#26 - What Keeps You Alive (2018)

 

What Keeps You Alive (2018) 

(dir. Colin Minihan)

Jules and her wife Jackie are celebrating their one year anniversary by spending a weekend in a lake house owned by Jackie's family. They bump into Sarah, a childhood friend of Jackie's, and Jules learns that Jackie may be hiding a dark secret about her past.

It's always great to see more queer representation in horror, and I believe this is the first horror film I've seen where the leads are a married lesbian couple. Even better, their sexuality is irrelevant to the plot and would've worked just as well with any other combination of partners. The fact that this is significant enough to comment on means the film industry still has a long way to go, but at least things are moving in the right direction.

Unfortunately the film itself is pretty flawed. I appreciate that the story goes in some unexpected directions, but it relies way too much on the characters making completely irrational decisions in order to advance the plot. About two thirds of the way through, Jules makes one of the absolute worst decisions I've ever seen in a horror film and it completely shattered whatever suspension of disbelief I was still holding on to. The pacing is way off too - everything feels rushed at the beginning but things drag on much too long in the final act.

I liked Brittany Allen as Jules, but I don't think Hannah Anderson is a great actor. Part of it is probably the fault of the writing, but I just didn't believe her as a psychopath. I think that's my main problem with the film in general - everyone's actions are irrational to the point where they barely act like real people. Overall I don't think it's a terrible film, but I was disappointed. I'd say it's skippable.