Keeper Preview Left Audiences Gasping — Tatiana Maslany Teams with Oz Perkins for a Bone-Chilling Folk-Horror
Neon screened a carefully edited 20-minute preview of Oz Perkins’ upcoming horror film Keeper. The preview revealed several plot and production details, showed striking visuals, and included a short discussion with lead actor Tatiana Maslany.
What we saw
The preview opened with a montage of beautiful women, and then cut to a montage of bloody, screaming faces. After that, a 20-minute sequence laid out much of the film’s setup and some of its key scares.
Keeper follows a woman named Liz who goes to an isolated cabin in the woods with her partner Malcolm. What begins as a romantic weekend turns darker as an ancient, eldritch force emerges. The preview leaned into folk-horror themes, and reviewers drew comparisons to films like The Wicker Man, The Witch, and Midsommar.
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For context, the film’s trailer is available online:
Cast and performances
Tatiana Maslany stars as Liz. Rossif Sutherland plays Malcolm. Maslany also appeared in Perkins’ previous film The Monkey in a supporting role.
Maslany said she and Perkins bonded over a shared interest in distinctive female horror performances. She described that meeting and the director’s taste directly: “Oz likes the oddness of those performers and really imbues his sets with the freedom to go there as well.”
Production and filming
Maslany confirmed Keeper was filmed before The Monkey during a quick, low-budget shoot in Canada. In her words, “We shot this one very cheap and cheerfully before The Monkey.”
She added: “We shot it for very limited money in terms of what most movies are made for.”
Maslany also said she and Perkins will work together again; the director’s follow-up is titled The Young People and Maslany is attached to collaborate on that project.
Effects and the creature
Maslany emphasized the film’s emphasis on practical work: “A lot of Keeper we did with practical,” she said. However, the creature effects in the preview used a mix of practical and visual effects.
During the screening, audience reactions were audible; notably, there were audible gasps during at least one scene. Those reactions indicate some of the previewed visuals land as intended, according to the screening.
Final notes
To summarize: Neon showed a focused 20-minute preview that clarified Keeper’s setup, tone, and some of its effects work. The film leans into folk-horror motifs, features Maslany and Sutherland, was shot in Canada on a modest budget prior to The Monkey, and uses a combination of practical and digital effects.
All quotes in this article are reproduced exactly as spoken by Maslany during the post-preview discussion.
