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The kid does a great job! It really is like a scary version of Home Alone. Very enjoyable!

A young/teenage boy is left at his Grandfathers while his parents go to a funeral. His Grandfather (Michael Ironside) teachs him how to pitch hence the title. Then things go awry.I was rather impressed by the claustrophic feel of this film. At times it plays like a grown up version of Home Alone, at others it reminded me of The Shining. I would recommend you avoid the trailer as it has spoilers and just watch it. A small cast in one location is often the way way to go in low budget efforts and this does it really well. Michael Ironside in a fat suit is a bit wasted though. Well worth seeking out.

Knuckleball is director Michael Peterson's first feature length foray into the horror genre. It is a huge improvement over his previous feature Lloyd the Conqueror, and works very well for a genre movie, with intense atmosphere throughout, some inventive scenes involving traps, even if more such scenes could have elevated the film to be a true classic in the genre.

The plot tells the story of a young boy being left with his grandfather in the country while his parents travel to a funeral elsewhere. Soon, the visit turn into a gruesome story of trying to survive a home invasion, from a deranged maniac, laying traps and uncovering some terrible secrets about the family's past.

Plotwise, the story draws many storybeats from Home Alone, with the boys parents having left him on his own, but then sensing something is wrong and hurrying back, while the boy is desperately fighting to protect himself and his home, by building death traps from whatever is lying around the grandfather's home. However, the storyline has been transplanted into the horror genre, and as such, the violence is somewhat more gruesome, and the implications of what will happen if he doesn't stop the intruder places the stakes much higher and really helps to bring the tension up.

About halfway through the movie, things take a turn for the darker, and the movie shifts the focus away from trap building towards exploring the backstory of the setting. Unlike many similar genre film, Knuckleduster manage to set up every plotline in advance without breaking the pacing. That said, having the inventive death traps in the first half of the movie does put a damper on what is probably the most enjoyable part of the film. Sure the story is effective in its own way, but the film is based around a gimmick that could be taken further to great effect. Sadly it ends up feeling like the latter half of the film was just a bit less fun for that reason.

The film does falter to a few clichés towards the end which further hampers the enjoyment that was derived from the central gimmick of the movie, and seem to be mostly included because that is what is expected from such films.

That said, Knuckleball is a very serviceable film, and a coherent and enjoyable horror flick from first-time horror director Michael Peterson. I recommend it to any fan of the genre.

A special quick note: Knuckleball takes place in the present day, and not only cleverly manages to deal with smart-phones in a way that does not feel contrived and immersion breaking. It is also interestingly done from a visual standpoint, and is worth checking out for anything dealing with similar issues in their film-making.

One of these horror films that if one looks too closely at some of the preposterous plot elements it could be a turn off. Instead, I recommend just going with the flow and getting caught up in the most bizarre , bloody, and outrageous happenings on screen.

To me, it had some similar elements to the classic horror tale "The Shining". Director Michael Peterson and writer Kevin Cockle do not shy away from many grim and dark twists and turns

Certainly kept me guessing how this would all turn out, and on the whole the movie proved to be a nasty little horror tale.

This could have, should have been a 10! It had all the potential but struck out using too much 'why' and not enough 'how'. Up until the last 15 minutes it's was fulfilling, I was anxious and stressed for this kid! But I was excited for the climax and much anticipated, bloody backstory for some answers! It had so many ideas that pretty much all went untouched in the end... so many routes.. so many possibilities... I had my hopes set on a particular storyline/direction for the finale, but as it got closer to the end of the film and more apparent that what I wanted to see wasn't gonna happen? I was hoping for just any ending that was pulled together in time. But... it never does. This film has about 25 potential alternate endings without ever actually ending with any decency. Although it showed promise, had great acting, and decent effects... it never finishes. Got me all worked up and left me hangin! I could've given Knuckleball a better rating if I wasn't still so butthurt from the climactic letdown...

I'm not a real fan of scary movies, but that doesn't matter with this flick because there isn't much scary about it.

You have to feel sorry for Henry, the protagonist of this tale. His parents have dumped him on his surly grandpa who Henry doesn't seem to know too well; grandpa's young neighbour is a homicidal fruitcake and has designs of some sorton Henry; and, saddest of all, his parents are two of the most painful, self-absorbed an d irritating people to ever produce a child together.

There are a couple of good things about this movie: it's always good to see Michael Ironside in a movie, although his presence is wasted here, and the young lad playing Henry seems to be a reasonable actor. That's about it though. The story of this movie is derivative, unoriginal, far-fetched and predictable. There is no tension and no moments that have you sitting on the end of your seat. There are also a number of plot 'twists' (for want of a better word) that are never explained and just leave you with questions at the end of the movie. Other than the two aforementioned actors, the acting in this does not stand out.

Like I said, only watch this if you want to fill 90 minutes and can't find anything else.

This is a one hell of a good thriller, that starts out slowly and builds and builds to a conclusion, that is totally a shock. The parents of their young son Henry, have to drop him off at his grandpas at his farm in the country, played flawlessly by Michael Ironside, while they leave to go to a funeral. After Grandpa has a heart attack doing the night and dies, Henry is left alone and goes to the closest neighbor, who happens to be a psycho killer. Henry escapes and goes back to his Grandpa's house, and prepares for the psycho killer to come after him, which he does. Henry, for a young boy, gets ready. That's the meat of the buildup, and things from there get very very dicey.

I just loved this movie, it is the kind of thriller that's white knuckles all the way until a very big twist ending, that nobody is going to see coming. I recommend this one very highly, I just loved it from start to finish. 4/5

This film was better than expected. It certainly is no Hollywood blockbuster, but clearly a well made low budget film that used its budget wisely.

The directing was great - especially the camera shots and angles. The cinematography was perfect for the landscape. Even the score was surprisingly great for a B-grade film. The 89 min length was perfect as was the pace. The writing was good, as the tension was constant throughout the story, but I would liked to have seen a bit more 'pow' in certain scenes - maybe more of the creative Home Alone antics.

Nevertheless, novice director/writer Michael Peterson who's resume is mostly short films and documentaries did an outstanding job with this film.

Aside from well known actor Michael Ironside, the rest of the cast are pretty much C-listers as I've never heard of them. All performed quite well, with the exception of Chenier Hundal as the dad who I felt was too bland and seemed as if this was his first acting role.

Otherwise a very good film that I do recommend. An honest and well deserved 8/10 from me.

I was surprised by this movie. It was much better than I thought it was going to be. I hate to be that guy, but reading some of the negative comments on here, it genuinely seems like most of them just don't get it. The movie gave you the answers you're looking for, they just don't spoon feed it to you. God forbid a movie leave some things up to you to figure out. I was going to give my take but I don't want to give any spoilers. Just watch the movie and come to your own conclusions. Like others have said, it does give off some home alone vibes so part of it is a little derivative in that sense but still a decent thriller.

This is a great suspense/horror movie, that has a slight arthouse feel. The plot, sfx, and acting feels like a hybrid of the Shining and Home Alone.

There's just a little something left unsaid and unknown; otherwise this could have been a better film. That being said, what is present is a decent depiction of madness and survival. It has a slight nod to Home Alone, but the film takes a much more serious approach to the violence for survival. Not much in the way of set up and then the extended battle through most of the rest of the film makes for some tense pacing.

I recommend you avoid reading top reviews as I ended up reading spoilers for the "twist" before even starting the movie. You are better off going in knowing nothing.

7/10 because it's not easy to keep me off the phone during movies, and it definitely did. Also it was nice seeing Munro Chambers all grown up.

Okay...weird bonding movie or something?

-1 Star for how easily a wild cat was trapped

Oh nevermind. It became some some creepy forgotten son against grandkid vengeance movie.



-1 Star for the Apparition Giving advice thing, seemed unnecessary

+1 Star at least the forgotten son got one victory

-1 Star for the Procedural Errors at the End, among other flaws.

Okay lets face it, this one was a dud on many levels. Any reviews saying anything other than that are really stretching the truth.

3/10

Nothing special at all to be found here, with The Shining being a major influence.

It's never boring.

This one has it all. The snowstorm, the family secret, ghosts, the imprisoned lunatic, the monster that cannot die, the innocent child, the help unable to arrive, and the bushwhacked cop. Two stars for good acting. Mediocre and guessable plot. Unless you like the inside-the-box thriller so common these days, skip this one.

Full disclosure...I was an extra in this film (the airport scene, you can almost see me but not quite) so I'll admit I have a bit of a bias towards this film but I really had no idea what it was about until I saw it. Anyway, after reading the positive and negative reviews I was cautiously optimistic but set my expectations relatively low.

I was actually quite surprised at how much I enjoyed the film and think the negative reviewers either missed the point or are maybe a case of you can't please everyone all the time. Sure there are predictable elements but there are a number of surprises along the way as well. I thought it was a very taught thriller that kept up a really good sense of dread and foreboding all through the film. Right from the beginning, things don't feel right and the bleak winter Canadian prairie location (even though the film is set in the US) really add to the uneasiness. This film never lets you feel comfortable in your seat as the cinematography, score, and acting just keep things feeling tense. If you don't like that kind of feeling, this movie isn't for you.

I thought the director managed to work very well within his limited budget and put together a pretty decently acted and constructed film. The villain especially brought a spine tingling creepiness to the roll. Overall, to me it didn't feel like a low-budget or b-rater horror flick as it wasn't trying to be something that it wasn't. It was aware of it's limitations and wasn't trying to be a slick Hollywood blockbuster. Without giving anything away, my only minor beef was with one part of the ending that I thought could have had some further fleshing out or explanation. You can assume certain things but it just felt like a string or two was left hanging.

A kid is taken to his grandfather's rural home for a stay while his parents are out of town. When the boy wakes the next morning, grandpa has died in his sleep. Without a phone and having met the neighbor the day before, the boy goes to him for help. The more time he spends with the man, the stranger he behaves and it doesn't take long for the kid to realize he's in danger.

Not an unheard of plot. There are some plot holes and things left unexplained but it wasn't so bad that I couldn't overlook them. If you are in the mood to watch a film about a kid using his wits to survive a psychopath this isn't perfect but it is a decent choice.

For a low budget movie, it isn't so bad. It won't scare you and isn't really fast, but it's a nice movie to watch for some thrilling fun. Kid is good in the main role and we really root him for him. Having a boy as a main character of horror movie like this really does serve as a nice change from the usual final girl. I recommend it for some fun, but don't expect a masterpiece, it's just your little above the average thriller. 6.5/10!

A young boy goes to stay with his Gramps out in the country. The weather is cold, there's no internet and Henry has left his games charger at home, can it get any worse? Well yes, when Gramps pops his clogs, there's no phone and a psycho next door, it certainly can! Only a small cast here. Michael Ironside is one of my favourite actors but it is Luc Villacis as Henry and Munro Chambers as the crazed Dixon who do a decent job as the two lead characters, locked in a very deadly game of cat and mouse. Things do get pretty tense and suspenseful, the snowy landscape adds to the film's bleak feel and there is quite a lot of violence. This Canadian movie is a decent enough watch.