Keeper Movie Review: Great Reviews, Underwhelming Experience

There’s no denying it: Osgood Perkins is fast becoming the new king of modern horror, crafting nightmares that resonate perfectly with today’s audiences. The hype reached a fever pitch the moment the Keeper trailer dropped—dark, chilling, and instantly addictive.

But while the world expected another horror triumph, our Keeper movie review reveals a very different story.

Plot details of Keeper (2025)

Liz (played by Tatiana Maslany) and Malcolm (Rossif Sutherland) go to a secluded cabin for their anniversary, and, as in most horror films, the cabin harbors its own dark secrets.​

Malcolm has to leave for an emergency as he is a doctor, but when he comes back, he finds that Liz has changed. Something supernatural is connected to the cabin, and her comfort zone becomes a terrible place of survival.​

Have a look at the trailer:

Neon followed a great marketing strategy when Keeper’s teaser was first released as a post-credits scene in The Monkey (2025). People already started making guesses about the fate of the women. Some appeared modern, while some seemed to belong to another era.​

The audience felt as if these women had been victims of the cabin’s sinister plans. We had been constantly scrambling for answers since the Longlegs director teaming up once again with Tatiana Maslany was a power duo that we had been looking forward to. But our expectations didn’t meet the teaser and trailer’s hype.

Actors’ performances in Keeper (2025)

Tatiana Maslany was Oz Perkins’ first choice, as she was also in The Monkey, playing the role of the mother of twins, Hal and Bill. Her on-screen presence was short, but she ensured a maximum impact.

She is now playing a lead role in Keeper as Liz, where she powerfully portrays a character dealing with supernatural dread. Since most of the film focuses on building an eerie atmosphere, it was Maslany’s intense emotions that carried the film forward.

Liz is believable, resourceful, intelligent, emotionally resonant, and effectively grounded in the film’s unsettling atmosphere. She is desperate for answers as she feels she is going down the abyss, without knowing what it truly is.

On the other hand, Rossif Sutherland’s Malcolm has gained mixed reviews from the critics and people, as they called his performance flat and lacking emotional range. I can understand the reason, since he was invested in pleasing the vile souls of the cabin and wanted his deal with the demons to be fulfilled at any cost; he had become cold.

Understandably, his apathetic character did not require much depth. His reluctance to be physically or emotionally close to Liz stemmed from his shady motives behind bringing her here, serving the inconspicuous nature of the cabin. 

What do critics add to Keeper movie review?

The critics’ consensus on Rotten Tomatoes is not very favorable toward the film, as it says,

“More a collection of unsettling moments than an altogether cohesive story, Keeper is too half-baked to have much staying power despite a committed turn from Tatiana Maslany.” [Source]

The majority of the critics believe the story was “tedious” and only a collection of haunting moments, and the real punch in the story was missing. Though Maslany did what she does best, all the weight on her shoulders wasn’t justified.

The film tries hard but appears to be an overextension of the story, leaving it not as grand as Perkins’ previous films. The ingredients of the execution didn’t impress the critics much; hence, the result was unsatisfactory.

Fans’ reaction​

Fans have similar thoughts, too. One of them straightaway mentioned that if there was an option of giving it zero stars, she would have done it right away. According to the audience, the worst part of the film is knowing what will happen next in the “first 15 minutes”.

The rest of the film has no intrigue, and the “fear of the unknown” factor was somehow missing; the viewers expected more from the director.

Is it worth watching?

If you are a big fan of Oz Perkins and Tatiana Maslany, then Keeper is worth at least a one-time watch. However, it didn’t quite hit me in my gut.

The atmosphere-building was brilliant, such as the snapshots of the women whose faces were covered in blood, or the woman who came to Liz’s cabin saying the chocolate cake “tastes like shit,” and then appearing again in a horrifying look, and some gray stone peeking out from a trash bag.​

Things around the house go awry with typical rooms, doors, and staircase creaks. I understand that it was to evoke the sense of an unseen presence in the house. However, the impending horror didn’t feel convincing.

The creepy entities in the cabin didn’t get a full explanation despite Malcolm’s unveiling of a tragic story of a woman who looked just like Liz. The last few minutes of the story were mind-boggling as the roles of Malcolm and Liz were switched, proving that their fates were intertwined with the devil’s deal.​

The ending did jolt me for a few moments after the credits rolled, and I was left wondering what just happened. A thought briefly crossed my mind about what I had just seen, but it faded quickly.

It means that Keeper didn’t make any unforgettable impression and didn’t offer me something that I could have dreaded for the rest of my life. It never truly grabbed me, especially after having watched Longlegs and The Monkey.  

Maslany’s performance was brilliant, but the story and horror elements were underwhelming. I found myself pushing to finish the film, hoping it would eventually deliver something truly hair-raising.​

I honestly couldn’t understand why Guillermo del Toro praised Keeper so highly.

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What we liked

• Tatiana Maslany’s outstanding performance
• Strong atmosphere-building
• Chilling visual moments
• A mind-jolting ending
• Solid marketing buildup

What could be better

• A more cohesive, impactful story
• Stronger horror delivery
• Better use of supernatural elements
• More emotional range in Malcolm’s character
• More originality after Perkins’ previous hits
• Sustained intrigue

Here’s a detailed breakdown of our rating for Keeper (2025):

Story/plot	5/10
Characters and acting	6.5/10
Direction and pacing	5/10
Visuals and cinematography	7/10
Soundtrack/score	6/10
Themes and message	4/10
Emotional impact	4/10
Creativity/originality	5/10
Rewatchability	2/10

Our rating: 5/10​

Is Keeper (2025) available for online streaming?​

Neon distributed Keeper (2025) (R-rated) theatrically on November 14, 2025, but now it is available for streaming on Apple TV.

Genre:  Horror, mystery, thriller

IMDb rating: 5.9

Rotten Tomatoes: 49 percent on Tomatometer (critics’ score) and 40 percent on Popcornmeter

Cast: Tatiana Maslany, Claire Friesen, Rossif Sutherland, Tess Degenstein, Birkett Turton, Erin Boyes

Director: Osgood Perkins

Writer: Nick Lepard

Producers: Jesse Savath, Chris Ferguson

Release date: November 14, 2025

Movie runtime: 1 hour 39 minutes

Did Keeper give you the chills, or were you left wanting more? Tell us how it made you feel!