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The Keep Movie Review by Jeff
Posted by:When "good Nazi" Jurgen Prochnow moves his garrison to an ancient fortress looming over a tiny Romanian mountain village, his troops promptly screw up and release the eldritch evil imprisoned therein. When soldiers start dying, SS officer Gabrial Byrne shows up to handle the situation, and recruits expert Ian McKellen. Since he's Jewish, however, McKellen allies himself with the demon...can wandering guardian Scott Glenn get there in time?
Seeing it this time around, I was struck at the wonderful dreamlike quality of the opening sequence, as the soldiers wend their way through the steep countryside and approach the mist-shrouded village. The close-ups on Prochnow's face show him struggling to stay awake, and we see that the soldiers riding in the back are all dozing, too. It nicely communicated the notion they were heading to another world.
With Michael Mann's evocative directing, the ethereal Tangerine Dream soundtrack, and that great cast, The Keep was just as much fun as I
remembered. The interplay between the actors is nicely intense (especially Prochnow and Byrne), the unearthly mood is maintained throughout, and the monster is wonderfully realized. He's a big stone golem with glowing eyes and mouth, and there's even a transitionally formed stage in which he's a skull atop a stack of muscle fiber. Another action figure I wish existed.
There are some setbacks; the scenes with Scott Glenn and the female lead are kind of weak, and I suppose the flick looks a little dated (mostly by the awful, awful, frizzy Jennifer Bealsish hairdo they stuck on that poor woman). And the climax gets a little full of itself and therefore comes off as too slow; they could have injected a little more action or suspense in there to make it seem less the inevitable waltz it turns into.
Overall, though, I love it. This is an example of that Michael Mann 1980's electric blue slickness that I can totally sink my teeth into.
Review by Jeff
Seeing it this time around, I was struck at the wonderful dreamlike quality of the opening sequence, as the soldiers wend their way through the steep countryside and approach the mist-shrouded village. The close-ups on Prochnow's face show him struggling to stay awake, and we see that the soldiers riding in the back are all dozing, too. It nicely communicated the notion they were heading to another world.
With Michael Mann's evocative directing, the ethereal Tangerine Dream soundtrack, and that great cast, The Keep was just as much fun as I
remembered. The interplay between the actors is nicely intense (especially Prochnow and Byrne), the unearthly mood is maintained throughout, and the monster is wonderfully realized. He's a big stone golem with glowing eyes and mouth, and there's even a transitionally formed stage in which he's a skull atop a stack of muscle fiber. Another action figure I wish existed.
There are some setbacks; the scenes with Scott Glenn and the female lead are kind of weak, and I suppose the flick looks a little dated (mostly by the awful, awful, frizzy Jennifer Bealsish hairdo they stuck on that poor woman). And the climax gets a little full of itself and therefore comes off as too slow; they could have injected a little more action or suspense in there to make it seem less the inevitable waltz it turns into.
Overall, though, I love it. This is an example of that Michael Mann 1980's electric blue slickness that I can totally sink my teeth into.
Review by Jeff
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