The Keep

1983 "They were all drawn to the keep. Tonight, they will all face the evil."
5.7| 1h36m| R| en| More Info
Released: 16 December 1983 Released
Producted By: Paramount
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

Nazis take over an ancient fortress that contains a mysterious entity that wreaks havoc and death upon them.

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Scott LeBrun During WWII, Nazi soldiers decide to defend a Romanian mountain pass. As part of their plan, they make their headquarters in a nearby fortress. Unfortunately, two sentries get greedy, and in their search for the treasures that the fortress contains, they allow an ancient evil spirit to be released from its tomb. While the Germans procure the services of an aged, ailing Jewish historian (Sir Ian McKellen, the "X-Men" franchise), their humane, level-headed officer Woermann (Jurgen Prochnow, "Das Boot") butts heads with his brutish young associate Kaempffer (Gabriel Byrne, "Miller's Crossing") over methodology, and a strange mystery man named Glaeken (Scott Glenn, "The Silence of the Lambs") is drawn to The Keep to fulfill some sort of mission.Michael Mann ("Heat", "Manhunter"), here following up his smash debut "Thief", also adapts the novel by F. Paul Wilson. One can see that this could have been interesting; he had good intentions and definitely did his research. Unfortunately, his squabbles with the producers & studio (Paramount) resulted in his ultimately disowning the film, since he was never able to properly realize his vision.As it is, this is a compelling, appropriately ethereal horror-fantasy story, but in this 96 minute long incarnation, it comes across as muddled and not fleshed-out enough. In addition, the inevitable confrontation between Glaeken and the imposing monster Molasar (played by Michael Carter of "An American Werewolf in London") is much too rushed and cheesy, robbing us of complete satisfaction.Still, there's a fair bit to respect here. Production design (by John Box), cinematography (by Alex Thomson), and the music (by Tangerine Dream) are all excellent. The film is shot through with some absolutely overwhelming gloomy atmosphere, and is quite sombre, with no real humour to speak of.It's the efforts of a superior cast that help to make "The Keep" work as well as it does. Prochnow and Byrne, in particular, have one great scene together. Also starring are Canadian beauty Alberta Watson ("The Soldier"), the late, great character actor Robert Prosky (the gangster in Manns' "Thief"), William Morgan Sheppard ("Wild at Heart"), Wolf Kahler ("Raiders of the Lost Ark"), and Rosalie Crutchley ("The Haunting" '63). Glenn has a commanding presence, but with so little to work with, his hero character doesn't leave that much of an impression.I think we can chalk this up as a "nice try, but no cigar" effort, and only wonder about what might have been, had there been no interference.Six out of 10.
jellopuke It's a shame we'll never get to see the director's actual vision for this movie because it was cut from 3 hours to 90 minutes by the studio, because what is here is quite cool, even though it's chopped so badly that in some cases the sound mix is way off. There's something neat trying to get out, but we can only see what's here and say, could have been more.
billbink First, I will admit that it's patently obvious to anyone who has watched Michael Mann's other films that the studio totally butchered this movie. Mann had not yet achieved enough status to insist on final cut. This movie feels like it is missing about 30 minutes which is why many reviews point out how disjointed it is, especially the last 10-15 minutes or so. Mann has disowned the film, and I am sure it's because the version he FILMED is nothing like what was theatrically released.What makes The Keep so special is not just the originality of the story line or the performances by the principals, esp. Ian McKellen, Jurgen Prochnow or Gabriel Byrne, but more than anything else, the fusion of cinematography with music, done by Tangerine Dream, and this is actually a better score than they gave Mann for Thief, as hard as that might be to believe.I know the author of the book the film is based on (who once emailed me personally after seeing a post of mine on alt.rec.arts.movies many years ago) hates this film due to the substantial changes Mann made to the story line, but that aside, this is a brilliant film which creates an atmosphere of dread and fear which far surpasses many more typical genre films.It's a tragedy that due to several contractual issues The Keep will never ever get to DVD. Even in its obviously truncated (i.e. non-director's cut) version, it is still a masterful visual and musical fusion of horror and dread.
Daryl_G_Morrissey The Keep is based on the 1981 horror novel, of the same name, by American author F. Paul Wilson. The Keep was the first of six novels, called 'The Adversary Cycle'TAGLINEThey were all drawn to the Keep.The soldiers who brought death.The father and daughter fighting for life.The people who have always feared it.And the one man who knows its secret...Tonight, they will all face the evil.SYNOPSISSet in April 1941, Nazi soldiers are using the Keep of a castle, which is set high in the Romanian Carpathian mountains, as a base. Unfortunately, the soldiers are being killed off one-by-one by a mysterious entity. The Nazi commander asks for help and an SS extermination squad is sent to remedy the problem. Soon the SS soldiers are dying, too, so the SS officer has a Professor and his daughter, from Bucharest, brought to the Keep, in order to find out what is killing his men. The Professor, an expert in old Slovanic and Romanian dialects, is charged with deciphering a cryptic message that has been left on the walls of the Keep, in blood. The entity turns out to be an old evil, from an age of sorcerers, that has been imprisoned beneath the Keep for millennia. Seeing a use in the Professor, who is wheelchair bound, the entity promises him his health and youth back in return for his help. Soon after, an immortal who built the Keep as a prison arrives and, with the help of the Professors daughter, fights the evil.REVIEWAlthough not full of action or the blood-and-guts horror of recent times, this is a classic of the genre. Boasting a cast that includes Ian McKellen, Scott Glenn, Jurgen Prochnow, Gabriel Byrne, Alberta Waton & William Morgan Sheppard, this should have been an instant hit. The screenplay, written by Michael Mann, is short and concise with the actors 'becoming' their characters, to add power to the story. Filmed with hardly any colour and with very few sets, the film can come across as slightly claustrophobic, which only adds to the heightening terror. The soundtrack, by Tangerine Dream, gives the film an almost dreamlike quality, which is at total odds with the 1941 setting of Nazi occupied Romania. But, somehow, it all works. When it was released, it became an instant 'cult' hit but was a critical and financial disaster for Paramount.LATEST NEWSIn July 2006, F. Paul Wilson made 'The Keep' into a graphic novel. His reason for this was to visualise what his version of the film would have been like.