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The Keep

Play trailer Poster for The Keep R Released Dec 16, 1983 1h 38m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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39% Tomatometer 18 Reviews 43% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
A stranger (Scott Glenn) fights timeless evil in a Romanian castle occupied by a Nazi captain (Jürgen Prochnow).

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The Keep

Critics Reviews

View All (18) Critics Reviews
Keith Uhlich Reverse Shot Mann must share the blame for the movie's failures. But nor should its beauties be denied. Sep 9, 2011 Full Review Simon Abrams House Next Door As dated as it is, The Keep (1983), Michael Mann's second theatrical release after Thief (1981), remains an intriguing mess of historical provocation. Mar 29, 2011 Full Review Josh Larsen LarsenOnFilm Mann fares better when sublimating the metaphysical into the nocturnal neon landscapes of Thief, Collateral, and Heat. Rated: 1.5/4 Jan 3, 2024 Full Review Josh Slater-Williams Vague Visages Regarding its deserving of potential "film maudit" status, sometimes the rabbit hole just leads you to dirt, kids. Nov 13, 2023 Full Review Chris Alexander Alexander On Film It is a film of many sensory pleasures and the key to truly enjoying it is to overlook its flaws, its lapses in logic, its often-dated visual effects and let it simply wash over you, to sink into it and perceive it like an opium inflicted hallucination. Dec 8, 2022 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews What the disappointing nevertheless fascinating visual film never clears up is all the confusion it leaves us with. Rated: B- Aug 24, 2015 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Jelisije J An underrated hidden gem of a film that I will never forget and yes i will be asking for the director cut of this film. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/08/24 Full Review DanTheMan 2 I don't wanna be that guy, but The Keep is a film you either get or don't. It's a film of many sensory pleasures, one that you need to let simply wash over you, to sink into and perceive like an opium-inflicted hallucination, The Keep is a monumental example of squandered potential because of studio incompetence. It shows early signs of Mann's rare ability to elevate ostensibly schlocky and uncomfortable material into something dark and majestic, a hybrid mutation of disco horror, rock video, high fashion and imitation art. Mann's direction is simply sublime and his storytelling ability remains unmatched even this early in his career. He doesn't construct a view of the world in which simple and unambiguous forces such as "good" and "evil" do battle, instead, he finds human evil in the failure of systems and not in individuals. Yet, despite the narrative's core thematic elements, Mann is more concerned with crafting a visual and sonic fairytale which he does to a tremendous degree. With a great concept, great cast, stellar production values and an outstanding musical score by Tangerine Dream but cut to ribbons by a studio that thought they knew better than the Mann himself, The Keep is a worthy successor to a mode of horror, as morally unsettling as it is spiritually devastating. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/17/24 Full Review Alec B I get why it has undergone a bit of a critical reassessment (it's filled with gorgeous shots and the score is hypnotic) but it is definitely unfinished and it makes absolutely no sense which is a problem when your movie has such a complex mythology. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/22/24 Full Review Blu B It's a mess but it has interesting ideas. The acting is hoaky, abstract, interesting and all over the place. McKellan is solid and whenever he is on screen it's actually interesting and well acted. However, as soon as he's not it becomes all over the place which leads to this movies biggest problem is the subpar pacing. Scenes right from the start drag put terribly at times. A scene that could be 4 seconds drags to 20-30 seconds. It makes the worse parts even worse and vice versa. The music also is all over the place with a solid soundtrack and atmosphere at times and other times sounding like a broken Sega Genesis game. The editing isn't good either and the cinematography is all over the place and mediocre overall. The subplots of the Nazi soldiers, the romance with Glenn's character, all feels unneeded and unfocused. It also feels like there really isn't a main character at times. The villian is not bad but needed more devlopment. The special effects are all over the place sometimes looking pretty good and sometimes Plan 9 bad. The camerawork can be really good at times, creative sets, moody atmosphere, and than just goes off the rails with abstract scenes, unclear narratives at times, topped off with shotty effects. That's really the best way to describe this, it's all over the place and just needed some more focus, maybe a bigger budget, and some more time to develop. I would say unless your a big McKellan fan skip this. This defintely could be remade I feel because it isn't predictable and when it works it works kind of well. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/27/23 Full Review Billy C Loved it. Good acting, great mood setting. Good sets and the stakes for the characters are high. A great supernatural horror. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 08/25/23 Full Review Steve D A decent story, laughable effects. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/23/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Keep

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Cast & Crew

Curtains 63% 37% Curtains Watchlist Zombi 2 43% 69% Zombi 2 Watchlist Deadly Blessing 43% 28% Deadly Blessing Watchlist C.H.U.D. 29% 33% C.H.U.D. Watchlist TRAILER for C.H.U.D. Dead and Buried 71% 59% Dead and Buried Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis A stranger (Scott Glenn) fights timeless evil in a Romanian castle occupied by a Nazi captain (Jürgen Prochnow).
Director
Michael Mann
Producer
Gene Kirkwood, Hawk Koch
Screenwriter
F. Paul Wilson, Michael Mann
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Production Co
Associated Capital, Capital Equipment Leasing
Rating
R
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 16, 1983, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 4, 2017
Runtime
1h 38m
Sound Mix
Dolby, Surround
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