The Keep is often referred to as Michael Mann’s horror film. While it can be argued that Manhunter is infinitely more frightening, with The Keep, Mann took influences from German expressionism and Hammer horror to create a dreamlike “adult fairy tale” with striking visuals and a demon that resembles the coolest Masters Of The Universe action figure you never had growing up. The Keep is largely overlooked amongst Mann’s catalog of crime epics, however. So in order to make sure that The Keep doesn’t simply fall by the wayside, director Stewart Buck has started an Indiegogo campaign to help raise funds in order to finish his feature-length documentary on Mann’s film.
A World War II Fairy Tale: The Making Of Michael Mann’s The Keep appears to be partially completed, according to the website, with production having started in 2011 with independent financing. The money collected from crowdfunding will mostly go towards post-production and legal and licensing fees; donators will get perks such as an autographed Tangerine Dream record, paintings based on scenes from the film, and a special screening of the documentary once it’s completed.
Mann himself has not backed the project financially—he has enough autographed Tangerine Dream merchandise, presumably—but has given the documentary his blessing. “You have done a lot of solid work here and your collection of The Keep materials is impressive. I’m glad that this early work of mine has inspired you so much and I appreciated your passion,” he says on the campaign page. Mann has all but disowned The Keep in its current form, as more than an hours worth of cuts were made against his wishes.
According to the filmmakers, “this is really the beginning of the future of The Keep,” and they appear to hope that this will lead to another project restoring and remastering the original film and its soundtrack. Perhaps a director’s cut of The Keep could finally make its way to fans?
You can back A World War II Fairy Tale here.