L'élue

Might not be as appreciated as other Osgood Perkins films but it's definitely really enjoyable. I snuck in a nice bitter beer that gave me a buzz that went well with everything. I absolutely loved the acting with Rossif and Tatiana they are talented, great soundtrack and sweet cinematography! Hope some appreciate the film I surely did.

I will admit, the cinematography is good! But it's pretty framing on a kindergarten level painting. The story is jumbled and feels slightly rushed yet somehow you'll feel every minute going by at the pace of a snail, it feels like he's trying to explain that men will sacrifice anything to reach a goal but it tells it in such a way that feels as if he let an edgy 2015 era Tumblr-ite write the script. I spent a concerning amount of time thinking about other movies I could have seen instead of it while it was playing, not worth the time or energy it took and it ruined my evening. Kinda like "this could've been an email" but in movie form...

This movie was extremely gripping and very scary at times but dont go in expecting the best movie ever just settle in with what the movie gives you and let it take over . Me and my dad both really enjoyed this and it is a slower ride but it was worth the watch and definitely worth a watch in the theater.

A 5.9 IMDb rating at time of writing does feel a little harsh for this film.

Sure, there is a lot about this film that feels very derivative. A cabin in the woods with creepy stuff going on isn't exactly a genre reinvention. I won't go into detail so as to preserve the film's mysteries, but as things unfold, even more elements do feel familiar.

But, this familiarity is wrapped up in a very appealing package. Visually the film is gorgeous, capturing the cabin and the natural landscape perfectly. The tone is creepy and suspenseful throughout. The performances are brilliant, particularly Tatiana Maslany who really shines.

The story also does get an injection of originality and spark with a folk horror element that may divide opinion, but I thought it brought things together quite well. It also made for some genuinely nightmare inducing imagery that worked really well.

Overall, Keeper is unlikely to blow you away. It's a slow burn horror that will feel familiar to genre aficionados, but the great performances, wonderful cinematography, and strong final act, are enough to make it worth your time.

Osgood Perkins third film in 18 months is another horror story, though tonally different from both "Longlegs" and "The Monkey". This is , I suspect, the most divisive of the three films and I'm not sure really benefitted from the improvements made possible by Neon's cash injection.

Liz (Tatiana Maslany) comes to the secluded woodland house belonging to her boyfriend Malcolm (Rossif Sutherland). The only nearby house belongs to Malcolm's cousin Darren (Birkett Turton) though he is supposed to be away. Liz begins to see and feel presences in the house and surround area that she can't explain. Her distrust of Malcolm grows, though he too is seeing his previously sensible and capable girlfriend seemingly losing her mind.

I listened to a podcast with Osgood Perkins before seeing the film, so I am aware that the film was shot before "The Monkey" in Canada, as a way to keep working around the 2023 labour strikes. I also knew that it was shot in a 'pickup' style with them attempting to hammer out exactly what the story was in post-production and also that Neon gave him a small amount of money to enhance the visual effects ahead of release. I don't think that those CGI elements were to the films benefit, the practical effects are much scarier than those elements, particularly as they are exposed for quite long period in the last act.

I was maybe a bit more prepared though for the "dark trip" style of the film, as opposed to some of the rest of the audience in the screening I was in, who seemed more negative about the film at its conclusion than I felt. I thought that Maslany was, as she always is, brilliant.

It couldn't live up to an exceptional trailer and the 'cleanliness' of the CGI elements, as opposed to the physical effects really worked against the film, but overall, I still feel positively about it.