Directed by: Guy Maddin
Starring: Jason Patric, Isabella Rossellini, Udo Kier, Kevin McDonald
Distributed by: Monterey Media
MPAA Rating: R
Running time: 93 min
Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Wow. Wow is about all I got after viewing this film for the first time. I am a sucker to the horror/thriller genre in particular but this takes it on a whole new level. “Keyhole” is such a trip and leaves you with your mouth open the whole film. It reminds of a bizarre mix between F.W. Murnau meets David Lynch. It is definitely one of those movies that really needs a few viewings to really grasp. It definitely is interesting though and worth checking out. It has this horror mixed with comedy mixed with film noir. It is set in the 1930’s and has a existential feeling. It mixes a ghost story with a gangster story. If you are familiar with Guy Maddin and his work, they you wouldn’t expect anything less from him. I could have done without all the old man frontal nudity, just sayin’.
The story itself takes place in a house that is haunted by its memories. We meet Ulysses Pick (Patrick) who is returning home to this house filled with ghosts along with a drowned girl and a bound-hostage teenage boy. He meets up with a group of gangsters that are holding up from the law after a shoot out. While exploring the house room by room Ulysees finds out a lot of secrets that the house is holding, including his wife (Rossellini) that is awaiting him.
The cast itself is extremely notable and has some great range. We go from Jason Patri (“The Lost Boys”) to Isabella Rossellini (“Blue Velvet”) to horror genre legend Udo Kier (“Blood of Dracula”) to “Kids in the Hall” member Kevin McDonald. Either way the film seems to have a little bit of everything. It is just so bizarre and out there, it feels like an out-of-body experience just watching it. Prior to reviewing this film, I had to watch it twice and I liked it more the second time but still was completely amazing with each shot. The film is also shot in black and white and really adds so much to its charm, I do not think it would have worked at all being in color.