''Knuckleball'' is a

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

Canadian

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

written, directed and co-produced by Michael Peterson. The movie was released on March 3, 2018, at the Cinequest Film & VR Festival.

Plot

Henry, a 12-year-old boy, discovers his family's dark legacy when his mysterious grandfather suddenly dies leaving him alone on an isolated farm.

Cast

Michael Ironside Frederick Reginald Ironside (born February 12, 1950), known as Michael Ironside, is a Canadian actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. He is known for playing villains and "tough guy" heroes, and has also portrayed sympathetic characters. E ...

as Jacob *

Munro Chambers Munro Chambers (born July 29, 1990) is a Canadian actor who is best known for his roles as Wilder on ''The Latest Buzz'' (2007–2010), Elijah "Eli" Goldsworthy on '' Degrassi'' (2010–2015), Frankie Chandler on ''Lockwood'' (2016–present) an ...

as Dixon * Luca Villacis as Henry *

Kathleen Munroe Kathleen Munroe (born April 9, 1982) is a Canadian actress and wig maker. Munroe was born in Hamilton, Ontario, and currently resides in Los Angeles. She studied cinema at the University of Toronto. She won the 2010 ACTRA Award for Outstanding F ...

as Mary * Chenier Hundal as Paul

Release

Reception

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, Knuckleball has an approval rating of based on reviews. On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, another review aggregator which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 55 out of 100 based on 5 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Brad Wheeler from ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' gave the movie 3 out of 4 starts, writing: "The Canadian-made creep-fest begins laboriously as co-writer/director Michael Peterson figures out how to rid the plot of any phones. (Every thrill-maker filmmaker has to deal with that pesky issue, but Peterson’s methods are slower than a Macaulay Culkin growth-spurt.) Otherwise, Knuckleball does not flutter" Dennis Harvey writing for ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' stated: "Michael Peterson effectively earns suspension of disbelief with stark atmospherics, solid performances and a persuasive escalation of panic." Noel Murray from the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' called "Knuckleball"" "effective" and said: "This is a tautly constructed exercise in suspense, set among striking-looking snowbound fields and farmhouses. It’s a vivid slice-of-life, even before the literal slicing begins."

Accolades

"Knuckleball" won the 2019 AMPIA Awards in the category of "Best Screenwriter (Drama over 30 minutes)" and was nominated for the same award in the categories of "Best Dramatic Feature" and "Best Director(Drama over 30 minutes)"

References

External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, knuckleball_2018 Canadian thriller films English-language Canadian films 2018 thriller films 2010s English-language films 2010s Canadian films