Someone's Knocking at the Door (2009)

Returning to the medical school where they were test subjects decades ago, a pair of outrageously twisted serial killers use shockingly brutal sex acts to start killing off a group of drugged-out med students.

Director:

Chad Ferrin

Writers:

Chad Ferrin (screenplay), Roham Ghodsi (screenplay)

Stars:

Noah Segan, Andrea Rueda, Ezra Buzzington

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Noah Segan	...	Justin
Andrea Rueda	...	Meg
Ezra Buzzington	...	John Hopper
Elina Madison	...	Wilma Hopper
Silvia Spross	...	Annie
Jon Budinoff	...	Sebastian
Ricardo Gray	...	Joe
Timothy Muskatell	...	Detective Young
Lew Temple	...	Coroner Tom Collins
Vernon Wells	...	Dr. Tolstoy
Jordan Lawson	...	Ray
Mary Rings	...	Ray's Mother
Joseph Pilato	...	Dr. Ottie
Trent Haaga	...	Officer Tyler
David Z. Stamp	...	Fuller

Storyline

The shocking news of the gruesome, sex-related homicide of medical student, Ray Harris, spreads like wildfire in the Linda Vista Community Hospital. Was it a deviant S&M game gone wrong or is there, indeed, a deranged serial killer lurking in the campus? As the police investigation continues, a strange connection between the highly experimental hallucinogen, Taldon, and the peculiar 1973 case of John and Wilma Hopper emerges, while Ray's friends, start being stalked by a pair of insane sociopaths who have only one intention: to ravish them to death. And, before long, warm, bright-red blood will flow. Is there an escape when the enemy lives inside one's head?

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Plot Keywords:

female nudity | female full frontal nudity | male nudity | blackface | drugs | 

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Taglines:

A Psychedelic Trip into Terror!

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shot in 11 days.

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Quotes

Ray: Who is it? Your killing my fuckin' high man!

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Alternate Versions

On the German DVD, some of the more graphic scenes are colored using a heavy blue and red tint, effectively censoring the material.

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Connections

Features Drugs Are Like That (1969)

User Reviews

Flatliners on acid

The plot: Medical students are haunted by demonic serial rapists.

This was an interesting movie. I'm not sure that I could say that I actually liked it, though. It straddled the line between postmodern, avant-garde film and low budget, exploitation trash. People who are expecting a straight-up horror movie will probably be offended or, even worse, bored out of their minds. The plot is all over the place, involving experimental drugs that induce an near-death experience, serial rapists, demonic possession, a police investigation, and perverted medical students.

I'm not entirely certain what Chad Ferrin's point is, but, as far as I can tell, he's mocking Jacob's Ladder, Flatliners, Scream, and other late 80s / early 90s horror movies. He also seems to be influenced by Frank Henenlotter and Lloyd Kaufman, with lots of over-the-top, disturbing, and disgusting content thrown in, just to offend people. I'll admit, he did actually get my attention, and I thought I was pretty jaded. There are some pretty nasty rape scenes, which are generally played for black humor. Most of the characters are despicable, and the rest are dumbasses. If you're the kind of person who complains about movies not having a likable protagonist, you should definitely avoid this one.

Movies like SKATD often intentionally court as much controversy as they can muster, in order to boost their publicity. Ambivalence is the only reaction that can really harm them. Unfortunately, my own reaction was somewhat ambivalent. I'm tempted to say that it was different, wild, crazy, offensive, or disturbing, but, really, I'm just not sure how much of that is true. However, it's an interesting experiment, and, even if it does fail, it fails in a way that's interesting. I just wish I could figure out with 100% certainty whether this was meant to be parody, homage, or pastiche. Maybe it was meant to be all of them, at the same time. Or it could be that I'm seriously overthinking the whole thing, and it was never meant to be more than low budget trash.

Troma fans may want to check it out, but most other people will probably hate it.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 June 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Someone's Knocking at the Door

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$820,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Crappy World Films, Mirage Pictures JR

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Color:

Color Black and White (drug experiment footage)