3 out of 5

Directed by: Adam Mason

I’ve been a defender of much of the Into the Dark output, recognizing what I believe – in the more maligned entries – to be efforts at embracing B-grade notes for some quality DTV-type horror, but I can recognize some general knocks against the brand: dragging runtimes as basic stories are extended to feature length format; budget limitations that sequester things to small sets and cast when the tale might require more.  And the Father’s Day effort – They Come Knocking – is very guilty of both of those things, but it’s also one of the entries where the director (Adam Mason) and writers (Shane Van Dyke & Carey Van Dyke) actually attempted something a little more meaty and were generally successful.

Dad Clayne Crawford and daughters Josephine Langford and Lia McHugh are out on an RV-toting roadtrip.  Langford, playing the older sister, is despondent during the ride, sequestered in the RV while McHugh, playing the youngster, and Crawford, ride in the front.  There are typical family squabbles but they get along, with choice flashbacks and clipped conversations letting us know that the reason for the trip is in some way related to honoring the memory of their mother, lost to disease some time back.

Director Mason has his actors play out the dynamic well for the opening third or so of the film, giving them room to become real people.  Some glimpses of a creepy kid in a hoodie let us know that something is off kilter, and sure enough, their first night camped out in a conveniently we-get-no-cellphone-signal area has a similar looking kid and another cooing ‘let us in’ at the RV’s door.  The family… does not comply, leading, the next night, to an escalation on that scenario.

There are notes of home invasion here, but as things have been wound into how the trio is each responding to the passing of their wife / mother, it’s clear there’s also a supernatural element at work.  The limited budget means the flick can’t get too creative with that, but Mason makes great use of some creepy masks and excellent makeup and light / dark shots for a particular visitor, with an appreciative non reliance on jump scares.

Stretched out to the feature length time, the flick can’t quite figure out where to go once it’s at a particular point, stuck between a more aggressive style with the hooded kids and a ghost story, but its themes are consistent, and the extra runtime, as mentioned, allows the characters to feel more fleshed out and earn their emotions.

It’s still a B movie, but evidence that Into the Dark doesn’t need a notable director’s name attached in order to make a movie with some substance backing its light scares.