‘Keeper’ Review – Osgood Perkins Keeps Us Coming Back For More Descents Into Madness

Osgood Perkins delivers! In a dark return to form that evokes echoes of his earlier works like Gretel and Hansel and The Black Coat’s Daughter, Keeper is a perfect coalescence of a ghost story, channeling twisted whispers of a fairy tale. We experience isolation, a haunted house, and the ominous presence of evil. While slightly undercooked in parts, Perkins crafts a devil’s food cake that is both a twisted haunt and devilishly good.

From the outset, NEON faced a challenge in marketing this film. Is it a haunted-house movie, a ghost story, or a descent into madness? Even the synopsis teases a dark trip from Osgood Perkins, and indeed, that is what we have here—a dark, seemingly unwinding trip into a surrealist nightmare. Going into this film blind is equal parts terrifying and rewarding. In one way, the film is like a nightmare unfolding, opening chutes of terror and morbid intensity. Keeper holds our interest as a mystery, with sharp turns that keep us on our toes as we clutch the armrest of the theater seat. 

I would call this nightmare fuel, but Perkins is too clever to frontload us or play to the cheap seats. Like any good chef, he works on a full-scale meal while doing what he does best. He dabbles in the occult. He infuses paranoid day-mares. There is a sprinkling of cabin fever. Perkins knows his audience and gives a little bit of everything without overstuffing us. Keeper is a black satin buffet that never spoils but keeps us coming back. 

In the film, we meet Liz (Tatiana Maslany) and Malcolm (Rossif Sutherland), a couple venturing into the country for a quiet weekend of peace and seclusion. From the start, all seems well in this tranquil paradise. However, at the house, there is a chocolate cake, supposedly a gift from the home’s caretaker. Despite the oddball arrival and quick departure of Malcolm’s next-door cousin, Darren (Birkett Turton), the evening is going fine. However, Malcolm becomes insistent that Liz eat a piece of cake. 

After eating the chocolate cake, strange things begin to happen. Dark visions of mysterious women and ghostly figures haunt Liz’s psyche. She brushes it off, but the next day, when Malcolm returns to the city, Liz is left alone. Soon, a dark, swirling feeling begins to envelop her. In a clash between reality and surrealism, Liz confronts a foreboding presence. For reasons that become apparent, it is intent on claiming her for some evil purposes. As she reconciles with paranoia, the truth becomes clearer. She discovers this was not meant to be a peaceful weekend in the country.

Where the film struggles is in the execution of these monsters or apparitions. We’ll call them dark forces lurking in the cabin and on the grounds. There is a backstory that, while apparent, the payoff feels rushed, and the motivation is not entirely clear. It is fairy-tale logic, which, while in keeping with the established themes, comes off as weak compared to the sum of the other terrifying parts. Keeper thrives on atmosphere and the general mystery hanging over the cabin. Perkins works hard to hold our attention, and while a bit choppy, he makes us forget it by playing in the shadows and basking in a freakish canvas of wilderness and madness.

Ultimately, the greatest strength of this film is Maslany, who headlines it with unhinged paranoia and sardonic madness. After having a supporting role earlier this year in The Monkey, Keeper gives the show to herself to bask in the twisted creativity of Perkins. When the story struggles, her high-voltage intensity jolts the film out of the dark. She dabbles in the fairy-tale atmosphere to create a protagonist who is much more one to root for and even fear.  

While astute viewers may see the film’s expected twist, Maslany takes you along for the ride. She plunges further into a pitch black cave of isolation and madness. Her performance has an iconic flair, and there are moments in the film where we hold on to her expressive, terrified reactions, filled with utter shock and amazement. 

Perkins is working hard to deliver a modern take on the fairy tale inspired by the Brothers Grimm. The influences decorate the film from the camera angles to even the cabin with its elongated windows and pitched roofs. The macabre mood works when the story stalls. While Perkins does not reach the heights of last year’s occult-laced Longlegs, he makes a return to form with a story that is anything but happily ever after. 

Keeper is currently playing in theaters courtesy of NEON.