Knock Knock, the 2015 Erotic Thriller Starring Ana de Armas and Keanu Reeves, Is Heating Up Again After Ballerina’s Release (Photo Credit – Instagram/Netflix)
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Almost ten years after its quiet debut, Ana de Armas and Keanu Reeves’ intense 2015 thriller Knock Knock is climbing back into the spotlight. While their latest film Ballerina made noise in cinemas last month, viewers are also circling back to their earlier screen pairing.
Originally overlooked by reviewers, Knock Knock is gaining traction again, especially online. Directed by Eli Roth, the film first met mixed reactions but now pulls attention for its haunting tension and familiar leads.
Ana de Armas and Keanu Reeves’ Thriller Finds New Life
Back in 2015, Ana de Armas and Keanu Reeves teamed up for a slow-burning psychological thriller that’s now picking up heat again. Knock Knock, directed by horror filmmaker Eli Roth, didn’t cause much noise when it first dropped. But since then, the film has built a second wave of interest, especially after it hit Netflix in 2020 and reached the number-one spot in the U.S. charts. That resurgence seems to have returned once more as the actors reunite in Ballerina, a spin-off of the John Wick universe.
The storyline follows Evan Webber, played by Reeves, a husband and dad enjoying a rare weekend alone. His peace turns upside down when two young women (portrayed by Ana de Armas and Lorenza Izzo) show up at his doorstep during a storm, asking for help. Seemingly innocent at first, the encounter quickly turns unsettling. What starts as small talk evolves into a manipulative and dangerous trap for Evan.
The film is a reworking of the 1977 movie Death Game. Roth, fascinated by vintage thrillers, wanted to modernize that concept. In a 2015 conversation with Collider, he said, “I really wanted to do a film like a modern Fatal Attraction that felt like something that was a tense psychosexual thriller, like the old films that [Roman] Polanski used to make or Paul Verhoeven. But we just felt like the story and the setup were so good that we could do an amazing update of it.”
Ana de Armas, who was still new to English-speaking roles at the time, tackled the part by reportedly learning her lines phonetically. Her performance drew attention despite her inexperience. Speaking about the filming experience, Reeves later said on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, “Those scenes are weird,” referencing the film’s infamous seduction scene, though he mentioned that Roth’s direction made the process easier to navigate.
Since then, Ana has moved into high-profile projects such as Blade Runner 2049, Knives Out, No Time to Die, and earned an Oscar nod for Blonde. Reeves, meanwhile, continues as the face of the John Wick franchise. In Ballerina, Ana plays an assassin named Eve Macarro, crossing paths with Reeves’ John Wick. He praised her work, saying, “She’s a wonderful actress… quite a presence.” Ana returned the sentiment, calling him both generous and helpful on set.
