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Film: The Keep
Year: 1983
Director: Michael Mann
Writer: Michael Mann
Starring: Scott Glenn, Ian McKellen and Alberta Watson
Review:
This was a movie that I first learned about from an ex-girlfriend’s dad. When he heard that I loved horror films, he asked if I knew Hellraiser and this movie. Now I had seen the former as well as its sequels at that point. This movie though, this was the first time I heard about it. It also appeared in the Horror Show Guide encyclopedia and podcasts that I listen to so it was on a list of movies to see. I moved it up to do a video review for a buddy in the community’s show as well.
Synopsis: Nazis are forced to turn to a Jewish historian for help in battling the ancient demon they have inadvertently freed from its prison.
We start this off with a military unit entering a small Romanian village. They’re led by Woermann (Jürgen Prochnow). We learn as they arrive that this is in 1941 and the village is in the Dinu Pass of the Carpathian Alps. Something that I learned reading trivia is that Woermann is sick of the war. They should be on the Russian front, but instead they’ve come here. The movie doesn’t flesh this out, but having read the novel, this keep is a strategic place for Nazi efforts in Romania.
It is there that they meet the caretaker and his sons. Woermann wants his men to secure the keep. There are metal crosses embedded in the walls and one of the soldiers tries to remove one. He’s scolded by the caretaker who reveals that they’re made of nickel. Woermann notices that how this keep is structured, it isn’t to keep something out, but seems more to be set up to keep something inside.
That night, there are soldiers who are keeping watch. They noticed something glowing inside of the keep. They investigate and one discovers that a cross seems to be made of silver. A tunnel opens and he goes inside. Something kills him. It also seems like something deep inside is released.
In a different part of the world, Glaeken (Scott Glenn) wakes up. He has glowing eyes. He knows he must get back to this village. This strange person isn’t the only one coming there either. Another unit of Nazis shows up. They’re led by Kaempffer (Garbiel Byrne). Both leaders are upset about Germans being killed, but Kaempffer has a different way of handling it. He orders members of the village be killed until they tell him who did it. This doesn’t stop the killings inside the keep though. Strange writing is then discovered on a wall. They question a local priest, Father Fonescu (Robert Prosky), who tells them that he doesn’t recognize it. There was a scholar there doing research previously. The problem is that this person is a Jew and being kept in a concentration camp.
That turns out to be Dr. Theodore Cuza (Ian McKellen). He is there with his daughter, Eva (Alberta Watson). Kaempffer uses his pull to get them out and wants to know what the writing says. He also needs to know who killed his men. The answer he gets though isn’t what he expects and there is something supernatural happening here at the keep.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the story. Where I wanted to start was that time is a flat circle and weird. The day after I finished watching this movie, I was reading through the book, Paperbacks from Hell, and this novel was referenced in the chapter I read. I didn’t even realize this was based on a book either. Reading what that encyclopedia had to say, Upon sharing this review, I’ve now read the novel and have a better understanding of this story.
Where I’ll go next is that this has elements that tick boxes for me. I love that we have this isolated keep in a small village nestled in the mountains. That is a great setting. Taking place during World War II and having Nazis as characters we follow is good. What is interesting there is that we have one leader, Woermann, who doesn’t believe in the cause and he’s pitted against Kaempffer who does. I picked up elements of Jewish lore as well with our entity being a golem like creature. There is also vampire mythos incorporated in it. Lore like that hooks me. Then having Nazis as the villain is an easy way to even side with creatures as well. What is great is that this entity is worse than them, which is hard to believe.
Now that I’ve given that overview, let me delve deeper into things here. Having this set in World War II is great. This is early in the war so the Nazis were riding high. Woermann doesn’t want to fight. That brings us around to him. He’s not a bad guy, he’s just from a country with a bad leader. He treats the citizens of this village well, that that helps his character. Kaempffer on the other hand rules with fear. He thinks that by killing villagers, they’ll tell who he is killing the soldiers. I like that he brings soldiers that are loyal to him and the cause. When they’re killed, we are on the side of the monsters. I do like exploring that idea. Nazis are an easy group to hate. Also having soldiers, who should be better equipped being killed is great since if they’re overmatched, a normal person would be as well.
There’s also the lore that I love. In my notes, I picked up on whatever is inside of this structure is golem like. There is a medallion that is trapped inside of the keep. The golem is an interesting creature since it is supposed to be a protector of Jews. When it gets free though, it cannot be stopped much like Pumpkinhead. You must be careful and make sure that you know what you’re doing. What gets confusing here though is I don’t understand who Glaeken is. Using the source material, I do that he is the builder of the keep and that his history is intertwined with the monster. There needs to be more of this in story to help it make better sense.
Let’s then go to filmmaking. Starting with the positives, I thought the cinematography was good. It does well in capturing this remote village and how large this keep is. I’d also say that even though this didn’t have the highest budget for the effects, I thought the creature work was solid as well. This monster was creepy and seeing the power that it had was fine. The better part would be the effects after attacks. We see that it mangles up the soldiers. The problem here though is the editing. First, despite this being an hour and half runtime, I was bored. The cuts are too abrupt and there is just too much information left out to hook me fully. I feel like there’s a good movie here, but what we got falls short. To bring back to the positives, I did enjoy the Tangerine Dream soundtrack. It doesn’t fully fit in building the atmosphere, but it is eerie still so credit there.
All that is left then is acting. We have a great cast here. Glenn has a good look for this mysterious character that he plays. I’ll credit him for that. I do like Watson as this daughter who comes along to help her father. Being that she is a woman, she is a target of soldiers. That adds tension as well. Her performance works in showing that fear. I like Prochnow in his role as this good soldier. It was fun to see a younger Prosky as this priest. He has a limited role. Byrne is great as this villainous Nazi. A bit different from how I’m used to him. McKellen is fine in his role. It is crazy to see him this young. He’s hampered by the writing from what I can tell. Michael Carter also does well as the monster. Other than that, the rest of the cast of soldiers and villagers were fine for what was needed.
In conclusion, I truly think there’s a good movie here. This is one that probably should be remade. We have a good setting by having this keep in a remote village. I like the idea that we have two Nazi unit of soldiers. One by Woermann who doesn’t believe in the cause and Kaempffer who does. The cast is great with Prochnow, Glenn, Prosky, Byrne and McKellen. The performances are good aside from the latter, but I think that’s more of the writing. There’s also good lore here. The problem is with the editing and leaving out too much information. The effects are solid, I love that they’re practical. The soundtrack doesn’t fully fit. I still love what Tangerine Dream does though. Not one I can recommend outside of wanting to check out this odd piece of filmmaking for yourself.
My Rating: 6 out of 10