Flickrhappy is proud to present a double feature focused around the 1983 film The Keep and its notoriously difficult production.

First up, they’ll be presenting the new documentary A World War II Fairytale: The Making of Michael Mann’s The Keep. This documentary provides a comprehensive look inside the making of a promising filmmaker’s sophomore studio film, and how perfection, indecision, endless workdays, and the death of a key crew member made for a movie best forgotten, only to be rediscovered years later.

With brand new interviews, rare archival material, and never before seen photographs, A World War II Fairytale transports audiences back to the early 1980s when Paramount Pictures just wanted another Raiders of the Lost Ark, but got director Michael Mann’s atmospheric and dreamlike adaptation of F. Paul Wilson’s novel instead.

And then after a quick 10 minute break…we will be screening Michael Mann’s The Keep in its original 96-minute theatrical version, restored to haunting 4K clarity from the original 35mm negative. A supernatural nightmare unlike anything else, The Keep has earned its reputation as one of the great cult films of the 1980s. Set in a remote Romanian fortress during World War II, the story follows German soldiers who unwittingly unleash an ancient evil imprisoned within its walls—a presence more terrifying than anything the Nazis could imagine.

Though plagued by studio interference, truncated edits, and a troubled release that left audiences with only fragments of Mann’s original vision, The Keep endures as a mesmerizing cinematic oddity. Its eerie atmosphere and unforgettable score by electronic pioneers Tangerine Dream have cemented its status as a beloved cult artifact.

This program is a venue rental engagement. The views and opinions expressed in this program do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of The Frida Cinema or its staff.