Keeping Company is billed as a movie that mixes ruthless corporate salesmen with vicious suburban serial killers, and boy, does it do so beautifully. It’s hard to sense what Keeping Company wants to be when it starts. Is it going to be a comedy? Is it going to be about two murdering insurance salesmen? Off the bat, it’s pretty unclear, and that’s something the movie uses to its advantage.
The movie begins with two men, Sonny and Noah, who are door-to-door insurance salesmen. They’re always looking to get their numbers up, no matter the cost, whether it is to impress a parental figure (in Sonny’s case) or simply to climb the corporate ladder. Their methods are questionable, and they’ll stop at nothing to raise their numbers — even if it means harassing a questionable man. Enter Lucas. After he hits their car, Sonny and Noah are unwilling to let him go free and insist on following him despite his pleas for privacy. Is it the smartest move? Absolutely not. But their ignorance prevents them from thinking of the consequences of their actions.
It is in this moment that Keeping Company becomes one of the rare indie horror movies to get it right, and it’s a thrilling ride until the end moments. There are plenty of what-the-hell moments including one involving Sonny’s dad’s restaurant. It’s such a surprising moment that will surely leave a taste in the mouths of viewers – and not necessarily in the best way. As the movie moves away from Sonny and Noah, turning the focus toward Lucas and his grandmother, Keeping Company thrives.
One of the most impressive bits of the movie is that it does successfully mark the similarities between the sinister household and the ruthless worth of business as promised in the synopsis. The corporate world is a vicious one and it’s not entirely surprising that a movie might try to compare serial killers to the business world. However, Keeping Company succeeds in making the serial killers look no worse than the money-hungry insurance folks desperate to up their sales numbers. When a woman goes in trying to claim the money from her plan for her husband? They tell her that, by the company’s rules, her husband is still considered alive and she’ll need to continue paying the premium to receive the benefits should she be able to prove his death. It’s a messed-up scene in a film full of death, but it hits harder than those because it’s realistic.
Is Keeping Company perfect? No. Is it enjoyable? Yes. Its relatively short run-time of an hour and twenty-two minutes flies by with ease. The only issue with the film would be its editing. The cutaways are frustrating and do take away from some of the emotional impact. And the score isn’t exactly memorable. But even still, Keeping Company is a fascinating look at how despicable humanity can be when it comes to achieving their desires; they’ll do whatever is needed to benefit themselves, even if it means murder or robbing a financially insecure person blind.
