Keeper: A Shell of a Film That Will Leave Audiences Wanting More

Writer-director Osgood Perkins has been on quite the run as of late, with now three films being released over the last year and a half, the latest being Keeper. That being said, the question is could he sustain that run. Unlike Longlegs and The Monkey, which he also wrote, this film sees Perkins work with a script from Nick Lepard (the writer of this year’s Dangerous Animals). Bringing back actress Tatiana Maslany from The Monkey, she once again proves a capable lead but aside from her, there is just something about this that feels off. That’s not to say that there is anything wrong with the film. The most remarkable aspect of Keeper is how unremarkable it is. While there is nothing overtly original to it, the biggest point of contention is its utterly slow pace paired with its show-but-not-tell style of storytelling. Though that style of storytelling is not necessarily an indictment on the film, the story has to at least be somewhat interesting to work, which was not the case here. The Vancouver, British Columbia wilderness makes for a beautiful setting for a film, but one can’t help but get tired of it after a while. Going out of its way to suggest to audiences that something is wrong while offering little to no urgency in addressing the situation, giving audiences the impression that the film itself does not know either, it is difficult to care about the eventual conclusion, whatever it may be.

In terms of story, Keeper starts the same way many horror films have, with Liz (Maslany) and Malcolm (Sutherland) taking a romantic one year anniversary weekend trip to the latter’s secluded cabin. Looking to spend some quality time together away from the daily grind of the city, that plan did not work out as fractures continued to develop in their relationship. Repeatedly called into work back in the city, Malcolm often left Liz alone in the cabin for long periods of time but other strange occurrences strongly indicated that there was more going on, other than their apparent relationship issues. A secluded cabin in the woods is a setting that is ripe for strange happenings and spooky atmospheres, therefore, the film leaned on all the tropes to establish the same foundation audiences have seen countless times before across countless other films. Other than subtly hinting at times what the underlying cause for all the strangeness, the story essentially became a back-and-forth between Liz and whatever forces were at play.

Despite what Maslany brought to the film, that exchange between Liz and the forces invested in keeping her in that cabin quickly became tedious and dull. Faced with a tidal wave of red flags, the normal impulse would be to want to leave but to the surprise of no one, Malcolm was not interested in letting her leave. From there, the only thing left to do is to wait for what is inevitably going to happen to happen. Meanwhile, the slow pace in which it all happens just makes that wait worse. Fumbling its way to the end, the film culminates in an over-the-top climax that is neither earned or sensical, continuing its habit of not providing anything in the way of answers. In spite of its issues, there is a story there had it been handled by a stronger writer. Very much a product of its circumstances, the recent actors and writers strikes interrupting the production of The Monkey, it comes from good intentions for those involved and is competently made, but it doesn’t change the film’s half-baked script.

The one shining light of Keeper is Maslany’s strong performance as Liz. An anchor for the film’s horror, regardless of its strength, she is still compelling to watch despite its many issues. However, it is a shame that she did not have better material to work with. Though Sutherland’s Malcolm shares several scenes with Maslany, it is essentially her film for better or worse. A plot device to get Liz to the cabin/woods, he does his job, but it is simply another area where the film could have done more. All in all, still a short film, running at 90+ minutes, it will feel longer for a large part of audiences.

Keeper is anything but. Simple to a fault, while competently made, it does nothing with its tired premise and will leave most wanting more.

still courtesy of Elevation Pictures

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.