The Keeper (2004)

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

On the surface he seems a competent and friendly law enforcement officer. However, model policeman Lieutenant Krebs (played by Dennis Hopper) harbors a deep, dark secret. He has kidnapped an exotic dancer and imprisoned her in the basement jail of his country home.A better ending would have been if Sergeant Burns turned out to be in league with Lieutenant Krebs. That way, when the two confront each other Krebs could say, "I'm done with her, it's time for her to go." Then, the Burns would say, "no, this one's a keeper!" Go to black.Just think of the sequel possibilities of two deranged cops, cleaning up the town of its bad elements.

I don't dislike many films, but this is one of them. Admittedly I came in about half an hour into it and left long before the end, but I don't think I could stomach any more.I won't bore you with the plot that's outlined in several other comments and in the plot summary itself, but it's an interesting concept. Unfortunately, it isn't pulled off. This film could easily have made the viewers wonder about good and bad. This seemingly good man doing a job to benefit the community etc. has keeps a young stripper locked up in his basement.I love my slow-moving, dialogue driven films, but only when they have something to draw me in, be it the acting, dialogue itself or a well-deserving theme. However this has none. Dennis Hopper was a big disappointment with no emotion or conviction in his character. There was no clear difference between his character in the basement and his character out in public. Possibly a good thing, but not when the acting is so unenthusiastic and effortless. Asia's character was completely unbelievable, and I don't really blame her for this. I put this down to the awful script and bad directing. For the portion of this film I saw, she feebly and clumsily tried to escape and failed miserably, again, with no effort or conviction. After that, she seemed happy to be kept in the secret prison. Okay, possibly as a sort of two-faced reaction, except without the slightest hint of the face of hatred and desperation.I also noticed a considerable lack of mis-en-scene. The only thing I can point out and call mis-en-scene would be the constant feel of claustrophobia, even when out of the basement. Other than that, colours and lighting were always fairly bright and jolly, hardly the kind of emotions you want to give off. Also, on the note of lighting, the basement was hardly believable as a basement, because it had so much light. There seemed to be no shadows in this cramped, underground, usually dark room.If you want a decent thriller, watch something else...anything else.

This is a tough one to vote for. There are many flaws: the story is very thin, the psychology of childhood sufferings that create a personality like Hopper's is so basal it's embarrassing, the cheap coincidences (like the heli flying around while Gina escapes for the first time and the colleague driving his car to the right place while the kidnapping is at its deadly conclusion). And the editing, what an awful job they did... The good thing about this movie is the acting. Hopper always maintains a fair level, no matter how crappy a movie is. But the real star is Argento, she alone makes you wanna watch the developments unfold. Her portrayal of a caged being that is frustrated, adapting and always on the watch is very fascinating and makes you (well, me) take for granted all aforementioned weaknesses.

This movie, co-starring Helen Shaver and Asia Argento, is in keeping with the oddness expected of Dennis Hopper. His motivation to do a movie like this one is questionable and I would be the first to wonder how much he was paid or whether this was him doing someone a favor for a friend or... I think you can get the picture. Lo-budget film, poor plot, crummy lines for the co-stars all contribute to the mystery of Hopper without saying much for anyone else in the film. I believe it to be the former of the assumptions; they paid Dennis well for this one. It takes place in a small town. The lake region where it was filmed contains stunningly beautiful scenes. The home where most of the movie takes place is itself is a stereotypical classic. The prison like cage dwelling of the costar, Asia Argento is classic too. There is an interesting amount of testosterone mixed in as well that contributes to some excitement during a puppet scene performed by Hopper toward the end. Shaver's role could have been better defined and Argento could have come across with more emotion, but her acting was good considering the role she played as a kidnapped stripper. Hopper as the psychotic sheriff is not at his best, but Hopper's best, in my opinion, cannot be defined which may help explain why I rented the film in the first place. I gave it a 2 because it is no Titanic or Capote, but given the genre, I could have rated it higher.