A woman in peril, a cabin in the woods, a malevolent force lurking in the shadows — these are the double helices of modern horror , the most recognizable building blocks of a subgenre that relies on weekend getaways turning into massacres. Osgood Perkins’ Keeper wants to add a few wrinkles to this old warhorse’s mix. How about: a cake? A douchebag cousin? Random water imagery? A montage of various ladies throughout the ages, who get increasingly irritated until images of their screaming, blood-splattered faces whiz by in a flash? A person with a plastic bag over their head, making that hearts-gesture thing with their fingers? Some boys with muskets, circa Ye Olde America? Did we mention there was cake?

Perkins started out as a filmmaker with a firm grasp of what makes things go bump i

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