‘Keeper’ Hypnotises With Horror And Ends In A Shrug
Image: Keeper, dir. by Osgood Perkins. Source: TMDB.
Keeper steadily pulls you into the dark and grips you with tension for nearly two hours, only to shrug at the end and leave you wondering why you bothered holding your breath.
The premise is familiar: Liz (Tatiana Maslany) and Malcolm (Rossif Sutherland) retreat to a cabin in the woods for their one-year anniversary. There’s romance, chic interiors, a decadent chocolate cake—and quickly the sense that something ancient and sinister is looming close by.
It’s horror 101; and yes, quite tropey. But Keeper tries to repackage itself in off kilter ways with captivating visuals.
Directed by Osgood Perkins (The Monkey, Longlegs), the film is a psychological folk-horror drenched in his signature oddball energy. It slips between eerie, quirky and quietly deranged, often in the same scene.
It keeps you on your toes, wading into something deeply mysterious, but delivers far less than it promises.
At its best, Keeper is hypnotic, ripe with paranoia, symbolism and dread. At its worst, it feels like writer Nick Lepard (Dangerous Animals) left half the script in another draft, leaving Perkins’ mood building unsupported and directionless.
What works spectacularly is the film’s visual language. Sharp, inventive editing, stitched together with mesmerising dissolves, gives it the seamless texture of a drifting fever dream.
The cinematography often takes the point of view of the lurking presence itself, a clever choice that heightens the sense of voyeurism and deepens the creeping unease.
When Perkins commits fully to visual storytelling, the film comes alive with an unsettling menace, as if something unseen is breathing down your neck.
Tatiana Maslany practically gives a masterclass as Liz, a free spirited artist, even when the script offers breadcrumbs.
Layered, volatile and magnetic, she unravels beautifully in a performance echoing the unhinged brilliance of past iconic female horror characters. She throws herself so fully into Liz’s spiral you start rooting for the film to match her intensity, but the narrative simply doesn’t know what to do with her.
Rossif Sutherland brings an awkward, almost unintentionally comedic energy to Malcolm, Liz’s doctor boyfriend—sweet, concerned, but a little off. It works early on, but the performance does little to elevate the film’s twist.
The supporting cast fades quickly into the background as Keeper priorities mood over story.
Among the film’s strengths is its refusal to rely on cheap jump scares or abrupt stings. Perkins opts for a slow burn dread, lingering on frames, letting tension pool in the quiet, and evoking a constant sense that a living nightmare is just out of focus.
Until the film’s plot stretches it all a bit too thin, falling into the trap of simmering without ever reaching a boil.
When the creatures finally reveal themselves, they’re striking—imaginative, horrifying, and animated with a physicality that makes your stomach twist. But their limited use and reliance on abstract CGI beforehand dulls the impact.
The looping tension also makes it easy to guess the twist long before the film wants you to.
The ending aims for catharsis but lands more like a half-exhaled sigh, especially within the ‘Good For Her’ cinematic universe.
Fans of Perkins’ filmography, atmospheric psychological horror, or folk-tinged dread will find much to enjoy in this visually rich, goosebumps-inducing trip, even if the story leaves them wanting.
Stylish, creepy and beautifully crafted, anchored by Maslany’s phenomenal performance, Keeper is ultimately strangely hollow.
As the credits roll, the title feels ironic: entrancing in the moment with far more potential, but just not a keeper.
★★★
Keeper is in cinemas now.
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