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49 out of 62 people found the following comment useful :- More than the sum of its parts, 14 September 2004 Author: kkutach from Dallas, TX
Possibly this isn't Michael Mann's best - or even next to next to best - movie, but I make no apologies for liking it quite a lot. In fact, my chief complaint about this movie is that it has never been released on DVD so that the full texture and sense of this piece could be better experienced and appreciated. It is a travesty with all the tripe that leaps from the undergrossing screen to overblown DVD these days, that no studio has had the stones to release THE KEEP on DVD. In a weird, connect the dots fashion, I consider this film to be a critical milestone in Mann's directorial evolution. In and of itself, this makes the film entirely watchable, if not "important". The movie should be indispensable to Mann's devotees, and I find it surprising that it is not. As much as Manhunter (one of my all time favorites) and Heat (right up there with them) are ranked by most as very good films, THE KEEP, if for no other reason than its novelty should be accorded more respect than it gets.Read the other reviews here and you can more or less understand the story line. The salient facts are there. I differ on several points, however.First, I don't consider THE KEEP to be a 'horror movie' or even sci-fi, although it certainly has elements of both. I have no recollection of how the film was billed when it opened in '83 (in fact, I didn't see it until it appeared on Showtime, significantly later), but if you are looking for a 'horror' or 'sci-fi' flick, THE KEEP will leave you short. It is more of a 'thriller' if you had to pigeon-hole it, but even that doesn't really work, and this is what I think what confuses many who have seen and subsequently slammed this movie. To those who want a nifty tight film with all the proper cinematic and artistic "T"s crossed and "I"s dotted, you won't find it here and you will be eternally frustrated. What you will find is a unique, visionary realization of an essentially often told story of conflict between ultimate good and ultimate evil, spun in an arguably overly symbolic context. Second, much apparently has been said about the lameness of the sets and special effects and accents and soundtrack and costumes, etc etc. I can't ever know for sure, but I don't think that Mann, with all his individual sense of style (remember, his visions and realizations virtually defined a substantial part of the 80s -- whether you liked them or not) was all that concerned about the impact of the trappings, but more on what they allowed the story to play against. The interplay of color (or lack thereof), background, character and music all create an enjoyable tapestry, best viewed from several feet away. If you get hung up on the minutae of this film, you've lost the message. In my personal opinion, this isn't a movie that should be watched critically - because it will fail in many ways, as others have already observed. Rather, you should suspend not only your disbelief but your pretentiousness and just let the movie sort of flow around you. It's a bit like drift diving in Cozumel - the warm current moves you along to the degree that details can get lost and fuzzy, but you eventually realize that's what makes the experience different and wonderful.The music certainly isn't appropriate to the period (1941 Nazi-occupied Romania) but then this isn't a period piece. Quite the contrary, the Tangerine Dream soundtrack adds to the gauzy, dreamlike quality which to me is what makes this movie so compelling and different. The acting isn't the best and in places, yes, the audio is pretty bad, but when considered as a whole, I believe the movie succeeds. My VHS copy of THE KEEP is now getting threadworn from overplay and I hope that someone, somewhere, will bring it out on DVD.A strong 8 out of 10.
26 out of 35 people found the following comment useful :- Uneven Art House Horror, 3 November 2003 Author: Theo Robertson from Isle Of Bute, Scotland
Some people mention movies like LORD OF THE RINGS and BLACK HAWK DOWN as being extremely poor stories saved by their technical truimphs and watching THE KEEP I can understand where they`re coming from . This is a visually striking atmospheric movie with a rather confused and under developed scriptAll the best aspects of THE KEEP are mainly to do with what`s on screen . Alex Thomson`s cinematography is awesome , check out the scene of the fishing boat sailing into the rising sun , or the full moon shining out from behind the clouds or that fantastic scene where Lutz looks into the cavern as the camera pans back for almost a full minute . Michael Mann brings an unspeakably doomladen atmosphere to the movie and manages a quite remarkable image featuring the initial appearance of Molasar . Considering the budget is only 6 million dollars the special effects are quite good for this scene featuring an image of smoke , light and a haunting soundtrack . Mind you this one of the very few instances where Tangerine Dreams synth soundtrack is successful , elsewhere in the movie it`s very inappropiate . The acting too is a mixed bag . Most of the cast are merely okay while Gabriel Byrne plays just about the most blood chilling and convincing Nazi I`ve ever seen in a movie , but Scott Glen is wooden and Ian McKellen gives an awful performance as Dr Cuza , a Jewish intellectual who seems to have all the speech patterns and mannerisms of a Hollywood producer . Having said that it is interesting to see McKellen play someone who goes through a character arc similar to the one Frodo goes through in THE LORD OF THE RINGSMichael Mann`s treatment of the screenplay is far less successful than his directing . A gestapo death squad battle against a monster , er so who are we supposed to root for ? During the war even some hardened Waffen SS men despised these murder squads and this is echoed by the character interaction between Captain Woermann and Major Kaempffer . However it turns out Woermann has profoundly anti fascist ideals in a conversation with Dr Cuza which means he stops being a character and becomes a cliche . Was everyone in Germany at this time either a Nazi or an anti Nazi with no in between ? I just wish Mann had blurred the lines a little . It should also be pointed out that Woermann`s first words of dialogue actually do sound like they come from a Nazi stormtrooper which indicates Mann has written inconsistently for the character . Another serious error with the screenplay is that it`s never really explained who Glaeken and Molasar are . Some people have described Molasar as a Golem , but he`s not . A Golem is basically a clay statue from Jewish folklore not as is Molasar an ethereal being of great power . Of course it could be that because Molasar needs Cuza`s help he appears to Cuza as a Golem but once again this seems to confused a lot of people due to the script , and I`m puzzled as to how Glaeken fits into all this . When adapting a screenplay everything should be made clear on screen to everybody , not just to people who have read the source novelI gave THE KEEP seven out of ten mainly due to the technical achievements ( Remember this only cost $6 million ) but a word of warning only watch this if it`s in a widescreen letterbox format . I saw this on Sky movies the other night and a poor quality scanned version was used which meant the visual impact was totally absent
23 out of 31 people found the following comment useful :- An interesting, though muddled, adaptation of F. Paul Wilson's top notch novel, 9 January 2003 Author: Jonathon Dabell (barnaby.rudge@hotmail.co.uk) from Wakefield, England
The Keep is weird. It has extraordinary visuals and some powerful sequences, but a bit too much of the action is tricky to follow because the scripting is muddled and some of the dialogue is delivered in an inexpressive and unclear manner. The film is based on a book by F. Paul Wilson, which is one of my all-time favourite novels.The action revolves around a forbidding Romanian fortress set in a hillside. It is occupied by German soldiers during WWII, but the soldiers are foolish enough to disturb some of the glowing crosses embedded into the walls. From within the keep, an ancient and powerful evil force is unleashed, and only a mysterious drifter called Glaeken (Scott Glenn) knows what it is and how to destroy it.The scene in which the evil is released is brilliant. Two soldiers venture into the inner depths of the keep, and one is mutilated by the unseen power. Another terrifc scene involves old cripple Ian McKellen being given a new lease of youth by the evil force. There's also a beautiful and erotic love scene between Glenn and Alberta Watson. Other aspects of the film aren't so good. As mentioned, there's a lack of clarity in the story telling. Also, the final conflict between Glenn and the evil force is hasty and under-developed. The pace of the film suffers from a slow and rather uninspiring opening half-hour. However, genreally speaking, The Keep is worth watching, especially if you're a fan of the book.
21 out of 29 people found the following comment useful :- This is a consistently strange, yet engaging film., 12 August 1999 Author: A-Ron-2 from Storrs, CT
I wish that Mann had been a more experienced director when he tackled this really bizarre film, but all things considered it is really a damn fine movie. The soundtrack has some problems, but the dialogue and acting are so interesting that the faults of the film are balanced out. I especially enjoyed the conversations between Byrne's SS Major and Prochnow's German Army Captain. In fact, I almost wish that the majority of the film had dealt with this rather than the bizarre supernatural stuff. I really do advise this film to anyone that is interested in strange cinema. If you can get past the unfortunate flaws of the film, I think you will notice that it is actually a kind of fascinating little movie. I have seen it many times (first back in '85) and still find it a good watch (although most of my friends do not). In other words, this movie is not for everyone, but I thought it is quite interesting.
9 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :- Dramatically flawed but visually stunning fantasy, 23 April 2006 Author: fertilecelluloid from Mountains of Madness
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
This is really Michael Mann's "The Keep", not F. Paul Wilson's. It is an interpretation of Wilson's novel, certainly not a slavish adaptation. Mann dispenses with much of Wilson's exposition, and has drastically rewritten scenes in order for them to exist solely as eye and ear candy. He is aided and abetted by Tangerine Dream, who deliver a hypnotic and surreal score.The movie does not hold together narratively or dramatically, and the love story is forced and awful. Alex Thomson's cinematography, however, is mind-blowing -- worth singling out are the boat sequence, the scene in which the Molasar (the imprisoned evil) visits Dr. Cuza (Ian McKellen), and Scott Glenn's motorcycle ride through the forest. Mann is expert at creating powerful, transcendent visuals, and sometimes he even gets the drama right, too ("Heat", for example), but in "The Keep", he is overwhelmed by the material.The film flopped badly when released, not surprisingly, but it is well worth seeing for its audacious set pieces and European visual style. A solid rewrite may have ironed out the confusion and strengthened the strained, awkward relationships between the characters.Recommended with reservations.
8 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :- Dark and malicious fairy-tale...with Nazis!, 15 December 2006 Author: Coventry from the Draconian Swamp of Unholy Souls
Michael Mann is one of Hollywood's most acclaimed filmmakers nowadays (with modern classics like "Collateral" and "Heat" on his repertoire) but, just as so many talented directors, he started his career in the horror genre with the uniquely sinister and atmospheric "The Keep". Not being much of a fan of large-budgeted blockbusters, I hence consider this to be one of his most remarkable achievements, alongside the marvelous Hannibal Lector film "Manhunter". "The Keep" is adapted from Paul Wilson's novel with the same title. Personally, I haven't read it (yet), but approximately 90% of the reviews I've encountered so far are stating that the film version is overall weak and lacking in comparison with the book. Well, that must be a pretty damn amazing book then, because I thought the film already was petrifying as hell and easily one of the darkest & most unsettling fantasy-tales I ever beheld! The screenplay isn't without flaws, indeed (I'll come back to that later), but the horrific atmosphere Mann creates is insanely intense and the choreography & set pieces are nearly perfect. Nearly every sequence just oozes with suspense and you'll get the feeling that something ominous & creepy awaits the characters behind every corner. Not that you care too much about them, because…well…most of them are Nazis, but still the constantly lurking presence of pure evil truly sends cold shivers down your spine. The story's set-up is reminiscent to that of a morbid fairy-tale, with a sinister keep located somewhere in a remote Carpathian area and hiding an evil breed that is supernaturally guarded by an angel-like warrior. When a squadron of Nazi soldiers brutally claims ownership of the keep, the evil force is awakened and immediately begins to gruesomely kill the perpetrators. The almighty Nazis eventually require the help of a reluctant Jewish professor to discover the source of the evil, while his beautiful young daughter experiences a dream-like romance with the godly guardian of the keep. Simply put, "The Keep" is a masterfully photographed and fascinating fantasy-tale that gives everyone of us a lesson in sheer tension. Especially when the evil force hasn't yet taken on a monstrous shape and dwells around the impressive fortress like fog, the tension is almost unbearable. The first few killings of Nazi soldiers are quite gory, too, since their bodies are cut in half or their heads are literally blown to pieces. Admittedly it loses a bit of its tremendous impact once it takes the form of a flashy red-eyed demon firing off laser beams, but then still it remains a pretty damn scary movie!During the film and actually for quite a while after finishing it, the plot holes and severe improbabilities didn't occur to me at all. Only afterwards, when analyzing this perplexing film experience, it comes to the surface that Mann's screenplay seems incomplete and raises quite an amount of questions that remain unanswered here in the film version. Logical questions, actually, that you tend to overlook when you're sucked into a hi-tech visual masterpiece like this. Assuming the monster – Molasar – represents the gathering of many malicious forces, how and by whom were they bundled into one location? Who built the keep and what purpose serve the silver crosses other than eerie decoration? What's the significance of the talisman that keeps Molasar inside the walls of the keep whether or not the guardian angel is present? And who's eventually the biggest menace to mankind? He…or the Nazis? I suppose this is what everyone means when they're referring to the novel as being superior. I imagine Paul Wilson gives a lot more background to the keep and to the monster in particular. There were several eminent actors involved in this film, and not just for the principal roles. Even though Scott Glenn receives top billing as Glaeken Trismegestus – the guardian – he has very little to do, actually. Particularly Gabriel Byrne impresses as the relentless & cruel Nazi Commander Kaempffer (complete with the ugliest haircut imaginable), and so does Jürgen Prochnow as the 'good-hearted' and concerned army Captain caring more about the fates of his team members than about the success of Hitler. Ian McKellen is a bit disappointing as the Jewish professor, but maybe that's partly due to the fact his lines were dubbed after finishing the movie. Why the hell did they do that? Overall I'd say "The Keep" is a highly recommend horror film and really one of the only 80's efforts that truly manages to frighten you! Here's to hoping it gets a fancy DVD-release anytime soon.
3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :- Promising but descends into B movie schlock, 22 May 2009 Author: Framescourer from London, UK
The Keep promises much. A super cast start to play out an interesting analogy: is the keep keeping something out - or in? A priest-like janitor and his sons disappear after their initial contribution, which is psychiatrist-like in its open-ended explanation of the building. Only the village priest, with his 'simple minded faith' manages the best response to the discovery that the lesser of two evils is still evil.The film is doomed to special effect-dom the moment the sinister entity of The Keep begins to take on a form. The various incarnations, rather like Jeff Goldblum's various stages of mutations in The Fly, are pretty close to risible and not helped by a hackneyed voicing. A lot is owed to the supernatural effects of The Raiders of the Lost Ark, with its rudimentary light-shows, dry ice and projections. One can also see where the Pet Shop Boys got the idea for using McKellen in a similarly Gothic role for the video for Heart.The Keep is not so much a disaster as a disappointment; Mann's use of music and his stylish shooting give way to the B-movie razzle dazzle rather than become it. Alas, he is also consistent - the love-making scene is really rather clumsy in the way that the corresponding sequences in Miami Vice fail to satisfy. 3/10
5 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :- A must see for Mann lovers, avoid if you like continuity, 28 July 2005 Author: Agamemnon-T-H-McBastard from United Kingdom
This movie's a mixed bag of horror goodies. On the one hand you have a great premise, a phenomenal ensemble cast with two strong leads (in the form of Byrne and Prochnow) of two distinct and contrasting personalities. The script also does not shirk from displaying the worst of humanity, personified by the SS. None of which saves this film from a below-standard review. The crux of the problem is not the fact that it hasn't aged well - though the 2005 viewer will have to work hard to see past the rope effects, discordant music (supplied by Tangerine Dream - nice) and distinctly non-erotic sex scene - but rather the fact that the whole film feels unfinished. We do not find out where the monster comes from, nor where his nemesis fits into the picture, while the female lead's character is simply baffling in her stoicism. Several poorly edited shots also jar the viewer out of the experience, making the entire affair seem amateurish and sloppy.The acting is patchy, with the cast straight-jacketed by an awkward script which offers some of the stronger players a few chances to shine (except Glenn, who is made to struggle along in an appalling whisper) but despite the opportunities the situation affords, this never rises above the mediocre.All in all, this film is hard work, but worthwhile if you look at what was achieved with an obviously limited budget. Just don't expect a horror film in keeping with Mann's later abilities.
6 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :- Wow, 14 May 2004 Author: (mdsmith101@hotmail.com) from Stockton, UK
I first saw The Keep on Moviedrome (I think) ages ago and eventually tracked down a copy on VHS, every time I see this film it stuns me with its endless weirdness.The plot goes something like this: German soldiers are ordered to protect a small castle (hence the title) in Romania. On the first night one of a series of small crosses in the walls begins to glow, unlucky German pulls the cross out of the wall and Bad Things Happen. Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away Scott Glenn (Hero) senses that a Demon imprisoned in the walls has been unleashed, cue him racing across an ocean to get there and do battle with the red-eyed demon. Meanwhile, as the demon snacks on the Germans, the Nazi's arrive and events become slightly more complicated.Much has been made out of the absent back-story between Hero and Demon, on close inspection the film does falter a little here. There's one moment late in the film when Alberta Watson mentions the real name of the Hero and the real name of the Demon, which is odd because no-one has told her their names. Deleted scene, anyone?Michael Mann, for me is incapable of making a bad movie, and although this is weird and looks like a ton of footage was cut by Evil Studios/Evil Producers, it still is a great monster movie.Hopefully one day in the distant future this will either be re-done (and lose all the atmosphere) or we'll get a fuller, extended version, if you're a fan of Michael Mann that might be a scary idea (what, 3 hours!!??) Maybe for TV they could make a series of movies based on the series of books that The Keep forms the beginnings of. The Keep (1983) 5/5
2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :- Could've been a good movie..., 25 October 2002 Author: Gags97 from Va, USA
The first few minutes of this film are fantastic. It starts off with a great opening sequence with the German army convoy slowly trudging up a mountain to a haunting score by Tangerine Dream. From there, the film brilliantly sets the mood and atmosphere and begins to neatly introduce the story. Then you blink, and everything goes to pot...**Possible spoilers ahead--both film and novel**Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Tangerine Dream (thanks mainly to this movie), but was it really necessary to have one of their scores blaring during the scene with the two privates going treasure hunting? The only thing it did was dampen the suspense.Also, why didn't they show a few scenes with the soldiers actually getting killed by this thing? In the novel, the creature wasn't flashing lights and fog, but rather a silent killer that stayed to the shadows. An unseen presence creates a feeling of anxiety and uncertainty, and incidentally, greater viewing pleasure.Then there's Scott Glenn's character. What is he supposed to be in this movie? An alien? A warrior from the First Age like in the novel? How am I supposed to react when they kill him off in the end if I don't even know who or what he is? I did like the chemistry between the two German officers--Jurgen Prochnow and Gabriel Byrne--and I would've loved to have seen more interactions between them so as long as they trimmed down the vague, pretentious dialogue just a tad.However, poor Ian McKellan turned in a pretty crummy performance as the professor. I can't say I blame him completely though--He went out of his way to prepare for this role, studying the Romanian dialect, only to have Michael Mann ask him: "Can you do something more Chicago?". You have to do what the director wants, otherwise you're out of a job, right? There were far too many unanswered questions in this movie, which inevitably spoiled it. Now, I enjoy movies that don't spell things out to you in crayon, but I don't believe this problematic mess was the film makers' original intention. In this situation, it seems they ran out of money, film, and time, and tried to pass off half of what they had completed as something retrospective, praying to God that you would be distracted by the slow-motion shots and fog long enough not to notice the films' numerous (and unnecessary) shortcomings. I admit I enjoy watching this film, only to get ideas of what I would do differently to improve it. It would be nice to see someone else take another crack at The Keep and make it into the atmospheric and suspenseful tale of Good vs. Evil that it's supposed to be.It certainly deserves a second chance.
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