Oz Perkins has become one of the key names in modern horror thanks to films like ‘Longlegs’ (127 million grossed with a budget of less than 10) or ‘The Monkey’, which adapted a story by Stephern King, all filmed and released in record time. With them still fresh he arrivedKeeper‘, his third feature film in sixteen months, endorsed by Guillermo del Toro, Bong Joon-ho and James Wan. In theaters it did not attract as much attention as its predecessors, but from this Thursday you have the opportunity to see with your own eyes if Perkins is the last great master of horror or a bluff in Movistar Plus.
‘Keeper’ was filmed while work on ‘The Monkey’ was paralyzed by the writers’ and actors’ strikes of 2023. With these time and budget restrictions, a single location and a small cast were chosen: the film follows a couple celebrating their first anniversary in an isolated cabin in the countryside, where the dark secrets of one of them begin to emerge. In this way, Perkins turns topics such as control in the couple or toxic masculinity into horror material.
The film relies entirely on the work of its two protagonists, especially that of Tatiana Maslany, known for ‘Orphan Black’ and Marvel’s ‘She-Hulk’. But The most striking thing about the experience is its wonderful monstersappearances and special effects: beings with faces frozen in an infinite scream, creatures with multiple faces, twisted necks… However, the film did not convince.
The opening weekend numbers were the worst of Perkins’ directing career. ‘Keeper’ only cost 6 million dollars, and even so, it fell short when it came to recovering the investment, with 6.2 million dollars in collection that pale in comparison to the aforementioned 128 of ‘Longlegs’ or the 68 of ‘The Monkey0. Still, it is a wonderful claustrophobic nightmare that makes clearer than ever everything that Perkins owes to Cronenberg, Aster or Argento. Now you have the perfect opportunity to re-fish it.
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