Keeper

Osgood Perkins has made a name for himself as one of the horror genre’s most prolific filmmakers in recent times. In just his third film in two years, Perkins has quickly cemented himself as a master of the genre. Even when his films miss the mark — see Gretel & Hansel and this past winter’s The Monkey — there is an undeniable vision to his work. His latest film, a small, yet ambitious psychological horror trip is yet another striking tale of terror. Perkins takes a far more opaque approach to storytelling for his newest endeavour, which works to make an overwhelmingly ominous film feel like a living nightmare unfolding on-screen.

Courtesy Neon

Liz (Tatiana Maslany) is on a weekend getaway with her boyfriend, Malcolm (Rossif Sutherland), at his family’s countryside vacation home to celebrate their one-year anniversary. Liz is an assured, free-spirited artist from the city while Malcolm is a wealthy doctor who enjoys living out in the woods. The two seem like total opposites, yet Liz is clearly trying to make things work, despite their differences. Malcolm’s vacation home is located deep in the woods, isolated from the rest of civilization, which makes Liz wary. The only other company nearby is Malcolm’s douchey cousin, Darren (Birkett Turton) and his model “girlfriend”, Minka (Eden Weiss). As the couple tries to settle in, red flags begin to pile up. Liz notices Malcolm’s emotional distance is more suspicious than usual. When they arrive, a chocolate cake made by an unseen housekeeper awaits them, to which Malcolm insists on feeding Liz, despite not eating any himself. Once Liz eats a slice of the cake, strange occurrences start happening. Suddenly, it appears that her paranoia and dreams begin to meld with time and reality. Sinister forces are lurking all around, but will Liz be able to confront them, or will she succumb to her own unravelling? If it sounds like I’m dancing around specifics, it’s because I am. The best way to experience Keeper is with an open mind and a lack of insight into plot details.

Writer/director Osgood Perkins crafts a surreal and dreamlike sense of tone that washes over the viewer. Despite his recent hits such as Longlegs and The Monkey, Keeper feels closer in line with his earlier works like The Blackcoat’s Daughter and I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House in that Perkins emphasizes atmosphere and oppressive dread over traditional plot structures. Perkins opens the film with a cryptic montage of several women all from different time periods all meeting bloody ends. By opening with this jarring and unsettling montage, Perkins puts the audience in a state of unease, forcing the viewer to study and analyze every mundane action made by his two leads. Perkins keeps the audience in a state of distrust and isn’t hiding the fact that something sinister is afoot. While the film centers on a detached relationship, fit with jagged gender dynamics, it actually plays out like a hallucinatory grimm fairy tale at times.

Courtesy Neon

The filmmaker takes his time, slowly working up to the on-screen horror, but instills an unshakable sense of foreboding dread. While Perkins isn’t one to repeat himself, you can feel similar traits here that can be found in Longlegs and The Blackcoat’s Daughter. Perkins has a knack for placing the audience in the mindset of his characters, effortlessly translating the sense of horror they feel with the viewer. Perkins takes that sense of tangible terror and perfectly applies that to Tatiana Maslany’s Liz. The moment Liz arrives, she is immediately put off by the lack of privacy in the vacation home. There are no blinds to be found, only tall windows and open spaces. She begins to hear whispering through the walls and in the air vents.

Perkins uses formal experimentation and hypnotic use of crossfades to portray Liz on the outskirts of her comfort zone, being in both a physical and emotional place where she does not feel secure in. Maslany is stirring as Liz, fully embodying her psychological collapse and descent into utter madness. So much of the film rests purely on her screen presence before shifting gears into something more primal and emotionally wrought. It’s one of the most fearless performances of the year; a showcase of a fully-committed performer that is nearly impossible to take your eyes off of. As reality and nightmare begin to intertwine, Perkins employs vividly surreal imagery and starting, visceral sound design to an overwhelming effect. Not one for cheap jump scares, Perkins places sharp jolts at precise moments that work to punctuate the oppressive atmosphere. It helps that the images used for the scares are simply terrifying and horrific, with the final act containing some downright unforgettable design work and make-up effects.

Courtesy Neon

Keeper will likely frustrate viewers expecting a more traditional horror film. The hypnotic tone and lack of clear-cut narrative clarity will leave many answers up to each individual’s interpretation. However, writer/director Osgood Perkins crafts a horrific and surreal cinematic nightmare that — if you let it — has the ability to fry your nerves. When firing on all cylinders, Perkins is a master of dread and unease and his latest film is a prime example of the filmmaker at the top of his game.

Keeper is now playing in theaters.