There’s a certain moment that happens in a horror film when you know, this is it. This is the moment that we came for. In Osgood Perkins’ Keeper, that moment doesn’t come. Instead, we sit through writer Nick Lepard’s tangled examination of a male dominated society where women are the inevitable sacrifice for it all and walk away wondering: what was I supposed to take away from this?
Is The Couple In The Room With Us?
Keeper begins with a montage of women of the past, women who you might remember from all the marketing done by Neon. Who are these women? What is the story behind their eyes? No worries, we will get to them eventually. But first, we meet Liz (Tatiana Maslany) and her boyfriend of one year, Malcolm (Rossif Sutherland), as they head up to his family’s cabin in the woods. Liz’s friend is adamant that something is off and being that she’s such a strong, independent woman, it’s strange that she’d be so willing to ignore the red flags and succumb to his facade. However, Liz is in love. Right?
We’re meant to question this couple. It’s intentional that things should feel awkward. There’s no chemistry between them, or anything that tethers these two to make it believable. Maslany is doing the heavy lifting here. She is not only trying to sell her character but the entire idea of this relationship. Sadly, even her performance can’t save this script.
It’s All About Men
Perkins yet again delivers stunning visuals and haunting moments of dread as Liz deals with weird occurrences in the cabin. Everything heightens for her once Malcolm forces her to eat a slice of chocolate cake left by the cabin’s caretaker. She’s seeing things, Malcolm’s weird cousin drops in on her, and everything in her tells her to leave. However, Malcolm convinces her to stay long enough for her to hear exactly why she’s been whisked away to his cabin and how this story should end for her.
Without going too far into spoiler territory, Liz is just another woman (like the others from the beginning) caught in a trap set by a man who believes he’s entitled to be the curator of her final story. Keeper has a strong lead, and a director that builds a horror fueled atmosphere. However, we’re left with an empty film that leads to a buildup not worth the patience it takes to get there. The film gets lost in its own ideas, never fully committing to what it’s trying to relay to the audience. We’re left with yet another film where a woman’s suffering is the narrative. An upsetting trend I’ve noticed at least three times in the past year. Even with all its visual beauty, it’s quite hollow.
