DeniDVD Vault: The Keep (1983) - a film by Michael Mann
June 19th 2010 15:34
Category: Horror, Science Fiction
WARNING: If you have read the bestselling novel by F. Paul Wilson of the same name, I highly advise you NOT to watch
this movie, you will be sorely disappointed.
The Keep is a "fantasy gothic horror science fiction movie with Nazis" and unfortunately it's the only movie I've seen from director Michael Mann which is not good but then not horribly bad either. It kills me to say this because I'm a Michael Mann fan. I love his work. And yet, to be fair its failure is not completely laid at the feet of Mr. Mann. According to legend, the movie was plagued with problems and to add insult to injury, the studio cut a good hour and a half worth of footage from the movie and Michael simple had to do what he had to do.
The film is about a team of German Wehrmacht, lead by
Captain Klaus Woermann (Jürgen Prochnow), sent to occupy a remote citadel in the Dinu Pass in Romania. Before reaching their destination the Germans pass through a small village and immediately they sense something "off" about the people, a quiet foreboding with just a tinge of evil. The feeling is intensified when they enter the small castle-like structure where the walls are lined with thousands of small crosses made of either silver or nickel. According to the caretakers, no one knows who owns The Keep but he and his sons were given explicit instructions as to its maintenance and absolutely no one is allowed to stay there or remove the crosses - these instructions have been handed down from generation to generation and the caretakers paid by some anonymous benefactor.
The Germans are not ones to be told where they can and cannot stay so the first night after settling in, two soldiers on night-watch decide to carve out one of the main crosses in order to make money off the silver. The main cross however leads to a hidden chamber and once the stones are removed, they unknowingly release something evil, which kills them both by draining them of their life essence.
Each night for the next week, a German soldier is murdered - his throat shredded and essence drained (unfortunately the movie omits the week of terror but it's explicit in the novel). Unable to determine what is killing his men and now of the belief that something evil at work, Woermann radios for reinforcement and also requests permission for a transfer, which is denied. Instead, a detachment of Einsatzkommandos lead by SD Officer Sturmbannführer Eric Kaempffer (Gabriel Byrne) is sent in to deal with what is assumed to be partisan activity. Kaempffer is a ruthless
leader who believes that he can flush out who's ever murdering the soldiers by threatening to kill or torture the villagers but little does he know that his devious tactics only feeds the fuel of the entity who gains strength day by day by feeding off chaos and hate.
One night when the murders hit too close to home, a message is left on the wall written in Ancient Romanian script. Their only hope in deciphering the message and possibly finding out some clue as to who is behind all the killings is ironically through a Jewish History Professor named Theodore Cuza (Ian McKlellan). Professor Cuza is crippled with a debilitating disease - scleroderma and requires daily care from his daughter Eva because he is confined to a wheelchair.
It is not long after they are brought to the keep when Cuza makes contact with the evil entity, called Molasar who deceives Cuza into believing they are allies and that he will rid the Keep of the Nazi's and free him and his daughter from the tyranny of the Germans. Molasar heals Cuza of his his disease and in exchange Cuza will help Molasar find the talisman buried deep in the Keep which still prevents him from escaping to the outside world. However their plans are thwarted by the arrival of a mysterious stranger, Glaeken (Scott Glenn) who's task is to keep Molasar forever contained.
Glaeken and Molasar are ancient adversaries forever linked together in the pit of good against evil.
No matter how bad the film is, you can clearly see that this is a Mann film. All of his films are stamped with his signature over saturation and stark contrasts between light and dark, especially his use of bright white backgrounds or settings that envelop his characters, neon lighting penetrating through darkness, and slow motion shots - all of which are punctuated by a mood inducing soundtrack and in this case, it's the score provided by the popular German techno band Tangerine Dream
I can only say that this film is awful because I read the book. The plain and simple truth is that it just doesn't compare. However when I first saw the movie, while confusing at times due to the heavy editing, there is still something intriguing about it that I like. It is said that the film has developed a cult following mainly due to the film's music but I'm not necessarily sure that that is the only reason. Perhaps it's the well kept mystery between Glaekan and Molasar that's never fully revealed that makes it a good mystery worth figuring out. Molasar is no ordinary monster and his presence in WWII Romania seems anachronistic, the same with Glaeken and we are left wondering where or how they came to be - and yet still, it is a beautiful film to watch even if a lot of the special effects seem outdated. While Molasar is an interesting entity, I'm disappointed in his appearance. The movie has it all wrong and it's almost comical that he looks like a plastic alien wearing a North Face parka.
Still, despite these flaws it is an appealing watch, so if you want to get sucked into the cult phenomenon of The Keep, go ahead a watch. While I'm against Hollywood remakes, this is one movie I wouldn't mind seeing updated and I'm sure that goes the same for F. Paul Wilson who was really disappointed with the film.
The Keep is a "fantasy gothic horror science fiction movie with Nazis" and unfortunately it's the only movie I've seen from director Michael Mann which is not good but then not horribly bad either. It kills me to say this because I'm a Michael Mann fan. I love his work. And yet, to be fair its failure is not completely laid at the feet of Mr. Mann. According to legend, the movie was plagued with problems and to add insult to injury, the studio cut a good hour and a half worth of footage from the movie and Michael simple had to do what he had to do.
The film is about a team of German Wehrmacht, lead by
Jurgen Prochnow as Woermann
The Germans are not ones to be told where they can and cannot stay so the first night after settling in, two soldiers on night-watch decide to carve out one of the main crosses in order to make money off the silver. The main cross however leads to a hidden chamber and once the stones are removed, they unknowingly release something evil, which kills them both by draining them of their life essence.
Gabriel Byrne as Kaempffer
Each night for the next week, a German soldier is murdered - his throat shredded and essence drained (unfortunately the movie omits the week of terror but it's explicit in the novel). Unable to determine what is killing his men and now of the belief that something evil at work, Woermann radios for reinforcement and also requests permission for a transfer, which is denied. Instead, a detachment of Einsatzkommandos lead by SD Officer Sturmbannführer Eric Kaempffer (Gabriel Byrne) is sent in to deal with what is assumed to be partisan activity. Kaempffer is a ruthless
Ian McKellan as Cuza
One night when the murders hit too close to home, a message is left on the wall written in Ancient Romanian script. Their only hope in deciphering the message and possibly finding out some clue as to who is behind all the killings is ironically through a Jewish History Professor named Theodore Cuza (Ian McKlellan). Professor Cuza is crippled with a debilitating disease - scleroderma and requires daily care from his daughter Eva because he is confined to a wheelchair.
Alberta Watson as Eva
It is not long after they are brought to the keep when Cuza makes contact with the evil entity, called Molasar who deceives Cuza into believing they are allies and that he will rid the Keep of the Nazi's and free him and his daughter from the tyranny of the Germans. Molasar heals Cuza of his his disease and in exchange Cuza will help Molasar find the talisman buried deep in the Keep which still prevents him from escaping to the outside world. However their plans are thwarted by the arrival of a mysterious stranger, Glaeken (Scott Glenn) who's task is to keep Molasar forever contained.
Scott Glen as Glaeken
No matter how bad the film is, you can clearly see that this is a Mann film. All of his films are stamped with his signature over saturation and stark contrasts between light and dark, especially his use of bright white backgrounds or settings that envelop his characters, neon lighting penetrating through darkness, and slow motion shots - all of which are punctuated by a mood inducing soundtrack and in this case, it's the score provided by the popular German techno band Tangerine Dream
I can only say that this film is awful because I read the book. The plain and simple truth is that it just doesn't compare. However when I first saw the movie, while confusing at times due to the heavy editing, there is still something intriguing about it that I like. It is said that the film has developed a cult following mainly due to the film's music but I'm not necessarily sure that that is the only reason. Perhaps it's the well kept mystery between Glaekan and Molasar that's never fully revealed that makes it a good mystery worth figuring out. Molasar is no ordinary monster and his presence in WWII Romania seems anachronistic, the same with Glaeken and we are left wondering where or how they came to be - and yet still, it is a beautiful film to watch even if a lot of the special effects seem outdated. While Molasar is an interesting entity, I'm disappointed in his appearance. The movie has it all wrong and it's almost comical that he looks like a plastic alien wearing a North Face parka.
Still, despite these flaws it is an appealing watch, so if you want to get sucked into the cult phenomenon of The Keep, go ahead a watch. While I'm against Hollywood remakes, this is one movie I wouldn't mind seeing updated and I'm sure that goes the same for F. Paul Wilson who was really disappointed with the film.
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Comment by Holly Go Lightly
Movie Mage
Comment by ShaunK
Screen Adventure
Pity.
Comment by Deni
Abstract Magick
Cinema Herald
I wouldn't NOT watch it, there is something about it that is intriguing and there are some people who have not read the book who really like it...it's just that I read the book and this movie just doesn't do the real story any justice at all.
Comment by ShaunK
Screen Adventure
Have you seen Mann's first film Thief, featuring a 'coking off his nut' Jimmy Caan powerhouse performance.
Mann encouraged Caan to do as much coke as he wanted before each take.
Comment by Kenna
No Myth Fitness
Movie Roar
Comment by Deni
Abstract Magick
Cinema Herald
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
I actually enjoy "The Keep", but do agree that it has faults. Never read the source material to compare though, but can tell from the film that some things were under developed.
Not in the upper echelon of Mann films, but still not as disappointing as Public Enemies. (Nice cinematography, shame about the pacing and lack of drama)
This type of story has been done several times since, the one I rank is called "the Bunker" if you feel like dipping into similar territory.
Comment by Anonymous
If this movie was remade to better fit with the book, I would not bother to watch it. I have grown pretty bored with vampire stories.
Comment by Deni
Abstract Magick
Cinema Herald
Thanks for your comment and while it's a matter of differing opinions and "to each their own", I mightily disagree with you. Molasar in the movie was GROSSLY underdeveloped. The book gives far more detail and expands on his deception and treachery far more than the movie! Molasar's mind tricks even had Cuza doubting his faith as a Jew in such a subtle way that it was brilliant!
Not to mention that the Book also gives more detail to the killings. In the movie, after the first kill, you just see a pile of bodies and no build up of the horror that's going on. The book expands on the carnage!
And let's not forget the image of Molasar himself. In the book he's much creepier - he takes on the disguise of a vampire to reflect nightmare of the locals - it was all a ruse, because Molasar is NOT really a vampire. ...when he approaches his victims, the lights go out and everything is enveloped in total darkness an chaos...he's followed by a shadow that eventually consumes all light... which is the nature of evil.
Molasar in the movie is a joke. He looks like he's wearing a parka.
But like I said above, the movie is very appealing and I don't hate it. But there is just no comparison to the book.
Comment by Anonymous