What to do and not do during and after a home invasion.

We begin with a father coming home to his wife and kids in the middle of the night. The kids suggest he smells like beer, while the husband and wife want to have sex but are too tired to do so.

The father is Chris (Nnamdi Asomugha), the wife is Alex (Aja Naomi King), and their kids are Kendra (Amari Alexis), Ryley (Aiden Gabrielle Price), and the baby Ashley (Aranaya Fraiser). It’s funny, because my name is Chris and my sister’s name is Alix. Except his full name is Christian, and this is a minor note.

So, everyone is sleeping with not a care in the world. But then, Chris hears something in the house, goes downstairs, and finds an old woman. Alex then hears noises (and what happens has to be offscreen) and comes downstairs, and Chris calls the ambulance as the woman is lying on the ground bleeding. Is she still alive or dying? Nobody is sure at the moment. All we know is that Alex assures him that whatever happened was self defense, but he’s in shock and struggles to remember what happened. He has to try for the sake of his family and the law.

This is the set-up for the new independent drama “The Knife,” written and directed by Asomugha and co-written by Mark Duplass. It’s a short film that could have used some more development within, but still makes a lot of valid points about what to do and not do during a home invasion. It’s well-acted in its subject matter and execution.

Then comes Melissa Leo as the detective Francis, who interviews the family. As scared as the daughters are, they have to be separated so the law enforcers to get all the facts straight. “There’s no wrong answers here, as long as it’s the truth,” she says. I talked to the actress last week, and she was able to acknowledge that the movie’s time length of about 80s is short, sweet, and to the point, and was able to work with these familiar and unfamiliar stars. You can check out my interview with her right here (https://cjatthemovies.com/2025/08/11/melissa-leo-on-the-knife/).

So far, the intruder is comatose, so we don’t know if she’s still alive or dead at the moment. But how would anyone react to a situation like this? I guess this family did the right thing about calling the police, but what about some of the decisions they have to make prior to their arrival? That’s something for you to see.

I guess this year in the independent circuit, there has to be a dead or unconscious body involved. “The Trouble with Jessica” and “Bad Shabbos” were entertaining examples of how people would wrongly handle the fatal situation, while “I Don’t Understand You” was a missed opportunity that relied on too much slapstick and overreactions for comedic appeal. “The Knife” is not a comedy, but it still interests us with Asomugha’s filmmaking and his chosen cast members. He, King, Leo, and the kid actors are all universally excellent, because of how they portray their characters with sincerity and complexity.

We don’t get all the facts afterwards, but I suppose the film wants us to think about the results. “The Knife” is a low key, but affective film that represents families with certain decisions in turmoil such as this. And I wouldn’t exactly start my review with all is right with the world. It may be a short movie, but it doesn’t take the easy way out; it uses realism and emotions to bring out the best and worst qualities of the characters. And they do make some bad choices. If you’re going to tamper with the body a bit, at least wear some rubber gloves.