The Keep

In 1981, F. Paul Wilson published The Keep, a horror novel set in WWII Romania. The movie has been on my radar for quite some time, but I never really got around to watching it.

Then Bookbub had the book on sale for 0.99 cents, so I grabbed it. I wanted to read it before finally watching the movie, and so I did.

Romania, 1941 before the German invasion of Russia. A group of soldiers led by Captain Woermann arrives at The Keep, in fictional Dinu Pass. A greedy soldier intent on loot accidentally releases an old evil called Molasar, which starts to kill one soldier per night. The captain sends for help, which arrives in the shape of SS-Sturmbannführer Kaempffer and his einsatzkommandos. The officers knew each other form the first world war and their mutual antagonism is a relevant part of the plot. The killings continue and the Germans discover that Jewish professor Cuza is the closest thing to an expert of the keep there is. He is forcefully taken to the Keep by the SS and the Romanian Iron Guard together with his daughter Magda.

At the same in Portugal, a strange man named Glenn becomes disturbed, and grabbing his belongings, hastens to Romania.

I'm not going to explain more of the plot than this, to avoid spoilers.

Even though the it all sounds a bit cheesy, the book is actually pretty good. The pressure brought on by the killings which are clearly supernatural adds tension, as threatened soldiers are prone to lash out. I enjoyed it from start to finish, especially since Wilson writes good characters, but the film, well, that's another question entirely.

The movie, directed in 1983 by Michael Mann (Last of the Mohicans, Heat) is awful. It has three problems in my opinion.

The biggest reason for it's ghastliness isn't Mann's fault. His original cut was 210 minutes, which the studio refused outright. They had it cut down to 96 minutes, after which Mann disowned the movie altogether. The cuts really savage the plot. I knew what everything meant because I read the book, otherwise I would have been completely lost. Very little makes any sense in the film as it stands. It jumps around, it rushes through the plot so fast at times that what for example, should be a blossoming romance is boiled down to a weird surreal sex scene. Things like that.

The second problem is it's extremely 1980's style. Even though it's set in 1941, it has an electronic soundtrack by Tangerine Dream, and it sounds terrible. In another movie it would be fine, but in a WWII film it's awful. There are also several special effects and shots that are completely out of place but were popular in the 80's. It looks at time more like a music video for Kate Bush, than a horror movie. This is very much Mann's fault.

Finally there are the inevitable changes. Surprisingly, the film is mostly very faithful to the book, but the most glaring changes are really irritating. First, Magda is changed to Eva. Why? Magda is a perfectly functional name. Silly change. Secondly, a priest is added to the film. He replaces the innkeeper from the book, but there is also an innkeeper in the film. So why bother adding a priest that serves no purpose? Worst of all, Molasar is completely changed. There is a very good reason why he looks like a pretty stereotypical vampire in the book, but in the movie he is an odd Golem-Demon-Smoke-Monster. So incredibly dumb. So are the way in which he kills. In the novel, he kills in bloody, shockingly gruesome ways, but in the film, it's all a light show. Terrible...

I would like to actually see Mann's 210 minute cut, but it is lost in the mists of time. Because of this I can't go into all the things that are missing from the book. He may well have filmed them, but lost them on the cutting room floor.

End summary: do read the book, it's in my opinion worth it, but avoid the film at all costs.

That's it for this time. Until we meet again, have a great week!