The new trailer for Osgood Perkins’ latest horror movieKeepercleverly adapted one of the cleverest ideas from the recent horror blockbuster that took the box office by storm. The mysterious upcoming psychological horror stars Tatiana Maslany (The Monkey) and Rossif Sutherland (Orphan: First Kill) as a couple that discovers the sinister history behind their secluded getaway cabin on an anniversary trip.
Keeperhas followed in the footsteps of Osgood Perkins 2024 surprise horror hitLonglegsin revealing very little about the movie’s plot via teaser and trailer releases. A burgeoning trend in horror is to maintain narrative secrecy until audiences are in the theater, as was also the case with Zach Cregger’s latest horror smash hit,Weapons.
However, the latest trailer forKeeperborrows a different tactic fromWeaponsthat maintains the mystery. In fact, it might actually create more questions than it answers, and certainly increases the intrigue sparked bythe movie’s eerie first teaser. Despite only being two minutes long, the newestKeepertrailer uses a storytelling device straight out ofWeaponsto great effect.
Keeper’s Trailer Puts A Twist On Weapons' Same Events, Different Perspectives Tactic
A defining characteristic of thebox office juggernautWeaponswas its fractured narrative: a similar time frame and certain events in the small town of Maybrook were retold from the perspective of six different characters. Naturally, there are some inconsistencies between the perspectives, as characters perceive minor elements of events differently.
TheKeepertrailer adopts the concept of telling the same story from differing perspectives, but takes it a step further. In the trailer, we see what is presented as a similar time frame and similar unraveling of horrors from the perspective of Maslany’s character, Liz, complete with her inner monologue. Then, we are presented with Malcolm’s (Sutherland) inner monologue, which is identical in script but backed with completely different visual horrors.
2015
77%
52%
2016
59%
24%
2020
63%
23%
2024
86%
61%
2025
55%
What this does right from the beginning isestablish thatKeeperfollows two completely unreliable narrators. We don’t know whose version of the story that unfolds exclusively via staggered images is the “correct” version, and the heavy implication is that neither of them are. InWeapons, we see peculiar, albeit realistic, occurrences from different perspectives, whereas theKeepertrailer implies that neither perspective is based in reality.
It’s too early to say for certain whether the shifting perspective device will occur during the movie itself, as was the case withWeapons, or if it’s just a mechanism for the trailer. Even ifKeeperdoesn’t utilize the variable storytelling tactics throughout the movie,its use in the first full trailer is the perfect way to build intrigue and mysteryfor what looks like a haunting psychological horror tale.
