History Film / TheKeep

-->'''Woermann:''' [''after being accused of incompetence''] ''My'' competence was proven in combat, against soldiers who shoot back!

* BigBad: Molasar.

* EliteMooks: The Einsatzkommando.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Literally everything we need to know about SociopathicSoldier Erich Kaempffer, we learn in his first scene where he calmly orders some villagers executed.

* AFatherToHisMen: Woermann seems to be this, since he tells his men exactly what they want to hear (for example, when Oster laments that they should be Russia for the final assault on Moscow, Woermann tells him that by the time he puts n for a transfer, they'll be Masters of the World) but he doesn't really believe in the party rhetoric, is anti-Fascist, and hates the SS. He still does his job anyway.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Woermann delivers a drunken tirade against Kaempffer and accuses him of simply murdering people to feel powerful. Unusually, Kaempffer fires back with one of his ''own'', accusing Woermann of being too afraid to stand up for what he believes in. Later, [[spoiler: when he realizes Molasar has lied to him]], Cuza goes on a rant about how Molasar has exploited and used him.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: Molasar, as opposed to Glaeken.
* SealedEvilInACan: Radu Molasar.

* PurpleEyes: Glaeken's eyes are colored purple and glow brightly when he's pissed.

* BigDamnVillains: Molasar coming to the rescue of Eva during the attempted rape scene.

''The Keep'' is a 1983 horror film, based on the first novel in ''Literature/TheAdversaryCycle'' by F. Paul Wilson. Starring Jürgen Prochnow and Creator/ScottGlenn, with early appearances by Creator/IanMcKellen and Creator/GabrielByrne, it was directed by Creator/MichaelMann.

In 1941, a group of German soldiers are sent to guard a village near a mountain pass in Romania. Their leader (Prochnow) set up their headquarters in a citadel, the Keep. After accidentally unleashing an [[EldritchAbomination evil being]], named Radu Molasar, reinforcements are sent with an [[EliteMooks SS Einsatzkommando]] led by Major Kaempffer (Byrne) but ultimately, the Germans are forced to seek the help of a Jewish history professor, Theodore Cuza (Mc Kellen), who unsurprisingly ends up allying himself with the evil entity because he sees it as a means of [[EnemyOfMyEnemy ridding the world of Nazism]]. Meanwhile, a mysterious stranger (Glenn), with some connection to the Keep, shows up to interfere with whatever it is Molasar's got cooking, and to fall for Prof. Cuza's hot daughter, Eva.

%%* AnachronismStew: SS in black in 1940's Romania?!
%%** Set in 1941

* AntiVillain: Woermann. A German captain who doesn't belong to the Nazi Party, doesn't mistreat the villagers, cares about the men under his command and makes no attempt to hide his disdain for the reprehensible SS officer Khaempffer.

* RedEyesTakeWarning

''The Keep'' is a 1983 horror film based on the first novel in ''Literature/TheAdversaryCycle'' by F. Paul Wilson.

It concerns a group of German soldiers sent to guard a mountain pass in Romania, who accidentally unleash an [[EldritchAbomination evil being]] named Radu Molasar being from within the story's titular citadel. The dreaded [[EliteMooks SS Einsatzkommando]] are sent in but have little luck, and, ultimately, the Germans are forced to seek the help of a Jewish history professor, Theodore Cuza, who unsurprisingly ends up allying himself with the evil entity because he sees him as a means of [[EnemyOfMyEnemy ridding the world of Nazism]]. In the meantime, a mysterious stranger with some connection to the keep shows up, determined to interfere with whatever it is Molasar's got cooking. In the meantime he naturally falls for Prof. Cuza's hot daughter, Eva.

''The Keep'' is a very strange and confusing - but not entirely bad - film. It was directed by Creator/MichaelMann and was typical of Mann's directorial style. It featured an impressive cast (with early appearances by Creator/IanMcKellen and Gabriel Byrne) and some good special effects, but [[ExecutiveMeddling studio-enforced]] editing gutted the film and the untimely death of special effects supervisor Wally Veevers necessitated a completely different ending. ''The Keep'' bombed, and bombed ''hard''. Nevertheless, it has gained a cult following in the ensuing years, thanks mostly to its [[CultSoundtrack soundtrack]] by Music/TangerineDream, but also due to its interpretation of [[EvilIsCool Molasar]], as well as the rare mix of GothicHorror with UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.

* AnachronismStew: SS in black in 1940's Romania?!

** ArtisticLicenseHistory: Mann deliberately put the Einsatzkommando in the famous all-black uniform to visually set them apart from the "good" German soldiers. Interestingly, everything ''else'' about their uniforms is accurate, including the lack of the SS lightning bolts anywhere but on their helmets (Einsatzkommando were SD and SD, although they were in the SS, didn't have the lightning bolts on their collars like regular SS).

* DeathByAdaptation: [[spoiler:Glaeken]], at least in the theatrical cut with the truncated DownerEnding.

''The Keep'' is a very strange and confusing - but not entirely bad - film. It was directed by Creator/MichaelMann and was typical of Mann's directorial style. It featured an impressive cast (with early appearances by Creator/IanMcKellen and Gabriel Byrne) and some good special effects, but [[ExecutiveMeddling studio-enforced]] editing gutted the film and the untimely death of special effects supervisor Wally Veevers necessitated a completely different ending. ''The Keep'' bombed, and bombed ''hard''. Nevertheless, it has gained a cult following in the ensuing years, thanks mostly to its [[CultSoundtrack soundtrack]], but also due to its interpretation of [[EvilIsCool Molasar]], as well as the rare mix of GothicHorror with UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.

* MissingReflection: [[spoiler:As part of his obviously otherworldly nature, Glaeken casts no reflection.]]

* PapaWolf: Molasar manages to convince Cuza that he is this to the Romanian Jews. He makes a big show of acting outraged when told that "his people" are being murdered, and bows to take vengeance against "[[ThoseWackyNazis the soldiers in black]]." [[spoiler:It's all just a lie to get the Jewish Cuza to cooperate with him, and the desperate scientist swallows it hook, line and sinker.]]

* TheMirrorShowsYourTrueSelf: A subtle variation involving Glaeken. [[spoiler:As part of his obviously otherworldly nature, he casts no reflection.]]

''The Keep'' is a very strange and confusing - but not entirely bad - film. It was directed by Creator/MichaelMann and was typical of Mann's directorial style. It featured an impressive cast (with early appearances by Creator/IanMcKellen and Gabriel Byrne) and some good special effects, but [[ExecutiveMeddling studio-enforced]] editing gutted the film and the untimely death of special effects supervisor Wally Veevers necessitated a completely different ending. ''The Keep'' bombed, and bombed ''hard''. Nevertheless, it has gained a cult following in the ensuing years, thanks mostly to its [[CultSoundtrack soundtrack]], but also due to its interpretation of [[EvilIsCool Molasar]], as well as the rare mix of GothicHorror with WorldWarTwo.

* BadAssDecay: A bit of a tossup. In the novel [[SociopathicHero Glaeken]] murders a boat captain who betrays him and also kills two Romanian soldiers, but doesn't fight back against the Einsatzkommando and gets taken out rather easily. In the film, the captain never betrays him and he merely bullies his way past the Romanians, but the movie makes up for this by letting him openly resist the Einsatzkommando and even kill one of them.

* CultSoundtrack: Tangerine Dream's score for the film is one of the primary reasons it has become so beloved by its fans over the years, the pounding opening titles theme in particular.

''The Keep'' is a very strange and confusing - but not entirely bad - film. It was directed by Creator/MichaelMann and was typical of Mann's directorial style. It featured an impressive cast and some good special effects, but [[ExecutiveMeddling studio-enforced]] editing gutted the film and the untimely death of special effects supervisor Wally Veevers necessitated a completely different ending. ''The Keep'' bombed, and bombed ''hard''. Nevertheless, it has gained a cult following in the ensuing years, thanks mostly to its [[CultSoundtrack soundtrack]], but also due to its interpretation of [[EvilIsCool Molasar]], as well as the rare mix of GothicHorror with WorldWarTwo.

[[quoteright:345:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/keep-poster_4886.jpg]]

''The Keep'' is a 1983 horror film based on the first novel in ''Literature/TheAdversaryCycle'' by F. Paul Wilson. It concerns a group of German soldiers sent to guard a mountain pass in Romania, who accidentally unleash an [[EldritchAbomination evil being]] named Radu Molasar being from within the story's titular citadel. The dreaded [[EliteMooks SS Einsatzkommando]] are sent in but have little luck, and, ultimately, the Germans are forced to seek the help of a Jewish history professor, Theodore Cuza, who unsurprisingly ends up allying himself with the evil entity because he sees him as a means of [[EnemyOfMyEnemy ridding the world of Nazism]]. In the meantime, a mysterious stranger with some connection to the keep shows up, determined to interfere with whatever it is Molasar's got cooking. In the meantime he naturally falls for Prof. Cuza's hot daughter, Eva.

* BiggerBad: Molasar is this to literally every single evil human ever.

''The Keep'' is a very strange and confusing - but not entirely bad - film. It was directed by Michael Mann and was typical of Mann's directorial style. It featured an impressive cast and some good special effects, but [[ExecutiveMeddling studio-enforced]] editing gutted the film and the untimely death of special effects supervisor Wally Veevers necessitated a completely different ending. ''The Keep'' bombed, and bombed ''hard''. Nevertheless, it has gained a cult following in the ensuing years, thanks mostly to its [[CultSoundtrack soundtrack]], but also due to its interpretation of [[EvilIsCool Molasar]], as well as the rare mix of GothicHorror with WorldWarTwo.

''The Keep'' is a 1983 horror film based on the first novel in Literature/TheAdversaryCycle by F. Paul Wilson. It concerns a group of German soldiers sent to guard a mountain pass in Romania, who accidentally unleash an [[EldritchAbomination evil being]] named Radu Molasar being from within the story's titular citadel. The dreaded [[EliteMooks SS Einsatzkommando]] are sent in but have little luck, and, ultimately, the Germans are forced to seek the help of a Jewish history professor, Theodore Cuza, who unsurprisingly ends up allying himself with the evil entity because he sees him as a means of [[EnemyOfMyEnemy ridding the world of Nazism]]. In the meantime, a mysterious stranger with some connection to the keep shows up, determined to interfere with whatever it is Molasar's got cooking. In the meantime he naturally falls for Prof. Cuza's hot daughter, Eva.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Woermann delivers a drunken tirade against Kaempffer and accuses him of simply murdering people to feel powerful. Unusually, Kaempffer fires back with one of his ''own'', accusing Woermann of being too afraid to stand up for what he believes in.

[quoteright:345:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/keep-poster_4886.jpg]]