Keeper, the latest directorial effort by Osgood Perkins, comes hot on the heels of his Stephen King adaptation The Monkey, released in February, and reunites him with lead actress Tatiana Maslany, composer Edo Van Breemen, and cinematographer Jeremy Cox (who handled second-unit chores on the earlier film). Like much of his work, Keeper is first and foremost a horror film, but Perkins revels in injecting large doses of black humor into his films, and this is no exception.Having evidently never seen a horror f...
Keeper, the latest directorial effort by Osgood Perkins, comes hot on the heels of his Stephen King adaptation The Monkey, released in February, and reunites him with lead actress Tatiana Maslany, composer Edo Van Breemen, and cinematographer Jeremy Cox (who handled second-unit chores on the earlier film). Like much of his work, Keeper is first and foremost a horror film, but Perkins revels in injecting large doses of black humor into his films, and this is no exception.
Having evidently never seen a horror film before, artist Liz (Maslany) and her doctor boyfriend Malcolm (Rossif Sutherland) are enjoying a weekend getaway at his family’s remote cabin in the woods (shades of the recent Die My Love and any number of similar chillers). They’re all alone in these seemingly bucolic surroundings … at least until Liz begins hearing, seeing, and dreaming spooky things. Yes, this is (very) familiar territory, but stylishly rendered and smoothly orchestrated by Perkins and screenwriter Nick Lepard, who penned the shark shocker Dangerous Animals released earlier this year.
During the weekend, Malcolm’s obnoxious cousin Darren (Birkett Turton) drops by unannounced, with Euro-trash model girlfriend Minka (newcomer Eden Weiss) in tow. It’s Darren who tells Malcolm about Liz: “She’s a keeper. Don’t let this one get away.” Infamous last words, to say the least.
Maslany (also an executive producer) and Sutherland (a co-executive producer) easily convey the mounting tensions that grow between them, which clearly have been present since they first met. One isn’t quite sure which character is bound to go bonkers, but suffice to say they both eventually do, although in differing ways. The leads, who essentially carry the film, have come to play, and there’s a palpable enjoyment that comes across in their work. They’re in on the joke and willing to take it as far as it can go. Likewise, Perkins and Lepard evince their affection for the genre. They’re having fun too.
Keeper isn’t as bloody as you might anticipate, although there’s quite a bit of the red stuff on display — as well as enough drool and slime and goo to easily earn that (well-deserved) R rating. The film isn’t for the kiddies, and it’s not for the squeamish, either.
When the “Big Reveal” comes, it’s quite a whopper, and for some it may be a twist too many, but if you’ve come this far, you may well be willing to (again) suspend disbelief and let the story play out to its conclusion. For sure, it’s certainly something different — and the film’s last scene is nothing if not memorable. It sums things up in a neat, ghoulish, and satisfying fashion. For genre fans, Keeper is indeed a keeper.
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