Keeper

Directed by Osgood Perkins, Keeper details the creepy happenings that ensue after a woman (Tatiana Maslany’s Liz) agrees to accompany her boyfriend (Rossif Sutherland’s Malcolm) to his remote cabin in the woods. It’s perhaps not surprising to discover that Perkins, armed with Nick Lepard’s screenplay, has hared-wired Keeper with about as arms-length and uninvolving an atmosphere as one could envision, and there’s little doubt, certainly, that the movie’s far-from-gripping vibe is perpetuated by an absolutely glacial pace and ongoing emphasis on infuriatingly baffling attributes – with, in terms of the latter, Perkins’ decision to suffuse the proceedings with oddball bits of avant-garde creepiness enhancing the tiresome, tedious feel. And while the picture boasts strong work from both Maslany and Sutherland, Keeper’s context-free sensibilities prevent it from capturing the viewer’s interest and attention even fleetingly – which does, in turn, ensure that one has completely tuned out long before the revelation-heavy final stretch rolls around. The end result is an often prototypically lackluster Perkins effort that squanders its able cast, and one ultimately can’t help but wonder what Perkins initially set out to accomplish with this disastrous mess.

1/2* out of ****