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Natty Knocks was directed by Dwight H. Little, written by Benjamin Olson, and stars Thomas Robie, Noen Perez, Channah Zeitung, Bill Moseley, Jason James Richter, Danielle Harris, Joey Bothwell, and Robert Englund. It’s about a group of kids who catch the attention of a killer and have to stay out of their town’s spotlight while trying to stay alive.

The Plot: Adolescent ignorance causing unforeseen consequences has effectively been monopolized by Stephen King, who’s had numerous successes and failures using it as a plot device. Olson’s script doesn’t give it a new spin either, as Natty Knocks’ plot is as generic as horror plots come.

A few days before Halloween, Robby (Perez) breaks Wyatt’s (Robie) phone, and he needs fifty bucks to get it fixed. His sister, Jolie (Zeitung) hears of his plan to ditch school to steal copper wire for the money, which she inserts herself into with the threat of telling their mother, Diane (Harris). On their way back, the kids decide to prank a random house which belongs to Abner (Moseley), who very coincidentally happens to be beating and presumably killing a young girl. It’s an interesting approach, having what appears to be a secondary threat enter the picture before the titular character becomes more than a passing reference, but it doesn’t build up the legend effectively.

With their paranoia getting to them, the kids ask Diane’s boss, Mr. Meredith (Englund, stealing all of his few scenes), as well as their babysitter Britt (Fountain-Jardim) for help, who in turn brings their information to detective Squares (Richter). Relaying the clues takes a lot of screentime, and it feels like Olson was stalling for time, as it’s a contrived and unengaging chain of events. It comes as no surprise that Abner was tied to Natty (Bothwell), a B-movie actress murdered by the townsfolk, but what is surprising is that the titular character doesn’t really do anything.

Some of the adult characters are related to Natty as well; when their exact relations are revealed, they aren’t very creative. Eventually the movie tries to integrate a sort of conspiracy angle into its events, but when Natty Knocks essentially becomes a siege movie by its third fifth, it all feels too complex for what it is. At its core, the film is a vaguely supernatural youth horror, but there are so many threads competing for attention that it doesn’t provide.

The Characters: Writing interesting young characters is hard, especially when the writer is at least 15 years past that general age, so a generic set of leads is expected. However, when the adults are equally average, Natty Knocks has a real issue.

Each of the kids are facing some personal problems, but with four of them to follow and not a lot of time, the script settles for surface-level characterizations. Wyatt, Jolie, and Robby all have parents whose romantic interests get imprinted on their lives outside of school. Little doesn’t bother with the whys, hoping to use attitudes to generate real personalities, however Olson’s script only offers flat dialogue, making the adolescents one-note. Wyatt is always aggressive and unsure whereas Robby is lively and adventurous, which makes their friendship hard to believe, as the former is always upset with the latter. Jolie just kind of hangs by the wayside, but not for lack of trying to involve herself with her brother.

Despite being the acting maternal figure for Wyatt and Jolie, and their protector by the end of Natty Knocks, she’s similarly never given much beyond a simple romantic life with her eager boyfriend. Her insistence on calling her prospects her “kids” is endearing, as is her worry for them when absent, but she doesn’t spend much time around them for most of the movie, making the relationship a tell-don’t show affair.

Abner, the primary adult, is given the most backstory – although it’s by no means creative. Saying much about it would be spoiler territory, but suffice it say that he quietly obsesses over Natty’s roles, owning and repeatedly watching many of her filmed appearances due to his personal attachment to both the actress and the movies. That’s not to say he’s a particularly interesting character, but there’s more to him than empty dialogue, which is something.

The Horror: Little has done some work in the genre before, but his scary movies are the weakest of his output, and the script doesn’t come up with an inventive scenario. The movie can be unsettling, and a few jolts are welcome, but there’s nothing truly horrifying here.

Unease is the primary method of providing tension in Natty Knocks, and it’s an infrequent presence throughout. Most of that is provided by the threat of Abner and the glimpses of violence and devotion the helmer provides. Beating a teenage girl with a hammer sounds a lot scarier than it is here, but the shots of what Abner does after are more intimidating. It’s apparent that he’s doing whatever he’s doing for Natty, but his vacant yet intent viewing of her movies and stare into her eyes implies a deeper motive. However, the locals are similarly odd, but in an unconvincing way, antagonizing the kids without knowledge of their exploits; it’s too much when the subtlety was enough.

Some building on the history of the titular character eventually comes into play, but it feels dated and confusing when dwelled on. A faded ‘70s B-movie star, Natty eventually turned to prostitution to pay the bills. For some reason, she kept a book full of the names of the men she slept with, causing their wives to want revenge. Contrived? Sure, but workable. The confusing part is the added fact that the wives thought she was a real witch for being in low-budget horror movies, electing to burn her like one as a result. This happened in 1976, by the way. Because that’s essentially all she adds to the picture, there’s little fright in the direct sense aside from some decent jumpscares by her specter.

Abner’s actions directed at the protagonists are the best scares the movie has to offer. Even before finding out who spotted his assault, he’s just creepy, watching Britt and her boyfriend get down to business through the back of a truck window, and covering himself in makeup worn by characters in Natty’s movies. When he eventually starts trying to cover his tracks, he’s an unexpectedly brutal force, upping the fear factor of his eventual break-in of the kids’ location. The simplicity works, as Olson’s ideas aren’t creative enough to remember; that’s not to say the assault is either, but it’s better than what came before.

The Technics: Experience and a little style help the movie tread water when dealing with its overstuffed narrative and blank characters, but that’s the best it can do, even with the pedigree of those in front and behind the camera.

Atmospherics are competent for most of the runtime, with Little going for a throwback appeal to the feature. The quiet small-town location full of middle class houses, the unremarkable (in a good way) appearance of the characters, and the proliferation of unsavory history create a mood like something out of an early 80s movie. It’s a good look, except for the hokey film-grain POV shots of Abner, but perhaps adds to the fact that the whole movie feels like its been done better before rather than tickling the nostalgia bone.

Laborious pacing paired with simplistic dialogue makes the retro appeal come off as more of a gimmick than it really is. It takes roughly 40 minutes for the movie to even give the characters something to do, and in the time before, the actors are visibly struggling to pull something from nothing. With another round of judicious editing, the movie wouldn’t be an early-game slog. Pedigree counts for something, and Natty Knocks shows off at least some of the reasons the cast and crew have earned it. It’s a palatable watch, but remarkably forgettable and infrequently scary.

43/100