that could be taken further to great effect. Sadly it ends up feeling like the latter half of the film was just a bit less fun for that reason.
The film does falter to a few clichés towards the end which further hampers the enjoyment that was derived from the central gimmick of the movie, and seem to be mostly included because that is what is expected from such films.
That said, Knuckleball is a very serviceable film, and a coherent and enjoyable horror flick from first-time horror director Michael Peterson. I recommend it to any fan of the genre.
A special quick note: Knuckleball takes place in the present day, and not only cleverly manages to deal with smart-phones in a way that does not feel contrived and immersion breaking. It is also interestingly done from a visual standpoint, and is worth checking out for anything dealing with similar issues in their film-making.
The plot tells the story of a young boy being left with his grandfather in the country while his parents travel to a funeral elsewhere. Soon, the visit turn into a gruesome story of trying to survive a home invasion, from a deranged maniac, laying traps and uncovering some terrible secrets about the family's past.
Plotwise, the story draws many storybeats from Home Alone, with the boys parents having left him on his own, but then sensing something is wrong and hurrying back, while the boy is desperately fighting to protect himself and his home, by building death traps from whatever is lying around the grandfather's home. However, the storyline has been transplanted into the horror genre, and as such, the violence is somewhat more gruesome, and the implications of what will happen if he doesn't stop the intruder places the stakes much higher and really helps to bring the tension up.
About halfway through the movie, things take a turn for the darker, and the movie shifts the focus away from trap building towards exploring the backstory of the setting. Unlike many similar genre film, Knuckleduster manage to set up every plotline in advance without breaking the pacing. That said, having the inventive death traps in the first half of the movie does put a damper on what is probably the most enjoyable part of the film. Sure the story is effective in its own way, but the film is based around a gimmick that could be taken further to great effect. Sadly it ends up feeling like the latter half of the film was just a bit less fun for that reason.
The film does falter to a few clichés towards the end which further hampers the enjoyment that was derived from the central gimmick of the movie, and seem to be mostly included because that is what is expected from such films.
That said, Knuckleball is a very serviceable film, and a coherent and enjoyable horror flick from first-time horror director Michael Peterson. I recommend it to any fan of the genre.
A special quick note: Knuckleball takes place in the present day, and not only cleverly manages to deal with smart-phones in a way that does not feel contrived and immersion breaking. It is also interestingly done from a visual standpoint, and is worth checking out for anything dealing with similar issues in their film-making.
Knuckleball? More like blueballs
karlyrouth29 March 2019
This could have, should have been a 10! It had all the potential but struck out using too much 'why' and not enough 'how'. Up until the last 15 minutes it's was fulfilling, I was anxious and stressed for this kid! But I was excited for the climax and much anticipated, bloody backstory for some answers!
It had so many ideas that pretty much all went untouched in the end... so many routes.. so many possibilities... I had my hopes set on a particular storyline/direction for the finale, but as it got closer to the end of the film and more apparent that what I wanted to see wasn't gonna happen? I was hoping for just any ending that was pulled together in time. But... it never does. This film has about 25 potential alternate endings without ever actually ending with any decency. Although it showed promise, had great acting, and decent effects... it never finishes. Got me all worked up and left me hangin! I could've given Knuckleball a better rating if I wasn't still so butthurt from the climactic letdown...
Home alone horror
Saiph9030 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I thought I would be clever drawing the Home Alone theme but nearly every reviewer has drawn the comparisons. I enjoyed this, simple plot but paced enough to be enjoyable. Young lad left with his grandad, his parents are off to a funeral. Transpires the daughter found her mother had hung herself in the barn due to her husbands affair. The grandad dies in his sleep and the strange neighbour takes an unhealthy interest in the boy. From playing video games in the back of the car he changes into a ninja warrior with SAS skills, barbed wire, petrol bombs. The neighbour turns out to be his step brother and the woman the grandad had an affair with is locked in the basement. Overall excellent cinematography, music score and well acted, enjoyable.
How is this a thriller?
sshears-7533427 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
What rubbish, B movie or not it's a horror movie pretending to be something else. As for knuckleball, tenuous title that's nothing to do with the film. As for film synopsis, 'Home alone with blood splatter, with the obligatory rural psychopath and his basement.'
Don't bother.
Can't believe this is Canadian
FejOnFilms5 October 2019
Only watch if you're desperate to fill in 90 minutes.
CabbageCustard19 January 2022
I'm not a real fan of scary movies, but that doesn't matter with this flick because there isn't much scary about it.
You have to feel sorry for Henry, the protagonist of this tale. His parents have dumped him on his surly grandpa who Henry doesn't seem to know too well; grandpa's young neighbour is a homicidal fruitcake and has designs of some sorton Henry; and, saddest of all, his parents are two of the most painful, self-absorbed an d irritating people to ever produce a child together.
There are a couple of good things about this movie: it's always good to see Michael Ironside in a movie, although his presence is wasted here, and the young lad playing Henry seems to be a reasonable actor. That's about it though. The story of this movie is derivative, unoriginal, far-fetched and predictable. There is no tension and no moments that have you sitting on the end of your seat. There are also a number of plot 'twists' (for want of a better word) that are never explained and just leave you with questions at the end of the movie. Other than the two aforementioned actors, the acting in this does not stand out.
Like I said, only watch this if you want to fill 90 minutes and can't find anything else.
You have to feel sorry for Henry, the protagonist of this tale. His parents have dumped him on his surly grandpa who Henry doesn't seem to know too well; grandpa's young neighbour is a homicidal fruitcake and has designs of some sorton Henry; and, saddest of all, his parents are two of the most painful, self-absorbed an d irritating people to ever produce a child together.
There are a couple of good things about this movie: it's always good to see Michael Ironside in a movie, although his presence is wasted here, and the young lad playing Henry seems to be a reasonable actor. That's about it though. The story of this movie is derivative, unoriginal, far-fetched and predictable. There is no tension and no moments that have you sitting on the end of your seat. There are also a number of plot 'twists' (for want of a better word) that are never explained and just leave you with questions at the end of the movie. Other than the two aforementioned actors, the acting in this does not stand out.
Like I said, only watch this if you want to fill 90 minutes and can't find anything else.
One of the better B-grade low budget films I've seen in a while
Top_Dawg_Critic10 October 2018
This film was better than expected. It certainly is no Hollywood blockbuster, but clearly a well made low budget film that used its budget wisely.
The directing was great - especially the camera shots and angles. The cinematography was perfect for the landscape. Even the score was surprisingly great for a B-grade film. The 89 min length was perfect as was the pace. The writing was good, as the tension was constant throughout the story, but I would liked to have seen a bit more 'pow' in certain scenes - maybe more of the creative Home Alone antics.
Nevertheless, novice director/writer Michael Peterson who's resume is mostly short films and documentaries did an outstanding job with this film.
Aside from well known actor Michael Ironside, the rest of the cast are pretty much C-listers as I've never heard of them. All performed quite well, with the exception of Chenier Hundal as the dad who I felt was too bland and seemed as if this was his first acting role.
Otherwise a very good film that I do recommend. An honest and well deserved 8/10 from me.
The directing was great - especially the camera shots and angles. The cinematography was perfect for the landscape. Even the score was surprisingly great for a B-grade film. The 89 min length was perfect as was the pace. The writing was good, as the tension was constant throughout the story, but I would liked to have seen a bit more 'pow' in certain scenes - maybe more of the creative Home Alone antics.
Nevertheless, novice director/writer Michael Peterson who's resume is mostly short films and documentaries did an outstanding job with this film.
Aside from well known actor Michael Ironside, the rest of the cast are pretty much C-listers as I've never heard of them. All performed quite well, with the exception of Chenier Hundal as the dad who I felt was too bland and seemed as if this was his first acting role.
Otherwise a very good film that I do recommend. An honest and well deserved 8/10 from me.
Perfect title, great thriller
Indyrod6 December 2018
This is a one hell of a good thriller, that starts out slowly and builds and builds to a conclusion, that is totally a shock. The parents of their young son Henry, have to drop him off at his grandpas at his farm in the country, played flawlessly by Michael Ironside, while they leave to go to a funeral. After Grandpa has a heart attack doing the night and dies, Henry is left alone and goes to the closest neighbor, who happens to be a psycho killer. Henry escapes and goes back to his Grandpa's house, and prepares for the psycho killer to come after him, which he does. Henry, for a young boy, gets ready. That's the meat of the buildup, and things from there get very very dicey.
I just loved this movie, it is the kind of thriller that's white knuckles all the way until a very big twist ending, that nobody is going to see coming. I recommend this one very highly, I just loved it from start to finish. 4/5
I just loved this movie, it is the kind of thriller that's white knuckles all the way until a very big twist ending, that nobody is going to see coming. I recommend this one very highly, I just loved it from start to finish. 4/5
Dumbest move I've ever watched
readyplayerone-6324111 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Makes no sense.
The fact that he had to kill a cop over some dumb vengeance over his father who kept him as the secret child and that he had to kill his younger brother because he was the smarter one. Dumb concept for a movie.
Also, the ghost apparition of the grandpa makes no sense at all. So he dies and comes back as a ghost or vision to remind the assailant that the kid was the smarter one and that he was the loser.
MMK.
0/10 for not making any sense.
The fact that he had to kill a cop over some dumb vengeance over his father who kept him as the secret child and that he had to kill his younger brother because he was the smarter one. Dumb concept for a movie.
Also, the ghost apparition of the grandpa makes no sense at all. So he dies and comes back as a ghost or vision to remind the assailant that the kid was the smarter one and that he was the loser.
MMK.
0/10 for not making any sense.
Missing some pieces but still decent
jmbovan-47-16017327 October 2020
There's just a little something left unsaid and unknown; otherwise this could have been a better film. That being said, what is present is a decent depiction of madness and survival. It has a slight nod to Home Alone, but the film takes a much more serious approach to the violence for survival. Not much in the way of set up and then the extended battle through most of the rest of the film makes for some tense pacing.
Great use of free time.
b0r3dg1rl20 May 2020
I recommend you avoid reading top reviews as I ended up reading spoilers for the "twist" before even starting the movie. You are better off going in knowing nothing.
7/10 because it's not easy to keep me off the phone during movies, and it definitely did. Also it was nice seeing Munro Chambers all grown up.
7/10 because it's not easy to keep me off the phone during movies, and it definitely did. Also it was nice seeing Munro Chambers all grown up.
Even if you can overlook the wishy-washy story it still isn't much of a thriller
jimbo-53-18651124 July 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Mother Mary (Kathleen Munroe) and Paul (Chenier Hundal) leave their 12 year old son Henry (Luca Villacis) with Mary's father Jacob (Michael Ironside) so that they can fly out to attend a cousin's funeral. Initially all is well (albeit Henry isn't quite at home with his granddad's quirky ways). However, Jacob's sudden death overnight sets off a chain reaction consisting of Henry being pursued and terrorised and finds himself in a battle of wits to try to thwart his pursuer...
As I've stated in my review summary Knuckleball is poor as a thriller, but worse than that are the numerous things with the characters/narrative that just didn't make sense; for a start, Mary mentions that she doesn't like her father's home and that she didn't like going there because she believes that her mother killed herself because her father had an affair. If that's the case then why on earth would you be happy for your child to stay somewhere that you wouldn't want to stay particularly given what had happened to Mary's mother? It seemed very odd to me and it felt like the parent's couldn't wait to leave their son with Jacob and get as far away as possible (which is what they did). The father's general disinterest with his own son's well-being was another puzzling element to the story - I thought at first I missed something and that he was perhaps Henry's stepfather (which would make his passiveness a little easier to believe, but I checked back at the start of the film and he is indeed Henry's dad so why the lackadaisical attitude?). To me this formed part of the problem as the parent's behaviour drew me slightly away from proceedings - the son leaves a voicemail message that they don't listen till until 2 days later? It meant to me that the film lacked any real sense of urgency.
Where the film is at its overall weakest however is definitely in the first half of the picture; you can actually fast-forward through the first 30 minutes and you would barely miss a thing. Michael Ironside grunts and mumbles his way through the film (with its poor storyline and low production values it did make me wonder what made him sign up to this project?). His grandson is subjected to labour intensive tasks and throws a baseball at a wall a few times and then Jacob pops his clogs which then just becomes a catalyst for the final sequence of events.
The finale sees Henry fighting to survive against his step uncle/uncle Dixon (Munro Chambers) who has murderous intentions on his mind - is he just naturally crazy or is he hacked off that Jacob insisted that Dixon remained his dirty secret? Perhaps it was a bit of both because if he was just hacked off with Jacob then why try and kill Henry? Playing out like a cross between Home Alone and The Shining the battle of wits between Henry and Jacob in the latter stages of the film do give the picture a slight lift, but only on odd occasions. Oh yeah and one other thing that I thought was pretty stupid was when Henry's parents return at the end and they're able to enter a murder scene unchallenged by any police officers? Surely the area would have been cordoned off in the real world??
Had it actually worked as a thriller I could have overlooked many of the puzzling elements involving the story/characters then it would probably would have been something I would recommend in the mould of a 'leave your brain at the door type film.' But the fact that it lacks any significant moments of terror or suspense results in it being a tedious waste of 80 odd minutes.
Ending on a positive I did think that Chambers & Villacis were pretty good in their respective roles.
As I've stated in my review summary Knuckleball is poor as a thriller, but worse than that are the numerous things with the characters/narrative that just didn't make sense; for a start, Mary mentions that she doesn't like her father's home and that she didn't like going there because she believes that her mother killed herself because her father had an affair. If that's the case then why on earth would you be happy for your child to stay somewhere that you wouldn't want to stay particularly given what had happened to Mary's mother? It seemed very odd to me and it felt like the parent's couldn't wait to leave their son with Jacob and get as far away as possible (which is what they did). The father's general disinterest with his own son's well-being was another puzzling element to the story - I thought at first I missed something and that he was perhaps Henry's stepfather (which would make his passiveness a little easier to believe, but I checked back at the start of the film and he is indeed Henry's dad so why the lackadaisical attitude?). To me this formed part of the problem as the parent's behaviour drew me slightly away from proceedings - the son leaves a voicemail message that they don't listen till until 2 days later? It meant to me that the film lacked any real sense of urgency.
Where the film is at its overall weakest however is definitely in the first half of the picture; you can actually fast-forward through the first 30 minutes and you would barely miss a thing. Michael Ironside grunts and mumbles his way through the film (with its poor storyline and low production values it did make me wonder what made him sign up to this project?). His grandson is subjected to labour intensive tasks and throws a baseball at a wall a few times and then Jacob pops his clogs which then just becomes a catalyst for the final sequence of events.
The finale sees Henry fighting to survive against his step uncle/uncle Dixon (Munro Chambers) who has murderous intentions on his mind - is he just naturally crazy or is he hacked off that Jacob insisted that Dixon remained his dirty secret? Perhaps it was a bit of both because if he was just hacked off with Jacob then why try and kill Henry? Playing out like a cross between Home Alone and The Shining the battle of wits between Henry and Jacob in the latter stages of the film do give the picture a slight lift, but only on odd occasions. Oh yeah and one other thing that I thought was pretty stupid was when Henry's parents return at the end and they're able to enter a murder scene unchallenged by any police officers? Surely the area would have been cordoned off in the real world??
Had it actually worked as a thriller I could have overlooked many of the puzzling elements involving the story/characters then it would probably would have been something I would recommend in the mould of a 'leave your brain at the door type film.' But the fact that it lacks any significant moments of terror or suspense results in it being a tedious waste of 80 odd minutes.
Ending on a positive I did think that Chambers & Villacis were pretty good in their respective roles.
Never dull
PsychoBeard6664 August 2021
Typical Mundane Thriller
twelve-house-books11 October 2018
This one has it all. The snowstorm, the family secret, ghosts, the imprisoned lunatic, the monster that cannot die, the innocent child, the help unable to arrive, and the bushwhacked cop. Two stars for good acting. Mediocre and guessable plot. Unless you like the inside-the-box thriller so common these days, skip this one.
Not Too Bad
Foutainoflife25 February 2019
A kid is taken to his grandfather's rural home for a stay while his parents are out of town. When the boy wakes the next morning, grandpa has died in his sleep. Without a phone and having met the neighbor the day before, the boy goes to him for help. The more time he spends with the man, the stranger he behaves and it doesn't take long for the kid to realize he's in danger.
Not an unheard of plot. There are some plot holes and things left unexplained but it wasn't so bad that I couldn't overlook them. If you are in the mood to watch a film about a kid using his wits to survive a psychopath this isn't perfect but it is a decent choice.
Not an unheard of plot. There are some plot holes and things left unexplained but it wasn't so bad that I couldn't overlook them. If you are in the mood to watch a film about a kid using his wits to survive a psychopath this isn't perfect but it is a decent choice.
Fake reviews
zack_gideon12 May 2020
Much better than I was expecting.
bookem_danno_x20 December 2018
Full disclosure...I was an extra in this film (the airport scene, you can almost see me but not quite) so I'll admit I have a bit of a bias towards this film but I really had no idea what it was about until I saw it. Anyway, after reading the positive and negative reviews I was cautiously optimistic but set my expectations relatively low.
I was actually quite surprised at how much I enjoyed the film and think the negative reviewers either missed the point or are maybe a case of you can't please everyone all the time. Sure there are predictable elements but there are a number of surprises along the way as well. I thought it was a very taught thriller that kept up a really good sense of dread and foreboding all through the film. Right from the beginning, things don't feel right and the bleak winter Canadian prairie location (even though the film is set in the US) really add to the uneasiness. This film never lets you feel comfortable in your seat as the cinematography, score, and acting just keep things feeling tense. If you don't like that kind of feeling, this movie isn't for you.
I thought the director managed to work very well within his limited budget and put together a pretty decently acted and constructed film. The villain especially brought a spine tingling creepiness to the roll. Overall, to me it didn't feel like a low-budget or b-rater horror flick as it wasn't trying to be something that it wasn't. It was aware of it's limitations and wasn't trying to be a slick Hollywood blockbuster. Without giving anything away, my only minor beef was with one part of the ending that I thought could have had some further fleshing out or explanation. You can assume certain things but it just felt like a string or two was left hanging.
I was actually quite surprised at how much I enjoyed the film and think the negative reviewers either missed the point or are maybe a case of you can't please everyone all the time. Sure there are predictable elements but there are a number of surprises along the way as well. I thought it was a very taught thriller that kept up a really good sense of dread and foreboding all through the film. Right from the beginning, things don't feel right and the bleak winter Canadian prairie location (even though the film is set in the US) really add to the uneasiness. This film never lets you feel comfortable in your seat as the cinematography, score, and acting just keep things feeling tense. If you don't like that kind of feeling, this movie isn't for you.
I thought the director managed to work very well within his limited budget and put together a pretty decently acted and constructed film. The villain especially brought a spine tingling creepiness to the roll. Overall, to me it didn't feel like a low-budget or b-rater horror flick as it wasn't trying to be something that it wasn't. It was aware of it's limitations and wasn't trying to be a slick Hollywood blockbuster. Without giving anything away, my only minor beef was with one part of the ending that I thought could have had some further fleshing out or explanation. You can assume certain things but it just felt like a string or two was left hanging.
Bleak
Stevieboy66618 June 2020
A young boy goes to stay with his Gramps out in the country. The weather is cold, there's no internet and Henry has left his games charger at home, can it get any worse? Well yes, when Gramps pops his clogs, there's no phone and a psycho next door, it certainly can!
Only a small cast here. Michael Ironside is one of my favourite actors but it is Luc Villacis as Henry and Munro Chambers as the crazed Dixon who do a decent job as the two lead characters, locked in a very deadly game of cat and mouse. Things do get pretty tense and suspenseful, the snowy landscape adds to the film's bleak feel and there is quite a lot of violence. This Canadian movie is a decent enough watch.
Too Bad It Wasn't More About Baseball....
wandernn1-81-6832745 June 2020
Okay...weird bonding movie or something?
-1 Star for how easily a wild cat was trapped
Oh nevermind. It became some some creepy forgotten son against grandkid vengeance movie.
-1 Star for the Apparition Giving advice thing, seemed unnecessary
+1 Star at least the forgotten son got one victory
-1 Star for the Procedural Errors at the End, among other flaws.
Okay lets face it, this one was a dud on many levels. Any reviews saying anything other than that are really stretching the truth.
3/10
-1 Star for how easily a wild cat was trapped
Oh nevermind. It became some some creepy forgotten son against grandkid vengeance movie.
-1 Star for the Apparition Giving advice thing, seemed unnecessary
+1 Star at least the forgotten son got one victory
-1 Star for the Procedural Errors at the End, among other flaws.
Okay lets face it, this one was a dud on many levels. Any reviews saying anything other than that are really stretching the truth.
3/10
OK for a more serious take on "Home Alone"!
markovd11126 April 2020
For a low budget movie, it isn't so bad. It won't scare you and isn't really fast, but it's a nice movie to watch for some thrilling fun. Kid is good in the main role and we really root him for him. Having a boy as a main character of horror movie like this really does serve as a nice change from the usual final girl. I recommend it for some fun, but don't expect a masterpiece, it's just your little above the average thriller. 6.5/10!
Dark Secrets
Pairic11 October 2020
Knuckleball: Dark family secrets are uncovered in this cross between The Shining, Home Alone and Deliverance. Twelve year old Henry is left with his grandfather on an isolated farm as his parents head off from the weekend. Things are grim from the start, his mother admits to her partner that her mother actually committed suicide. Henry soon finds a dead dog under a tarpaulin and is ambushed by a feral cat. Then grandpa dies. Oh and there's a full scale Canadian snow storm settling in as well. To lighten the mood Henry then comes in contact with a psycho, Dixon, who is intent on harming. A life and death game of cat and mouse ensues. Scenes of extreme violence ensue as the mouse reveals that he isn't easy prey but others fall victim to the psycho. The weather is very much a protagonist in this tale as lack of shelter means a swift death Nothing too original about Knuckleball but it's a good horror thriller with convincing performances by Luca Vilacis as Henry and Munro Chambers as Dixon (a nuanced psycho); Michael Ironside takes the grandpa role beyond the bounds of curmudgeon. Directed/Co-Written by Michael Peterson. On the Horror Channel, 7/10.
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