*Spoilers* When I first stumbled upon this film, I'd never heard of it. As I watched it, I began to understand why. I went into this expecting a movie about potential victims turning the tables on their criminal tormentors. What I got was an hour and twenty minutes of pointless, warped, depravity and violence. This film had absolutely no redeeming characters whatsoever. With a body count of nine you'd kind of expect to feel sympathy for at least one of them, but, no. I was actually glad to see most of them die and didn't care about the others. They were simply so evil or so stupid, I expected bad things to happen to them. The entire plot was just to stupid and contrived to make any sense at all. The two sisters shared an apartment in the very popular Venice Beach, California, yet it was less populated than the Siberian tundra. This very large gang staked out this apartment complex for a strong- arm robbery, yet there was no way they were going to get enough loot to split among the nine of them and make it worth their while. This was clearly a film with only one goal. See how much senseless evil and bloody violence can be crammed into an hour and twenty minutes. Save your money, and more importantly, your time and stay away from this horrible film.
5 Reviews
Relentless depressing and unpleasant
stevesinger-200123 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
So I've watched loads of nasty films, and it takes a lot to offend me. "A Serbian Film" didn't. The "August Underground" films couldn't. But "Knifepoint" managed to do it.
When "Knifepoint" begins, it's Christmas Eve. After a grisly opening scene, We are introduced first to Jess and his gang of ne'er-do-wells. Over some jaunty music, we see a montage of the gang apparently preparing for what we assume will be a "fun caper."
We then meet Abbie and Michele, a pair of sisters who are living together in an apartment. Michele is paralyzed and the relationship between the two is clearly strained. We certainly expect that the women will somehow interact with the gang!
And interact they do. Turns out that the "caper" we saw them planning is to break into an apartment complex on this Christmas Eve, split up into groups, and systematically go to every apartment in the complex and rob, torture, rape, and murder every single person in there. In real life, it would be the most horrifying crime ever committed in the history of the world, and yet here it's just sort of tossed out as "isn't this a cool plan!" The sisters' apartment is apparently where they've chose to meet at the end, and the first group gets in there and just starts raping and abusing the two women while waiting for the others to show up and join in (which they do). Random people and relatives -- men, women, children -- visit the sisters and they all get the rape, torture, and murder treatment. In addition, the gang apparently set up "guards" outside and anyone who comes near the building also gets brutally murdered. And amazingly, the ending is even more depressing and appalling than the rest of the movie.
I'm all for bleak, harsh movies and have enjoyed my share of them, but "Knifepoint" is just a relentlessly unpleasant viewing experience, even for fans of other "torture porn" style films. Skip it.
When "Knifepoint" begins, it's Christmas Eve. After a grisly opening scene, We are introduced first to Jess and his gang of ne'er-do-wells. Over some jaunty music, we see a montage of the gang apparently preparing for what we assume will be a "fun caper."
We then meet Abbie and Michele, a pair of sisters who are living together in an apartment. Michele is paralyzed and the relationship between the two is clearly strained. We certainly expect that the women will somehow interact with the gang!
And interact they do. Turns out that the "caper" we saw them planning is to break into an apartment complex on this Christmas Eve, split up into groups, and systematically go to every apartment in the complex and rob, torture, rape, and murder every single person in there. In real life, it would be the most horrifying crime ever committed in the history of the world, and yet here it's just sort of tossed out as "isn't this a cool plan!" The sisters' apartment is apparently where they've chose to meet at the end, and the first group gets in there and just starts raping and abusing the two women while waiting for the others to show up and join in (which they do). Random people and relatives -- men, women, children -- visit the sisters and they all get the rape, torture, and murder treatment. In addition, the gang apparently set up "guards" outside and anyone who comes near the building also gets brutally murdered. And amazingly, the ending is even more depressing and appalling than the rest of the movie.
I'm all for bleak, harsh movies and have enjoyed my share of them, but "Knifepoint" is just a relentlessly unpleasant viewing experience, even for fans of other "torture porn" style films. Skip it.
Terrible writing
kpiedra-8324920 March 2019
The pointless violence I guess is there for shock value. The lines of the criminals are a joke and the fact that the "bad guys" look like obvious gang rip offs from the 80's almost makes parts laughable. However, this is not one of those its so good its bad. Its just bad. The characters on both sides of the debacle are shallow and idiotic. Very little of this horrid movie made sense.
I have to hone my craft
nogodnomasters2 September 2017
Warning: Spoilers
The film shows us Abbie (Katherine Randolph) and her wheelchair sister Michele (Krista Braun) getting ready for Christmas in wintry Venice Beach, California in their luxury loft apartment. Meanwhile we are shown a group of people planning robberies, mapping out the tenants. Apparently they have managed to visit every apartment in the building and have robbed, tortured, raped, and killed all the tenants before this last stop on their rampage...just go with it.
This becomes a graphic and nasty home break-in which includes torture, killing, and rape. Our group has in it a number of unprofessional sadistic elements, but nothing with the class or creep of David Hess. Of course our girls fight back.
Guide: F-word, rape, nudity (Katherine Randolph, Krista Braun, Kym Jackson)
This becomes a graphic and nasty home break-in which includes torture, killing, and rape. Our group has in it a number of unprofessional sadistic elements, but nothing with the class or creep of David Hess. Of course our girls fight back.
Guide: F-word, rape, nudity (Katherine Randolph, Krista Braun, Kym Jackson)
I'd never heard of it either!!
stefmckenzie-1004115 April 2016
I stumbled across this unknown gem last night looking online for any horror to watch before bed and I am glad I gave it a chance. The poster caught my eye right off so I investigated it and found next to nothing about it anywhere-which boggles me since it's 5 years old and fairly brutal.
Technically speaking-it's a solid film. Some of the performances are surprisingly good for an unknown cast in an unknown horror film. Most of the violence on display,(OF WHICH THERE IS PLENTY),is very well done and is certain to make some viewers squirm, even fans of hardcore cinema. SADISTIC AND BLOODY AND NEVER APOLOGETIC.
'KNIFEPOINT's faults are in some mediocre to hammy acting, (WHICH DOESN'T SIT WELL NEXT TO SOME GOOD ACTING). Some camera-shy violence,(WHICH SEEMS OUT OF PLACE WHEN COMPARED TO SOME PRETTY GRAPHIC SCENES). And a somewhat muddled, hurried ending. But by the time any of these are even noticed it's so easy to let them slide.
Somewhere in-between 'THE STRANGERS' and 'AUGUST UNDERGROUND'S MORDUM', 'KNIFEPOINT' is a great way to spend 83m if you like your horror rough and ready. Easily the best home-invasion film I've seen in some time and I look forward to showing off my discovery to friends. How it is not better known I have no idea-IT REEKS OF B-MOVIE GREATNESS AND FUTURE CULT FAV.! Not a date movie.
Technically speaking-it's a solid film. Some of the performances are surprisingly good for an unknown cast in an unknown horror film. Most of the violence on display,(OF WHICH THERE IS PLENTY),is very well done and is certain to make some viewers squirm, even fans of hardcore cinema. SADISTIC AND BLOODY AND NEVER APOLOGETIC.
'KNIFEPOINT's faults are in some mediocre to hammy acting, (WHICH DOESN'T SIT WELL NEXT TO SOME GOOD ACTING). Some camera-shy violence,(WHICH SEEMS OUT OF PLACE WHEN COMPARED TO SOME PRETTY GRAPHIC SCENES). And a somewhat muddled, hurried ending. But by the time any of these are even noticed it's so easy to let them slide.
Somewhere in-between 'THE STRANGERS' and 'AUGUST UNDERGROUND'S MORDUM', 'KNIFEPOINT' is a great way to spend 83m if you like your horror rough and ready. Easily the best home-invasion film I've seen in some time and I look forward to showing off my discovery to friends. How it is not better known I have no idea-IT REEKS OF B-MOVIE GREATNESS AND FUTURE CULT FAV.! Not a date movie.
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