10 Best Movies Like Keeper

The devil works hard, but Osgood Perkins works harder. The filmmaker (and son of "Psycho" star Anthony Perkins) made his directorial debut back in 2015 with "The Blackcoat's Daughter," but lately, he's been on a hot streak of cranking out one horrific experience after another. He made waves in 2024 with "Longlegs" and came back strong with a one-two punch in 2025, releasing "The Monkey" earlier in the year and "Keeper" in the second half. 

"Keeper" stood apart from some of Perkins' other works in that the marketing kept much of the plot under wraps. It felt like something that had to be seen to be believed, and the film maintains an air of secrecy throughout. Liz (Tatiana Maslany) visits a cabin in the woods with her boyfriend Malcolm (Rossif Sutherland), and strange creatures begin to materialize. Liz (as well as the audience) has no idea what's going on until the very end, when most of the details get explained. 

Critics were divided on "Keeper," and the film currently stands at a 50% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. If you're on the side that enjoys what Perkins is laying down in terms of horror, there are plenty of other films that should be on your watchlist. The best movies like "Keeper" may shock and terrify you, but one thing's for certain: You're not going to leave bored.

What's so fascinating about Oz Perkins' recent streak of horror films is how different they all feel. "Keeper" exists in the world of folk horror and follows the rich tradition of putting characters in an isolated cabin and seeing what happens. Meanwhile, "Longlegs" plays more like a procedural, something more akin to "The Silence of the Lambs." From the opening scene of "Longlegs," you can tell that the titular character (played by Nicolas Cage) is going to be a demonic presence throughout the film. The scene also poses plenty of intriguing questions that remain shrouded in mystery until the film's conclusion. 

The film follows FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe), who gets assigned to investigate a string of murder-suicides that all seem connected based on similar Satanic codings left behind at each crime scene. Throughout the case, Lee has to confront her own past, as it becomes more and more likely that any connections to the devil may have more supernatural meaning than anticipated. 

One of the best aspects of "Longlegs" is how it builds a tense, foreboding atmosphere. Even scenes where seemingly nothing is happening, like Lee by herself in a home, fill the viewer with dread. Wide shots force you to examine every inch of the frame for anything that might be lurking in the shadows. Plus, Cage gives a suitably gonzo performance while covered in makeup that makes him unrecognizable. Many movies are about the devil, but this one feels genuinely evil.

One might expect solely horror movies to have inspired "Keeper," but Oz Perkins clarified that the 1977 psychological drama film "3 Women" was a primary influence. During a special "Keeper" preview event attended by Looper, Perkins revealed it as the movie that he watched repeatedly before diving into his latest venture: "It was Robert Altman's '3 Women,' which is a beautiful, beautiful movie with Shelley Duvall and the great Sissy Spacek. We just watched that a bunch of times, we're sort of like, 'Well, we looked through things and kind of zoomed past windows to find the thing and kind of foreground a lot of this stuff.'"

"3 Women" is noteworthy for being a movie inspired by a dream. Altman, who wrote, directed, and produced the film, had the idea while sleeping and ventured forth to make it a reality. The movie is about Millie (Duvall) and Pinky (Spacek), two women who work at the same spa and quickly become friends. Millie does most of the talking, but Pinky's personality shifts massively after a traumatic event. 

While there is a narrative to follow, "3 Women" can mostly be understood as an allegorical tale. It explores themes of identity and how the myriad stages of a person's life can become intertwined. It's easy to see why Perkins would've been inspired by this film, as "Keeper" could also be read as an allegory on relationships and patriarchy. You may leave both films with questions, but that's what makes them fascinating to dive into. 

Horror is an ideal genre to explore themes of female agency and feminist ideals, and one of the best feminist horror movies of the 21st century — on top of being one of the best vampire movies ever — is "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night." Iranian filmmaker Ana Lily Amirpour tells the haunting story of a female vampire known only as the Girl (Sheila Vand), who preys on terrible men within her isolated city. On one particular night, she strikes up a friendship with Arash (Arash Marandi), dealing with his own troubles at home. 

"A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night" flips traditional gender fears on their head. Normally, women are the ones who often fear walking by themselves at night, but the movie shows a female vampire effectively becoming a vigilante to take care of any men who would dare try to harm someone else. Like "Keeper," it deals heavily in allegory, but that's not where the similarities end. 

Both movies are also tales of isolation, as much of "Keeper" takes place within one cabin. It also involves a woman aware of her lot in life, and when things start to go awry in the woods, she realizes the man she thought she could trust isn't trustworthy at all. Something else Perkins touched on during the preview event is that in relationships, you never really know who it is you're dating. You could be with someone for years, never realizing that your partner has hidden something from you, which is an utterly terrifying thought.

Oz Perkins' other 2025 horror flick, "The Monkey," is very much worth your time if you enjoyed "Keeper." As was the case with "Longlegs," however, it's a very different beast compared to what you get with "Keeper." For starters, it revels in dark humor, and that's one big reason why Looper gave "The Monkey" a 9/10 rating in our review. 

Adapted from Stephen King's short story, "The Monkey" follows twin brothers Hal and Bill Shelburn (both played by Theo James) who come into possession of a monkey toy in their youth. They soon realize that anytime the monkey toy plays its drum, something terrible happens to someone they love. For years, they keep the toy in isolation, but eventually, people start dying in randomly horrific ways once more. "The Monkey" is basically the Perkins version of a "Final Destination" movie. It's far gorier and sillier than what you get with "Keeper," but when you could use a few laughs, you know where to get your monkeyshines. 

If anything, "The Monkey" is proof that Perkins can do comedy very well. As much as his films are touted as being the scariest thing ever, they're also quite funny. Even "Longlegs" and "Keeper" have their moments of levity when the ridiculousness of a situation becomes too much to bear, so if Perkins ever wanted to make a straight-up goofy comedy, he'd probably kill it.

A good rule to live by is to never go to a creepy cabin in the woods. Seriously, there are so many nice hotels in the city you can stay at instead, and nothing good ever comes from an isolated cabin. Case in point: the 2019 horror film "The Lodge" that sees soon-to-be-stepmother Grace (Riley Keough) trying to bond with her future stepchildren Aiden (Jaeden Martell) and Mia (Lia McHugh). Grace's partner Richard (Richard Armitage) can't even serve as a buffer, because he leaves Grace with his kids while he deals with work in the city. The kids grow increasingly suspicious of Grace upon learning more about her past surrounding a cult. 

"The Lodge" and "Keeper" share a plot point, as Malcolm in the latter also leaves his partner alone in a cabin while he leaves for the city. It heightens the idea that this character is isolated with no recourse when things start going terribly wrong. And in both cases, unexplained occurrences start cropping up, while even though the person would probably love to leave, they're physically unable to.

"The Lodge," directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, is a great horror movie to watch for fans of Oz Perkins because it's incredibly atmospheric, a trademark of Perkins' work. It has numerous shocking moments that will continually leave you guessing as to what's going to happen next until the final frame. 

Netflix does a good job of burying a lot of its original movies, but if you're interested in one of the creepiest movies Netflix has to offer, don't overlook "The Ritual." The film follows a group of friends who journey into the woods and experience strange occurrences. (Again, it really can't be overstated how much going into a creepy forest will lead to a bad time.) But this friend group is looking for a bonding activity after one of their buddies dies, so they go hiking in his honor. Soon, they discover the workings of a cult in the area. 

Themes of grief permeate the film, which is often a fixture of modern horror movies. But it plays well here, especially considering the characters are far smarter than is often the case for horror leads. They're competent enough to know when they're in danger and try to get out of sticky situations, even when that's not feasible due to outside circumstances. 

It's so disappointing when a horror movie teases something big only for the big reveal to fall flat, but this film doesn't fall victim to that mistake. "The Ritual" does a great job of building dread, and it all leads to a truly terrifying creature reveal. The monster in "The Ritual" is one for the ages, with it getting fleshed out little by little. "Keeper" also has some excellent creature designs, and if you're in the mood for another creature feature, "The Ritual" is the way to go.

Oz Perkins got his start in the entertainment industry as an actor. He followed in his father's footsteps in more ways than one by playing a young version of Norman Bates in "Psycho II," and he would go on to star in non-horror movies like "Legally Blonde" and "Not Another Teen Movie." However, he'd soon find his niche in horror, and the first movie he directed was 2015's "The Blackcoat's Daughter." 

It was an extremely ambitious debut, as the film is divided into three parts, each following a different girl's perspective. The first two hone in on Rose (Lucy Boynton) and Kat (Kiernan Shipka), who are left by themselves at a boarding school over winter break but realize they're not alone as something sinister appears to be lurking amongst them. 

If you're a fan of Perkins' work, you absolutely owe it to yourself to see where his directing spirit began. It's fascinating to see how far he's come since "The Blackcoat's Daughter," but on the other hand, it's also interesting to see how he continues to explore the same themes throughout his career. "The Blackcoat's Daughter" centers on familial trauma, not unlike "Longlegs" and "The Monkey." You can also see early on how, in many of his works, Perkins features female protagonists who have to overcome something supernatural or satanic.

You can't talk about great horror movies set in a cabin in the woods without bringing up 1981's "The Evil Dead." The movie played a huge role in shaping the template for this subgenre and remains a gory delight for horror aficionados. Sam Raimi made his feature-length directorial debut with this film, which sees a group of friends venture into the woods. After they play a mysterious audio tape, demons begin wreaking havoc, taking over the bodies of most of the group as Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) struggles to make it out alive. 

It was a low-budget affair, but Raimi made the most of his limited resources. With inventive camera techniques, "The Evil Dead" keeps viewers engaged. The Deadites are inventive antagonists that continue to inspire fear, and the franchise has been wildly successful with various sequels and a 2013 remake materializing over the years. While many horror franchises run out of steam after a while, this one's still going strong, and you can find plenty of disturbing moments in every "Evil Dead" entry. 

While "Keeper" and "The Evil Dead" have similar set-ups, they have wildly different tones. "Keeper" is more of a slow burn, steadily teasing out information until the big reveals. "The Evil Dead" goes straight for the gusto, and its sillier, more comedic sensibilities get further expounded upon in subsequent installments. 

The problem with being stranded in the woods is that help might not be around for miles, but you could still theoretically run for it if needed. That's not the case with the 2024 horror flick "Don't Move," where Iris (Kelsey Asbille) goes into the wilderness to grieve the death of her young son, only to encounter a serial killer, Richard (Finn Wittrock). He doesn't kill her right away, but instead injects her with a paralytic substance that means she can only run for so long until she becomes immobile and therefore much easier to murder. 

It plays into the same isolationism found in "Keeper," along with the same patriarchy-inspired overtones of a woman being subjected to the twisted desires of a man. In "Keeper," the audience learns that Liz isn't the first woman Malcolm has targeted for his devious machinations and left alone in a cabin for a prolonged period of time. Her agency gets stripped away, and that happens in a far more literal sense within "Don't Move." Richard takes away Iris's ability to run or fight back, meaning she's forced to rely on the kindness of strangers to see if she can make it out alive.

For a movie about a woman who can't run for much of the time, "Don't Move" is surprisingly fast-paced. It's a solid thriller that clocks in at around 90 minutes, so it doesn't overstay its welcome and keeps you engaged the whole time.

"Keeper" exists in the grand tradition of folk horror, taking place in a rural setting and focusing on supernatural entities and occurrences. If you want to see more of this subgenre, 2015's "The Witch" is as folksy as they come. The film takes place in 17th-century New England, centering on a Puritan family who get torn apart when their youngest child goes missing, with the father blaming his eldest daughter Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy). Fear and paranoia envelop the family, as they believe witchcraft is consuming all. 

There isn't much in terms of jump scares here. Instead, you're plopped into a different era and way of life where patriarchy was even more suffocating than it is now. Director Robert Eggers does a great job ensuring everything feels authentic to the time period, and there's a creeping sense of dread permeating every frame. Of course, there's also the goat, Black Phillip, whose line, "Wouldst thou like to live deliciously," has become something of a meme in online circles. But the horrors aren't the only thing to draw viewers in. At its core, this is a film about a young woman yearning for independence from her family's strict and repressive lifestyle, resulting in a struggle to follow the ways of either God or Satan.