Reviews

If you’ve watched enough horror movies, you’ll know that going to a remote house in the woods is never a good idea.

But that’s exactly what Liz (Tatiana Maslany) and Malcolm (Rossif Sutherland), her boyfriend of a year, do in Osgood Perkins’s supernatural film Keeper.

Liz joins the doctor at his remote holiday home for the weekend, but is left on her own when he has to go back into the city for a patient emergency. During that time, Liz begins to realise that something is not quite right and she might not be alone in the house.

Keeper, which has been surrounded by secrecy, has been described as “a dark trip” in the trailer, and that’s truly the best way to describe it.

There’s not an awful lot of plot; instead, Perkins focuses on building a discomforting atmosphere and depicting Liz’s possible descent into madness with a series of hallucinatory sequences. But is it all in her head? Or is it real?

Keeper also isn’t super scary, but some viewers may find the spooky moments unsettling and the creepy characters chilling.

The story isn’t the strongest or clearest, but the reveal is decent, although too much happens off-camera and there’s not enough explanation for it to be truly satisfying. The bonkers ending will definitely divide audiences and become a talking point when you leave the cinema.

While the film itself may be flawed, you cannot fault Maslany’s committed performance. She is in a perpetual state of fear, paranoia and terror for the majority of the film, and that’s not easy to do.

Although Keeper isn’t a complete success, Perkins deserves credit for making three very different horror films – Longlegs, The Monkey and Keeper – in quick succession. They prove his versatility as a filmmaker, even if each film is weaker than the last.

If you like trippy supernatural movies that are all about the ominous atmosphere and weird surrealist vibe, Keeper will work for you.

In cinemas from Friday 14th November.

By Hannah Wales.

© Cover Media