“Social Horror” Shorts Block
Kennikki Jones-Jones’s short horror drama is a film with a premise that rang a bit too close to home for yours truly. Growing up in the Bronx, there are certain kind of boundaries and rules people are expected to follow. Often times children can be heard in the distance crying or being disciplined by their parents and it’s kind of a mutual agreement among many to ignore it unless it gets all too severe. And even then, people tend to turn a blind eye.
“Knock Knock” deals with almost the same idea and the concept of complicity and the cycle of abuse. Sinia is a local neighborhood woman who lives alone and spends a lot of her time on her porch doing things for children including bonding with them while doing their hair. She has an especially unique relationship with the family who lives the next door from her. Despite their inherently vicious upbringing with a mother who insists in screaming every command, she makes the children’s lives a bit better by communicating with them through knocks on their wall, and making them home cooked meals. One night as she hears an especially vicious fight between their mom with them, things spiral out of control.
Although, director Kennikki Jones-Jones’ short might be up for interpretation by most viewers, “Knock Knock” felt like an important message about abusive home lives and how doing nothing can often be as bad as the actual abuse in some instances. Star Shellita Boxie is absolutely fantastic in the role, and she brings to life this unusual situation where she’s the spectator and the victim and forced to endure so much in such a little time, much like the children she watches over. I can’t wait to see what director Kennikki Jones-Jones has set for audiences next.
The Final Girls Berlin Film Festival runs every year from January 31st to February 3rd.