Guest writer Kara Gray Ramirez takes a deeper look at 2025’s Keeper from Osgood Perkins!
A fairly recent film that has been massively misunderstood is Keeper, directed by Osgood Perkins. Oz has proven himself more than once when it comes to atmospheric, psychological horror with films like The Blackcoat’s Daughter, Longlegs, and The Monkey. Those films which are written and directed by Oz himself are bold, loud, and clear with what they are telling you, while leaving you with lasting discomfort. When his latest film Keeper was set to be released back in 2025, audiences could not wait to see what was in store. This folk horror feature was written by Nick Lepard, but you would swear Perkins wrote it himself. Keeper intends to slowly let you into the madness, and you must be patient to enjoy the ride.
Keeper used excellent marketing strategies to promote the film. Audiences were given very minimal to chew on in the trailer, which seemed to be an intentional strategy. The lack of context turned some people off who chose not to view it at all, and about half of the audiences who watched the film felt it delivered. The trailer promoted the film as a dark dual first-person narration between lovers Liz and Malcolm. It starts with Peggy Lee’s 1958 version of “I Don’t Want to Play in Your Yard” as a moody atmosphere billows over Malcolm’s home in the woods.
A perspective plays out where Liz questions Malcolm and his intentions, and then there is a quick switch, and the same kind of perspective is pondered by Malcolm about Liz. There are a few brief flashes of brutality in between that are left very mysterious, featuring multiple women appearing fearful before they are seemingly killed. Audiences felt this trailer promised a ruthless tale of cat and mouse violence, which seems to line up with Perkins’ interests and style. Once the film was released, audiences felt the slow-burn folk horror story was too slow for their expectations, and the script did not pack enough punch. Interestingly enough, Keeper has so much more to say than some might realize upon their initial viewing. Perkins loves to use odd background lore behind his stories, and all though he did not write Keeper, his essence oozes from every scene.
Liz is played with intense and gripping emotion by Tatiana Maslany, as she attends an anniversary get-a-way at her boyfriend’s secluded cabin in the woods and finds her life changing forever. Within minutes it is clear that Liz and Malcolm (Rossif Sutherland) have pretty stale chemistry, which seems to be intentional. Malcolm whisper talks to an almost insufferable extent, and his character’s personality and vibe is quite crusty. He seems more like an older brother or father-figure, to Liz than a lover. Liz is a talented artist, and the new atmosphere inspires her to start drawing. Once she consumes a strange chocolate cake Malcolm was insistent upon feeding her, visions start to come through of several women in different timelines all filled with terror. Liz starts to feel an unexplainable connection to these women, and she starts to draw them as her new subject, hoping to understand why they are coming to her.
The only visitors at the cabin were Malcolm’s brother Darren (Kett Turton), and his girlfriend, Minka (Eden Weiss). It was an unexpected and forceful visit that left Liz feeling uncomfortable. Darren does nothing but mock Minka’s “poor English” and says she cannot speak it. He treats her with horrific disrespect and talks about her like she is a toy he can play with. To Liz’s surprise, Minka speaks perfectly clear English before she departs with Darren and says, “that cake tastes like shit,” to discourage Liz from eating it in some type of code. As previously mentioned, Liz doesn’t use her head, and she eats the cake anyway. She finds herself so drawn to the cake; she goes as far as eating the entire thing. You watch in disgust as the cake reveals severed fingers and other tasty treats sticking out of the frosting, as Liz devours it. Meanwhile, our salty friend Minka gets destroyed in the woods by an unknown creature, revealing she felt weak and drugged by the cake and was unable to defend herself.
Malcolm seems very surprised and almost concerned when he sees Liz is doing just fine the day after consuming the entire cake. He scrambles to look for an excuse to leave, and says he is needed at the hospital that day. Liz doesn’t think it’s strange at all, since Malcolm is a respected doctor. When she is left to her own devices alone in the cabin, she finds herself increasingly mesmerized by the pull of the creatures in the woods. This is the point in the film where the terror becomes real, and the folk story unfolds.
Keeper is a psychological horror creature feature, and it is does a masterful job of showing the harm in an emotionally abusive relationship. The symbolic theme did not seem to land with audiences in the way it intended, and many critics complained the story was too dull, the characters were too bland, and there was not enough of a pay-off. Those who did praise Keeper were willing to watch it with an open mind, and were open to more than one viewing.
Personally, I found Keeper to be quite good upon my initial viewing in theaters, but I felt it was a thinker, and the type of film you only truly appreciate after a second viewing. I agree that some of the mystical aspects of the folktale felt slightly underdeveloped on my first watch. Once I took some time to digest the film and read a few think pieces, I realized I hadn’t given Keeper a chance to reach its full potential. When I watched it for the second time, everything felt clear, and Tatiana’s performance as Liz is perfect. Liz is a pretty indecisive person who seems to have a codependent style of love language. She does not seem to ask herself what even draws her to Malcolm, as he appears quite selfish, distant, and pompous. She seems to be a placeholder for Malcolm, and the creatures will show her the path to resistance in this emotionally unfulfilling relationship.
The opening sequence of Keeper is absolutely stunning, while deeply chilling, and set the movie up beautifully for my taste. You watch as women across different timelines appear happy and blissfully in love from the POV of someone unknown, and then their faces turning quickly to terror to the classic, traditionally happy song “Love is Strange” by Mickey and Sylvia. I was very excited to see Elvis Bishop’s “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” incorporated at another pivotal moment. When a song morphs so perfectly to the emotions in a scene, it wins me over every time. The perfect use of music in the opening reminded me of T-Rex’s “Jewel” opening up Perkins’ Longlegs, and what a difference it makes to use the right song to get the story going. As the story unfolds, it is clear why so much detail had to go into the unraveling of the final horrifying reveal.
Keeper may not be everyone’s cup of tea when it comes to psychological horror, but it does deserve more respect on its name than it has gotten so far. The 50-55% score audiences and critics have settled on will be disputed in years to come, and I think Keeper will become somewhat of a cult classic. I know I am always seated when Osgood Perkins is involved. I am excited to see what he directs next, and I will be looking out for more work from Nick Lepard. If you haven’t checked out Keeper, at least give it a try!
Meet Kara!
Kara Gray Ramirez is a proud wife and mama, as well as a writer and horror fanatic.
Since falling in love with All Hallows Eve in 2013, Kara has built a substantial Art the Clown collection. In 2025 and 2026 Kara wrote for Dread Central.
She previously worked in the animal industry for 7 years as well, and loves cats, as well as playing bass and singing.
You can follow her on Instagram at @Karuh13 and check out her Letterboxd profile here.
