Director Osgood Perkins and actress Tatiana Maslany recently revealed insights about their upcoming film Keeper at San Diego Comic-Con 2025. This Osgood Perkins relationship horror marks a new chapter with its intense portrayal of a couple’s tense romantic getaway that spirals into dark, unsettling territory.
Following Perkins’ acclaimed 2024 releases Longlegs and The Monkey, Keeper reunites him with Maslany and introduces fresh faces like Rossif Sutherland and Claire Friesen. The movie explores complex emotional dynamics set largely within a secluded cabin, blending horror with the fragile and often gnarly nature of intimate relationships.
Unpacking the Mystery Behind ‘Keeper’s’ Plot
Osgood Perkins described Keeper as a classical single-location horror story centered on a couple’s stay in a cabin by a brook. However, the film dives beyond standard genre tropes by focusing equally on both partners’ struggles rather than a simple victim-perpetrator relationship.
“Keeper is more or less a single-location horror movie in the classical sense, about a couple who spend a night or two in his cabin near a brook, and things get gnarly for both of them, really,”
Perkins explained. He emphasized the story’s dual perspective, saying,
“It’s not a subjective thing. No one’s a subject, no one’s a victim. Well, that’s not even true to say, but both are sort of in their own problematic situations.”
The setting plays a key role in shaping the characters’ dynamic. Perkins noted,
“Only in the sense that he knows more about the place than she does, but that doesn’t necessarily help him. This is like playing charades or something.”
Maslany chimed in, comparing it to the game Taboo, illustrating the elusive and tense communication between the couple.
The narrative’s genesis was influenced by the 2023 industry strikes that put some projects on hold. Perkins reflected,
“There was a minute there when everyone sort of thought the world was going to crack before the strike broke. So we said, ‘How can we keep working in a way that’s legit?’”
With a script by Canadian writer Nick Lepard, the film’s development was fluid and organic, likened by Perkins to a jazz band discovering the piece together as they worked.
The Power of Costume: Defining Liz Through Wardrobe Choices
Tatiana Maslany portrays Liz, a woman who ventures to a remote cabin with her long-time partner Malcolm, played by Rossif Sutherland. Liz’s character is layered with guardedness and depth, making her difficult to fully read.
“This is her first time going out to this cabin with a guy who she’s been with for a while,”
Maslany said, capturing the tension of an uneasy yet established relationship. While hesitant to reveal too much to avoid spoilers, she described Liz as both hard to reach and very much in love. Malcolm reciprocates this affection, adding complexity to their interactions.
A standout symbol for Liz’s character is a striking red sweater described by Maslany as
“kind of just this graphic, beautiful thing.”
The red stands out against the film’s dark, natural locations and underscores Liz’s sense of alienation in the unnamed wilderness. As the poster tagline puts it,
“This place isn’t right for me.”
In contrast, Malcolm’s attire—or lack thereof—adds another dimension. Perkins explained,
“He’s nude. He’s a nudist… He’s a doctor. He wears sort of business casual.”
This juxtaposition between Liz’s bold sweater and Malcolm’s natural vulnerability subtly echoes their relationship’s imbalance and unease.
New Voices and Fresh Talent Shine in ‘Keeper’s’ Cast
The film’s cast is compact yet powerful, featuring both established actors and newcomers. Maslany praised the creative environment fostered by Perkins, highlighting the spontaneous and inventive approach to acting on set.
“Working with Oz… the story was very strongly there, but all of the sort of in-between moments and the discovery of things based on where we were shooting, and the discovery of things based on who was cast, and things that were accidents,”
Maslany remarked. She recalled a scene where the director urged her to “just stay there like that,” embracing unscripted gestures that enhanced the story’s authenticity.
Perkins emphasized the importance of having actors like Maslany who bring complex layers to their roles. He said,
“When you’re making a movie from my point of view, you can start to see things in a certain way, and then it becomes two-dimensional… Tatiana’s the type of actor who comes to you and is like, ‘You know what? This is actually three-dimensional. It’s actually a cube.’”
This multidimensional approach influenced the entire crew’s creative decisions.
The film also features fresh talent like Eden Von Weiss, who delivers a memorable performance with her few lines delivered in a thick Romanian accent, despite being from Vancouver. Birkett Turton, playing Rossif Sutherland’s cousin, impresses in his short but impactful scenes. Maslany also gave a heartfelt shout-out to Tess Degenstein, her real-life best friend and co-star, highlighting their long-standing creative bond.
A Unique Directorial Experience for Osgood Perkins on ‘Keeper’
Perkins described the making of Keeper as a “directing first,” primarily because he had less influence over the screenplay than usual. This distance allowed him to interpret and discover the story in collaboration with the cast and crew rather than from a fixed script.
“I wasn’t in control of the writing of the script, so I had to take what was coming my way and understand what it means, understand what it means to me, understand how it plays, understand how the actor sees it,”
he shared. This freedom helped foster an organic and playful production environment, with all participants contributing creatively without pressure or high stakes.
Maslany admitted that initial nerves accompanied this unusual process.
“The first day, I was incredibly nervous, because I was like, ‘Oh, I think we’re making something really special.’”
She described feeling vulnerable as she realized the project’s emotional depth. Despite this, her usual commitment to fearlessness remained constant.
“If you’re not scared, it’s not worth it,”
Maslany stated plainly, underlining the emotional risks actors often take for meaningful roles.
How ‘Keeper’ Expands on Perkins’ Approach to Horror
Comparing Keeper to his previous films, Perkins clarified that it fits into a distinct category he calls “relationship horror.”
“It sort of wears the vestments of a cabin in the woods, single location, something-trippy-is-going-on-in-this-space movie. But in reality, it’s sort of a relationship horror,”
he explained. The film probes why romantic relationships can be confusing and painful, exploring questions of identity, memory, and connection.
Perkins offered this reflection on the emotional core:
“In certain relationships, we get to the end of it, and it’s like, ‘You know, what would be amazing? Is if I could just have never known you ever at all. That would be fine with me.’”
This sentiment drives the movie’s tension and deepens its horror beyond external scares.
The director also acknowledged the rise of relationship-oriented horror films, praising distribution company Neon, which he said is “dominating relationship horror” and much more.
Tatiana Maslany Discusses the Challenges of Voice Acting in ‘The Hunger Games’ Audiobooks
In a lighter moment, Maslany reflected on her experience narrating Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games audiobooks. She found many voices enjoyable to perform but admitted Peeta’s voice was surprisingly difficult to find.
“Who’s a guy? What’s a guy sound like?”
she asked, illustrating the complexity of voice acting in multi-character audiobooks. Maslany credited director Scott Sherratt for encouraging subtle modulations and praised professional narrators for their skill.
She described using “placement in the mouth” and facial muscle engagement to switch between characters. Perkins added a humorous observation about how actors manipulate their jaws differently for accents, noting that English requires a lot more mouth movement than languages like Norwegian.
What ‘Keeper’ Means for Audiences and the Horror Genre
Keeper promises to deliver a fresh take on horror by blending psychological tension with intimate relationship drama, anchored by strong performances and an innovative creative process. The film offers fans of Osgood Perkins a new lens on his exploration of fear—one that looks inward at the strange dynamics between people rather than relying solely on external threats.
With Perkins’s fluid directing style and Maslany’s fearless acting, Keeper is positioned to stand out in a crowded horror market, providing both suspense and emotional truth. As the film approaches release, audiences can anticipate a haunting, thought-provoking journey into the darker sides of love and identity.
