Death Knot
A premise like “Death Knot” is not “new,” in terms of the type of story its telling. Even in the way it handles things, Cornelio Sunny is not exactly breaking new ground. But what I really like about the screenplay by Sunny and Ike Klose is how it approaches the story of possession, alongside generational trauma.
The film’s credits include a woman doing a sinister ritual in the middle of the woods. She is chanting, and dancing, in front of a statue, and before we begin the film proper, she climbs a nearby tree, says, “Do not come here,” before hanging herself. Next to snow, forests like the one in “Death Knot” are my favorite location in a movie, especially when it comes to horror. The tall trees, the isolated clearings, give off a sense of not being able to escape that is something I appreciate it a good horror film. This film gives way to the film’s protagonist, Hari (played by Sunny) as he is texting with his sister, Eka (Widika Sidmore). The next day, they are talking, and it turns out they both had a dream, about their mother hanging herself. It turns out to be more premonition than dream- they get a call from their uncle, informing them of their mother’s suicide. When they return to the village she lived in, there’s something ominous surrounding them that might have some answers as to why she took her life.
“Death Knot” excels when it focuses on the moral quandaries of the narrative. The sibling’s uncle wants to just sell the property, but it’s well-known in the village that an evil spirit has followed their mother- and even they sensed it, as well- and so Eka and Hari have reservations. For Hari, there’s initially a sense of preservation of this home in her honor, but Eka acknowledges that, truthfully, there’s nothing keeping them here. As someone who’s faced these issues myself, regarding what to keep in honor of my parents, I get the emotional part of that. But as they dig deeper into the supernatural mystery of the film, the question of what to do is simultaneously more clear, and less clear. Sunny has a good idea of how to build familial tension that is palpable, and builds as the films goes along, leading to a brutal climax.
When it comes to horror, Sunny is good at it, but not great. The narrative is a little like “The Grudge” from a thematic standpoint, and when it focuses in on the family, it works beautifully. Additionally, there are great images conjured by Sunny and his cinematographer, Gunnar Nimpuno, and I like some of the ways he utilizes music here. But the film doesn’t really extend its horrific images beyond that opening scene in any memorable way, and the film’s finale almost hints at another type of movie entirely. That being said, there’s much to like in “Death Knot,” even if it doesn’t quite stick the landing.
