Film Review: The Keep (1983)

There are some viewers that see films as they were supposed to be instead of what they objectively are. This might explain phenomenon of cult status being won by films that are underwhelming, utterly disappointing or plainly bad. One such example could be found in The Keep, 1983 horror film directed by Michael Mann, one of the most ambitious and the most promising Hollywood productions of its time that actually turned out to be disaster and almost destroyed the career of its author.

Film is based on the novel by F. Paul Wilson. The plot is set in Autumn 1941, few months after the start of Operation Barbarossa, Nazi Germany’s invasion of Soviet Union. With seemingly unstoppable advances of German forces, almost everyone is convinced that the World War Two will soon end with German victory and that includes soldiers of small unit of Wehrmacht mountain troops commanded by Captain Klaus Woermann (played by Jürgen Prochnow). Some of them are unhappy with seemingly mundane mission deep behind the frontline and far from real action – guarding the strategic pass in Carpathian Mountains inside Romania. The pass is dominated by imposing and strange-looking medieval keep which seems perfect spot for garrison and Woermann occupies it, despite warnings of Alexandru (played by W. Morgan Sheppard), one of the locals who has been guarding it. Woermann is told not to touch nickel-made crosses embedded in the walls, but some of his men, thinking it to be silver, take them away and, as a result, release mysterious ethereal creature that begins killing soldiers one by one and leaves strange indecipherable inscriptions. Woermann asks reinforcements but instead get SS unit commanded by Sturmbanführer Erich Kaempffer (played by Gabriel Byrne), arrogant and cruel officer convinced that the killings are work of local anti-Nazi partisans. He begins taking hostages among local villagers and threatening group executions for each soldier killed. In desperation, Father Michail Fonescu (played by Robert Prosky), local Romanian Orthodox priest, suggests that Germans bring Dr. Theodor Cuza (played by Ian McKellen), wheelchair-bound scholar who had studied the keep and seems to be the only one able to decipher the inscription. Cuza is Jew and, as such, has to be brought from concentration camp together with his daughter Eva (played by Alberta Watson). In the meantime, mysterious man (played by Scott Glenn), who is living in Greece, learns about what is going on and begins long and perilous journey towards the keep in order to confront whatever is situated in the keep.

Two years before The Keep Michael Mann brought refreshingly innovative approach to crime genre with his stylish gangland epic Thief. It was reasonable to expect that he could do the same with horror genre, especially with the interesting plot that brought some of the genre archetypes like Transylvanian setting, isolated castle or demonic supernatural monster in the context of more realistic horrors of World War Two. The Keep was supposed to be thinking man’s horror film, making the audience compare monsters from ancient myths and legends with real life monsters like Nazis. It took set of some really unfortunate circumstances for such potential to be tragically missed, and this is exactly what happened with The Keep. Visual effects supervisor Wally Weekers suddenly died before the end of production and nobody else could reconstruct his ideas for various scenes. The result is series of bad special effects that are unconvincing even for early 1980s standards. The production was also beset by delays, various problems and constant clashes between Mann and the studio that demanded simplified plot and short running time. The studio won in the end and, as a result, The Keep is, more or less, unfinished film with glaring plot holes, look that seem more fitting to cheap television production and characters (like Alexandru) that disappear without no reason or are undeveloped. This is especially tragic due to really impressive cast, including Ian McKellen in his first major Hollywood production. While the first part of the film looks promising, the second seems rushed and confusing, and even the Tangerine Dream, whose soundtrack was so effective in Thief, can’t be of much help here. Failure of The Keep led Mann to temporarily switch career to the small screen and create legendary TV series Miami Vice, but this might be small consolation to viewers who have to sit through this utter disappointment.

RATING: 3/10 (+)

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Movie URL: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/26198-the-keep
Critic: A