The Keeper (2004)

When an apparently exemplary cop abducts and secretly imprisons a beautiful dancer, a deadly battle of wills between captor and captive ensues.

Director:

Paul Lynch

Writer:

Gerald Sanford

Stars:

Dennis Hopper, Asia Argento, Helen Shaver

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dennis Hopper	...	Krebs
Asia Argento	...	Gina
Helen Shaver	...	Ruthie
Lochlyn Munro	...	Sgt. Burns
Charles Frederick	...	Joe Cody - Man in Black
Alex Zahara	...	Derick
Alejandro Abellan	...	Burley Driver
Fred Keating	...	Mayor Watson
Philip Granger	...	Lt. Stone (as Phillip Granger)
Joe McCoy	...	4th Man
Angela Uyeda	...	Raven Starr
Brad Loree	...	Bouncer
Robert Saunders	...	Trucker
Charlie Gudgeon	...	Bus Kid
Garfield Wilson	...	Alex

Storyline

In Redwood County, the dancer Gina is attacked and her boyfriend is killed by a maniac in a motel. Gina is attended by Sergeant Burns and Lieutenant Krebs insists in giving a lift to her when she leaves the hospital. However, he kidnaps Gina and arrests her in a cell in the basement of his isolated house. The deranged policeman has a serious trauma from his childhood with dancers of night-clubs and establishes rules and punctuations for Gina while she is imprisoned. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Krebs is stalked by a local, Ruthie, who has a crush on him and wants to promote his amateurish puppet show with the character Deputy Rock, his alter-ego. Sgt. Burns is trying to find a clue where the missing Gina may be.

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Plot Keywords:

puppet show | stabbed in the stomach | underwater scene | shower | memory | 

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Taglines:

Life has rules

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language and some sexual content

Details

Country:

Canada UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

2004 (UK)

Also Known As:

El guardián

Filming Locations:

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Peace Arch Films, GFT Entertainment, Studio Eight Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min 96 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Sgt. Burns is showing a police mugshot of Joe Cody to Lt. Krebs, the words "Sacremento City Police" appear across the photograph instead of the correct spelling of "Sacramento City Police"

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Soundtracks

Save Me
(2003)
Written by Duncan Harding and Andy Duncan
Published by A7 Music Unlimited
Produced by Andy Duncan for 7pm Management
Performed by Colin Burt Vidler
© Fightclub 2003. Licensed courtesy of Fightclub

User Reviews

THE KEEPER (Paul Lynch, 2004) **

This Canadian 'maniac cop'-type thriller inaugurates a lengthy series of movies that I plan to watch throughout this month in tribute to its hell-raising star, the late Dennis Hopper. His co-star here is the equally notorious Italian starlet Asia Argento who, portraying a stripper that instills dubiously redemptive tendencies in Hopper, shows that she still has trouble in shedding her heavy accent which needs to be excused by making her an émigré. The presence of these two (who appeared together again a year later in George A. Romero's LAND OF THE DEAD) would have been enough to entice me to watch this modest effort somewhere along the line but, thankfully, the screenplay adds a few interesting touches to the overly-familiar COLLECTOR scenario.

In fact, Hopper has a sideline in puppeteering which he exploits by touring schools in an anti-drug campaign (which, knowing Hopper's highly-publicized drug-fueled antics of the past, makes for the ultimate irony); to further complicate matters, one of the teachers (Helen Shaver) has a big crush on him and wants to manage his 'career' and turn him into a household word!; Hopper's junior partner starts getting in too deep into Argento's disappearance and, inevitably, getting on Hopper's nerves; and, finally, an escaped serial killer who has been hunting down Argento's 'colleagues'.

Unfortunately, director Paul Lynch's (of the original PROM NIGHT fame) thoroughly uninspired handling deadens most of the impact that these subplots might have had and it is left to the two lead actors – but mostly Hopper (whose mania is predictably explained as being caused by a religious-fanatic-of-a-cop dad), since Argento's predicament limits her movements (although she still gets to do a pole dance over the opening credits sequence and have a couple of gratuitous showers along the way!) – to keep non-discriminating viewers watching.