http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-keanu-reeves-sexy-secret-turns-into-a-nightmare-in-new-trailer-for-eli-roths-knock-knock-20150521

http://collider.com/knock-knock-keanu-reeves-gets-tortured-by-sexy-psychopaths-in-new-trailer/

I find the death penalty to be repugnant and morally wrong, so this casual judgment of who deserves the worst of punishments and death is really unacceptable to me. Just my opinion.

I 100% understand why Keanu would do this film from an acting standpoint - clearly a challenge and a big departure for him - and he DOES like horror (unlike me). I respect his choice and support him but I won't be seeing it in a theater and may not see it at all, for my own reasons that I've discussed before. Not judging the film or anyone who wants to see it - just my choice.

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I don't see much difference, really, in actually doing something you know that's wrong and fantasizing about it

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I do; sometimes, fantasies are an outlet for feelings people know are wrong to express. There are lots of people who make me angry and who make me want to punch them in the face, for instance. But I would never do that to them in reality, because I know it's irrational, and I'm a pacifist who doesn't wish to hurt anyone that way. And I have the free will to rise above my emotional reactions.

Fiction is often a safe outlet for that negative emotional energy, without which all that anger and hate might end up harming real people instead. I don't think it's a matter of believing that certain people/behaviour 'deserve' certain forms of retribution, but rather that they just need an excuse. It works that way for me - my stories get pretty violent when I'm going through bad times, but writing them helps me to calm down and get rid of that anger in a safe way.

I loved it when former US President Jimmy Carter said that he sometimes "lusted in his heart" - because he saw that as not entirely blameless. If we HAVE those feelings, it's possible that in some cases, we could act on them, and if you put enough temptation in front of most people, it's not unlikely that they'll act on it, because we ARE human.

What I think I'm getting at, though maybe I'm saying it badly, is that if Evan "deserves" this extreme violence for acting out what might be a not-uncommon fantasy, are any of us really off the hook that Roth sets? Maybe, maybe not - I just find the level of extreme judgment in his films that "necessitates" or enables the violence to be questionable.

But I don't think that his creative process went: "Okay, this guy did a bad thing. Now let's give him the punishment he deserves."

Rather, I think it went more like:

"TORTURE HORROR FILMS ARE AWESOME! 8D BLOOD! GORE! ABUSE! LIVE BURIAL! :D ...Right, we'd better think of something horrible the victim did so we have an excuse."

And yes, Anakin Roth's rationale is much more "TORTURE PORN! SQUEEE! HAPPY DANCE!"

Interesting that reviews out of Sundance sounded like the beginning of the film is very effective as suspense, even dark humor - but then it goes into full Roth mode. I think he can do "better" and I sure wish he would.

Morality is an endless loop - even HH the Dalai Lama has said "we're all poor sinners" and if you take the long view of "sin" (not in a dogmatic sense, but something we know we shouldn't do, is harmful to self and/or others), I think that's very true.

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But don't you think these girls were crazy, cruel and sadistic?

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Of course.

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I mean Reeve's character is an architect, what if he is someone with a past that is as or more sadistic than these women, and he was just playing along with their game. Maybe the wife comes back and wrecks it up? What do you think? Would you enjoy that twist?

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Both would be awesome. :D

movietvtechgeeks.com/knock-knock-eli-roth-brings-keanu-reeves-back/

www.refinery29.com/2015/05/87908/john-wick-movie-keanu-reeves