The Keep

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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 4/5 Stars •  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 4/5 Stars •  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 2/5 Stars •  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 3/5 Stars •  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 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 08/25/23 Full Review Steve D A decent story, laughable effects. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/23/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Keep

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