Osgood Perkins’ “Keeper” begins with an important, bone-chilling sequence: a montage of ladies, all current at completely different moments in time, on a date with an unseen man that’s about to go very badly.
The garments and hairstyles counsel completely different eras, however these vignettes all finish the identical. A blood-freezing close-up of every girl, their faces caked in blood, screaming.
It’s mercifully essentially the most visceral shock right here, as Perkins’ follow-up to his blockbuster “Longlegs” and this 12 months’s hilarious, underrated “The Monkey” isn’t gory however generously dishes out the shocks.
The promotional objects promise a “darkish journey,” which is an understatement. “Keeper” is one hundred pc proof nightmare gasoline.
We meet Liz (Tatiana Maslany) and Malcolm (Rossif Sutherland) throughout a romantic getaway in an remoted cabin within the woods. The lovebirds are having fun with their time collectively when a knock on the door broadcasts the arrival of Malcolm’s loathsome cousin Darren (Birkett Turton) and his bizarre girlfriend Minka (Eden Weiss).
Along with the obnoxious Darren is, the opposite disruptive ingredient is a chocolate cake, which is overly emphasised by Malcolm. Like all the things else about this weekend within the woods, the chocolate cake is yet one more factor that originally looks as if a good suggestion however comes throughout like a pink flag.
Perkins’ terrifying, surreal love story is centered by glorious performances from Maslany and Sutherland. Not like most protagonists, Liz is conscious of potential hazard however is taking a calculated threat as a result of she’s in love and, actually, there’s no method she might totally sense the hazard she’s in.
Sutherland, whose voice is in the identical authoritatively low register as his father, the late Donald Sutherland, retains us guessing as Malcolm. His chemistry with Maslany is so persuasive that I incessantly forgot I used to be watching a horror movie.
Moreso than prior Perkins movies, “Keeper” is a love story. Turton, taking part in Cousin Darren, vividly creates Perkins’ most hateful character (sure, even moreso than Nicolas Cage’s Longlegs).
On a superficial stage, the remoted setting and even the looks of the lead feminine character bear a resemblance to Danny and Michael Philippou’s terrible “Convey Her Again” from earlier within the 12 months, which was derailed by the second act.
Perkins’ movie, which builds steadily and sticks the touchdown, is nearer to the works of David Lynch (significantly essentially the most jolting moments from “Twin Peaks”) than “Companion” or “Oh, Hello!,” the opposite rom-coms-gone-bad from earlier within the 12 months.
The story turns into a commentary on how a superb relationship can appear to be a jail sentence if the purpose is to manage and include your accomplice (the title will also be written as “hold her”).
Of all of Perkins’ works, this one is closest to his “Gretel & Hansel” (2020), however not within the methods one expects. Sure, this may be interpreted as one other be-careful-who-you-encounter-in-the-woods thriller. Nevertheless, Perkins loves his characters, and his narratives really feel pushed by life’s sudden detours and never by Screenwriting 101.
Perkins leaves the metaphors and private parallels as much as the viewer, by no means over-explaining the themes available. As a author/director who creates an surroundings of concern and locations individuals we perceive and root for on the middle of the risk, Perkins is among the many greatest and smartest filmmakers working on this style.
There are only a few different up to date masters of horror making movie artwork at this stage (Mike Flanagan is a detailed second).
“Keeper” is Perkins’ strongest and strangest work but. Arriving the identical 12 months as “”Wolf Man,” “Sinners,” “Companion,” “Weapons,” “The Conjuring: Final Rites,” Remaining Vacation spot: Bloodlines,” “Good Boy” and “Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein,” Perkins has made a movie that, like the opposite standout style movies of 2025, surpasses expectations, is a filmmaking tour de power and, at its most unforgettable moments, profoundly scary and unsettling.
I used to be capable of shrug off the remake of “I Know What You Did Final Summer season,” and I’ve already forgotten the succesful however underwhelming “Black Telephone 2,” however the third act of “Keeper” continues to be doing somersaults in my psyche, taunting me once I simply need to get some sleep.
We’re nonetheless a couple of weeks away from “5 Nights at Freddy’s 2” however I’m calling it: that is the very best horror movie of 2025.
4 Stars