Osgood Perkins first caught my attention with his 2024 film “Longlegs.” Before that, he had already directed three feature films. But it was “Longlegs” that blew me away – making me genuinely uncomfortable one minute and making me laugh unexpectedly the next. It was one of the best films of last year. Its follow-up, “The Monkey,” from earlier this year, didn’t reach the same heights as its predecessor. It was a chaotic, tension-free tonic dud.
Perkins is now back with his third film in two years. His latest is “Keeper,” a film he has kept a mystery since it was first announced. Although it doesn’t deserve the same elevated status as “Longlegs,” “Keeper” is an impressive improvement on “The Monkey” in both tone and tension. Yet a small handful of frustrations allow the film to fully reach its nightmarish potential.
The story begins with Malcolm (Rossif Sutherland) taking his girlfriend Liz (Tatiana Maslany) on a weekend trip to her family’s cabin in the woods. From the first images we can sense that something is wrong. They say the right things and put on a good face. But the hesitation in their voices and uncomfortable body language speak differently. As time goes on, we see even bigger clues such as Liz’s unconvincing defenses of Malcolm in her phone calls to her friend Maggie (Tess Degenstein). Or Malcolm regularly rebuffing Liz’s efforts at intimacy.
Once we arrive at the secluded rustic cabin, Perkins takes a moment to visually and audibly point out the beauty: the wind blowing through the tall pines; the soothing sound of water flowing in a nearby stream; the creaking of the cedar walls of the two-story house. It’s a truly beautiful natural setting that will soon come into conflict with the horror Perkins is concocting.
The story has a slight element of mystery in that we immediately realize that something is wrong. The more we watch Liz and Malcolm together, the more obvious this becomes. Perkins also adds other external pieces to his puzzle: the appearance of Malcolm’s obnoxious cousin Darrin (Birkett Turton) and his new girlfriend Minka (Eden Weiss); a chocolate cake left by an invisible guardian; and a strange pendant that Liz finds lying in the stream.
Maslany gives an emotionally compelling performance despite a character we never really get to know. Liz is a city girl and an artist. And we later discover that she has an ill-advised relationship with Malcolm. That’s about all we get. In pure horror fashion, everything goes wrong for Liz after she starts hearing strange noises and seeing strange visions ranging from bizarre to horrifying. Malcolm’s sometimes cold and strangely enigmatic demeanor only adds to his anxiety (and our suspicions).
“Keeper” is a slow-burn chiller built around mounting tension and an uneasy atmosphere. Perkins does a good job of keeping us in the dark before finally pulling back the curtain in the film’s crazy final 15 minutes. We get some truly twisted makeup and visual effects work as Perkins lets the sinister side of his imagination run wild. Maslany really leans into it all, adding weight to scenes that would otherwise be missing.
Unfortunately, it’s also at the end that the film falls apart. The film’s themes are glaringly obvious, giving us yet another story centered around warped masculinity, manipulation, and control. While these types of stories run their course, it’s the lack of necessary background details that hurts the film the most. The ending is a patchwork of strange images that look great but have no real explanation. So we find ourselves admiring the haunting visuals while wondering what it all means. That’s enough problems to end the film on a disappointing note.
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