What Keeps You Alive

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2:15

What Keeps You Alive

R

Released Aug 24, 2018

1h 39m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

LGBTQ+

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

82%

Tomatometer

55 Reviews

44%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

Jackie and Jules are a couple celebrating their first anniversary at a secluded cabin in the woods belonging to Jackie's family. From the moment they arrive, something changes in Jules' normally loving wife, as Jackie begins to reveal a previously unknown dark side -- all building up to a shocking revelation that will pit Jules against the woman she loves in a terrifying fight to survive.

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Critics Consensus

Smart, stylish, and well-acted, What Keeps You Alive proves it's still possible to spin an engrossing horror yarn without fundamentally altering established formula.

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Jamie Righetti

indieWire

Despite a few predictable beats, "What Keeps You Alive" offers plenty of effective jolts, helped along by the chemistry between leads Anderson and Allen.

Rated: B+

Oct 31, 2018

Full Review

Brad Wheeler

Globe and Mail

That being said, the victory of What Keeps You Alive is not its heart-thumping (and a little too long) second act, but the question of survival versus vengeance the film raises.

Rated: 3/4

Oct 31, 2018

Full Review

Dennis Harvey

Variety

Nonetheless, it's an entertaining and well-crafted effort from a resourceful indie team who've scored enough respectable base hits to date that one might reasonably expect them to deliver a home-run any time now.

Oct 31, 2018

Full Review

Ciara Pitts

Vague Visages

Minihan’s tale is a moody, memorable work of art that dares its audience to meditate on the layers and anxieties of love and deceit.

Dec 15, 2023

Full Review

Matt Glasby

Radio Times

There is a violent about-turn that will surprise even hardened genre fans, but this is otherwise a not especially original play on the usual hunter/hunted model.

Rated: 3/5

Mar 23, 2023

Full Review

Michael Cuby

them.

An unnerving, bloody thriller, What Keeps You Alive is the perfect offering for queer horror fans looking for some scares that also speak to their own sexual identities.

Sep 30, 2022

Full Review

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Kim W

So creepy & suspenseful! Captivating the whole way through. Great ending

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/22/24

Full Review

Logan D

Jackie and Jules travel to a remote cabin to celebrate their one year anniversary as a same sex married couple. Someone has to ruin it with violence. The actresses deserved a better story. Instead, they received an unmemorable formulaic tale in which their characters make stupid choices only to move the plot along.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

04/30/24

Full Review

Vanessa S

Brilliant underrated movie gem

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/11/24

Full Review

Goran G

I really wanted to like this movie but some of the parts were very unsatisfying and absurd. For example, the girl is thrown from the cliff, have major injuries (including her face badly wounded) and yet the day after she appears for the dinner with almost no scars and guests doesn't notice anything except that she looks somehow weak. C'mon! Maybe I am being too demanding and critical but those kind of inconsistent places annoy me. However, there are some nice chills and performances from two lead ladies are good.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/02/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Jigsaw co-stars Brittany Allen and Hannah Emily Anderson are a happy couple They go to a cabin in the wilderness All’s good until Jackie snaps and suddenly becomes a murderous psychopath Jules does all she can to get away The film is violent and these two women are really good It’s not an entirely original idea of the hunter-hunted model we’re used to seeing A majority of this really has me wish Jules was a lot smarter and much braver (certain instances she could just freaking fight back or grab a blunt instrument to defend herself, there comes a point where you just want her to stop weeping in the corner) Some things in here strain credibility or you can’t believe how dumb certain stuff happens Two twists I admit I didn’t see coming so I’ll give them that There are real cases that apply to this kind of domestic abuse so I think that’ll work for some being very terrifying not knowing when the violence will occur let alone asking why It’s truly scary when your significant other is dead-set on making you an ex

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

09/29/23

Full Review

PridePosterStudios

This film will make you angry.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

04/26/24

Full Review

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Colin Minihan

Director

Hannah Emily Anderson

Jackie

Brittany Allen

Jules

Martha MacIsaac

Sarah

Joey Klein

Daniel

Charlotte Lindsay Marron

Young Jackie

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Synopsis

Jackie and Jules are a couple celebrating their first anniversary at a secluded cabin in the woods belonging to Jackie's family. From the moment they arrive, something changes in Jules' normally loving wife, as Jackie begins to reveal a previously unknown dark side -- all building up to a shocking revelation that will pit Jules against the woman she loves in a terrifying fight to survive.

Director: Colin Minihan
Producer: Chris J. Ball, Kurtis David Harder, Ben Knechtel, Colin Minihan
Screenwriter: Colin Minihan
Distributor: IFC Midnight
Production Co: Digital Interference Productions, IFC Films
Rating: R (Brief Nudity|Bloody Images|Language|Violence)
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller, LGBTQ+
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 24, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 24, 2018
Runtime: 1h 39m

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