The Keep (1983)

Director:

Michael Mann

Writers:

F. Paul Wilson (novel)
Michael Mann (screenplay)

Release Date:

16 December 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

THEY 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... THE KEEP Tonight, they will all face the evil.

Plot:

Nazis guard a citadel that harbors a dangerous force that starts wreaking havoc and death upon them, forcing an uneasy alliance with a Jewish professional who can stop it.

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | SS | Fortress | Death | Good Versus Evil

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Scott Glenn	...	Glaeken Trismegestus
Alberta Watson	...	Eva Cuza
Jürgen Prochnow	...	Captain Klaus Woermann
Robert Prosky	...	Father Mihail Fonescu
Gabriel Byrne	...	Major Kaempffer
Ian McKellen	...	Dr. Theodore Cuza
William Morgan Sheppard	...	Alexandru (as Morgan Sheppard)
Royston Tickner	...	Tomescu
Phillip Joseph	...	Sergeant Oster
Michael Carter	...	Molasar
John Vine	...	Lutz
Jona Jones	...	Otto
Wolf Kahler	...	S.S. Adjutant
Rosalie Crutchley	...	Josefia
Frederick Warder	...	Border Guard #1

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Rankcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Finland:K-18 | Germany:16 | Brazil:14 | Australia:M | France:-12 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, Wales, UK

Company:

Associated Capital

Trivia:

The film is dedicated to the memory of visual effects supervisor Wally Veevers.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Many of the German soldiers are equipped with British Sten guns, rather than the MP 38/40 one would expect.

Quotes:

Captain Klaus Woermann: What's all the shooting in the village, huh?
Major Kaempffer: A civilian to be interrogated. He resisted, and was shot!
Captain Klaus Woermann: Another civilian! The courageous Einsatzkommondo again is victorious!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Directors: The Films of Michael Mann (#2.1)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Gloria

Leaves a taste like Lovecraft

I saw this film years ago and have searched for it over and over again. I have been a lover of Lovecraft for a long time and to me this film encapsulates the very best aspects of a Lovecraft story. No, by the way, it isn't one. But The Keep brings out the nature of the minds of men and the horror that anyone can possess inside. I agree with the last review that this film should not be viewed as horror or sci-fi though as a follower of both genres I have to say it holds my taste well. What I remember and am haunted by with this film is the overall aura, the bleak greyness, the compulsion 'it' draws out of those near it, and the question it ultimately asks of the viewer as well as the characters. There are many films out there like this one that have been pushed to the back burner and left obscure and to be honest and maybe a bit rude I think it is because they ask so much of the viewer. Movies such as The Last Wave, The Quiet Earth and such demand that you stop and become engulfed within your own mind. There are plenty of people out there like me that are smart and interested in the fringes of sanity and the crux of good vs evil. The other titles I listed have managed to make it onto DVD and yet this title has not. Maybe with more and more of Lovecrafts work making into the DVD viewing world there will be a place for more films like this one on the shelf again soon. I can only hope.