![]() ![]() A light shining in this now-seldom-occupied house attracts the attention of Jackie’s childhood friend Sarah (Martha MacIsaac), who lives with her husband (Joey Klein as Daniel) in a home directly across the lake. Jackie ( Hannah Emily Anderson) and Jules (Allen) are celebrating their one-year anniversary with a weekend at a woodsy Canadian cabin that’s been in the former’s family for generations. Nonetheless, it’s an entertaining and well-crafted effort from a resourceful indie team who’ve scored enough respectable base hits to date (also including “Grave Encounters” and “Extraterrestrial”) that one might reasonably expect them to deliver a home-run any time now. ![]() It's a fast-moving, vicious little thriller with two ferocious LGBTQ+ female leads (something of a rarity), but beyond the novelty of the film's setup, it's also often a technically impressive and viscerally shocking survival thriller that actually has something to say.A year after putting his recurrent star Brittany Allen through one kind of mill - chased across the desert by a tireless zombie - writer-director Colin Minihan provides her with another life-imperiling ordeal via “What Keeps You Alive.” This thriller about a lesbian couple whose weekend takes a drastic turn is less one-note as a narrative conceit than “It Stains the Sand Red,” though it too ultimately stretches inspiration a tad thin. The film could be sharper and tighter - ten minutes and at least four endings shorter - but the moments of success in What Keeps You Alive out-weight the film's faults. Trust and betrayal are powerful, universal themes and What Keeps You Alive mines them well for intensity. ![]() Meanwhile, Allen is like a walking open wound, both physically (she gets put through the ringer) and emotionally, the beat of her broken heart underscoring the action every step of the way. It would perhaps be more interesting if Jackie were allowed more shades of grey than the relentless psychopath and perfect pretender of normalcy, but she makes a compelling villain and Anderson sells her sinister, imposing presence well. What Keeps You Alive hinges on the battle between these two women, and both Allen and Anderson give game performances for what the script demands of them. The score, written by Allen (who also executive produces) fares a lot better. As a one-time Silverchair diehard, I'll admit a thrill to hearing my familiar middle school jam, but even so, I couldn't help but chuckle when 'Anthem's big moment comes. The film's soundtrack does itself little favors, opting for classical music you've heard in film at least a million times before, and in a truly baffling decision, in our year of the lord 2018, Minihan opts to make Silverchair's 'Anthem for the Year 2000' his power song. Another bold moment showcases Jackie's skill and taste for murder in a shocking, artful sequence of bloodshed when two foolish neighbors come calling for dinner. A second-floor fight scene, shown only from the vantage point of a first-floor perspective, is particularly effective, leaving us to watch the ceiling tremble and shake, each thud increasing the anticipation of who walks down the stairs victorious. A particular purple-lit, sonata-scored sequence teeters into indulgent over interesting, but there are more bold strokes that pay off than those that don't. Still, Minihan crafts tension well, and he endows What Keeps You Alive with a welcome boost of artful panache beyond what you expect from the standard low-budget survival thriller. ![]()
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