Synopsis
Nazis take over an ancient fortress that contains a mysterious entity that wreaks havoc and death upon them.
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Cast
- Scott GlennGlaeken Trismegestus
- Alberta WatsonEva Cuza
- Jürgen ProchnowCaptain Klaus Woermann
- Robert ProskyFather Mihail Fonescu
- Gabriel ByrneMajor Kaempffer
- Ian McKellenDr. Theodore Cuza
- William Morgan SheppardAlexandru
- Royston TicknerTomescu
- Michael CarterRadu Molasar
- John VineLutz
Recommendations
- 100
Empire
The Keep wears its crap bits proudly on it's sleeve, its qualities are more hidden and emerge only once you've watched it, dismissed it and then found that it's atmosphere refuses to disperse. - 60
The Dissolve
Mann’s achievement in creating his own dreamlike alternate reality alongside a historical one isn’t necessarily diminished by his failure to bring the story across. The keep has a presence: castle walls that stretch to infinity, an ancient Evil that forbids lodgers and requires rituals to contain it, the metaphorical heft of standing over a war of unimaginable atrocity. And thanks to Mann, The Keep has a presence, too. - 60
L.A. Weekly
The movie can’t always keep its many moving parts in lockstep, what with its hinted-at mythos that obscures more than it elucidates and its cast of enigmatic characters whose precise dealings with one another are never made entirely clear, but its World War II backdrop, ravishing synth score by Tangerine Dream and Third Reich mysticism make for a poppy but brooding atmosphere. - 50
Time Out London
Eerie, chilling, at times engaging. But Mann's attempt to superimpose an analysis of the emotional attraction of Fascism simply doesn't work within the Heavy Metal magazine cartoon format. - 40
TV Guide Magazine
A minor disaster. Director Michael Mann presents a fantastic-looking movie, filled with great production values and lush cinematography. Unfortunately, these are combined with a totally incoherent narrative, punctuated by incredibly inept performances from usually fine actors. - 30
Variety
Buried deep within The Keep’s mysterious exterior lies that chilling Hollywood question: how do these dogs get made? - 25
Miami Herald
Mann deserves credit for trying new stuff, of course; The Keep is nothing if not ambitious. But it isn't anything more, either. [20 Dec 1983, p.D5] - 20
The New York Times
The movie makes no sense as either melodrama or metaphysics, so that its expensive special effects go up in smoke. Literally.
