In the bonus track of the DVD of "Keepers," the producers described the themes of their film as "greed, paranoia, and isolation." It is a saga of how decent men can lapse into barbarism and madness. It is a tale of the "de-civilization of man."
The film is based on a true story of the disappearance of three lighthouse keepers on Flannan Island off the coast of Scotland. In the year 1900, the three men were a routine call of duty to operate the lighthouse. But all three disappeared and were never seen again. Investigations turned up no evidence of foul play. Theories of paranormal phenomena resulted from the "vanishing."
The twist that filmmakers give to the story is one that may not be attributed to the forces of nature. Rather, it was the flawed nature of the humans themselves that led to their undoing. There is a crucial moment in the film that it is turning point when Thomas, the leader of the lighthouse crew orders the other two men not to open a locked chest that has washed up on the shore under suspicious circumstances.
The other two men, James and Donald, want to open the chest, but, for the moment, they abide by their leader's decision. But, in the middle of the night, Thomas himself cannot resist opening the chest. Thomas, James, and Donald then give way to their baser instincts by peering inside the small chest. The balance of the film is a concatenation of events stemming from opening Pandora's Box.
All three of the performances were outstanding from Peter Mullan (Thomas), Gerard Butler (James), and Connor Swindells (Donald). On the negative side, the film was far too violent. After making the point about how the three men unleash their demons from the beast within, the film became depressing with so many gory fights and death scenes.
In the early scenes of the film, it appeared as though the three lighthouse keepers would be doing battle with the natural elements. But it turned out that the perfect storm was set in motion not by the thunder, lightning, and wind, but by the human emotion of greed and the lack of restraint in refusing to honor the cardinal rule of keeping Pandora's Box shut.
The film is based on a true story of the disappearance of three lighthouse keepers on Flannan Island off the coast of Scotland. In the year 1900, the three men were a routine call of duty to operate the lighthouse. But all three disappeared and were never seen again. Investigations turned up no evidence of foul play. Theories of paranormal phenomena resulted from the "vanishing."
The twist that filmmakers give to the story is one that may not be attributed to the forces of nature. Rather, it was the flawed nature of the humans themselves that led to their undoing. There is a crucial moment in the film that it is turning point when Thomas, the leader of the lighthouse crew orders the other two men not to open a locked chest that has washed up on the shore under suspicious circumstances.
The other two men, James and Donald, want to open the chest, but, for the moment, they abide by their leader's decision. But, in the middle of the night, Thomas himself cannot resist opening the chest. Thomas, James, and Donald then give way to their baser instincts by peering inside the small chest. The balance of the film is a concatenation of events stemming from opening Pandora's Box.
All three of the performances were outstanding from Peter Mullan (Thomas), Gerard Butler (James), and Connor Swindells (Donald). On the negative side, the film was far too violent. After making the point about how the three men unleash their demons from the beast within, the film became depressing with so many gory fights and death scenes.
In the early scenes of the film, it appeared as though the three lighthouse keepers would be doing battle with the natural elements. But it turned out that the perfect storm was set in motion not by the thunder, lightning, and wind, but by the human emotion of greed and the lack of restraint in refusing to honor the cardinal rule of keeping Pandora's Box shut.