The Keeper (nicknamed Boxhead) is an enemy that appears in The Evil Within, and the villain protagonist of the DLC, The Executioner.
Appearance
The Keeper is a tall humanoid that resembles a butcher and has/wears a safe for a head. His primary weapon is a large meat tenderizer hammer with a spike on the opposite side. In his other hand, he is holding a sack filled with the brains of his victims, in which spikes poke out of it in various places.
Symbolism
The Keeper was born from a combination of Ruvik's memory of the safe where he kept his research, and his unbridled rage. The safe head represents the atrocities of Ruvik's past that he's trying to keep hidden, literally crushing anyone who comes near.
Gameplay
The Keeper has a number of lethal attacks as well as 2 instant-kill moves. They consist of:
- Sack swing: The Keeper pauses for a moment then charges at the player while readying its sack for a swing.
- Hammer swing: When close to Sebastian, it swings its hammer at him.
- Barb-wire mine: The Keeper deploys a unique mine that temporarily keeps Sebastian from moving. Although not lethal, the only danger is being caught by the barb wire when the Keeper is close to him as it will follow up with an attack that kills him instantly.
- Face stab: When Sebastian is caught by the barbed wire when the Keeper is close to him, it will first hit Sebastian. He will kneel down helplessly as the Keeper uses the sharp end of the hammer to stab Sebastian's face.
- Head Blow: The Keeper will grab Sebastian by the neck, then throw him hard to the ground, and finally he'll deliver 2 hard hammer swings to Sebastian's head.
The Keeper is first encountered in Chapter 7. He appears for a second before a large stone wall falls around him. Sebastian must collect the missing pieces of the wall. After this is done, the wall lifts revealing a corridor with mines on the ground and spikes on the ceiling.
A cutscene where you must escape a mine plays as the roof begins to fall. After the player escapes he must make a dash to the room without setting off the mines. The player encounters Leslie and after running away, he sets an alarm which locks Sebastian in with The Keeper. The Keeper then spawns from a safe.
Sebastian must kill The Keeper (the fastest way being explosive arrows or sniper rifle or axe). After this is done the room doors open up and poisonous gas fills the room. The player must run to turn 3 valves. While turning the first the screen flashes red and The Keeper then regenerates his body with a safe near the valve. The player must then kill or run away from the keeper into the nearby room. Sebastian will close the door on The Keeper and he will attempt to break the door down. Unable to so, the Keeper then rips off his own head, killing himself and re-spawning in the safe inside the room behind Sebastian.
Sebastian must once again kill The Keeper. The door will open and Sebastian must run to the third valve, this time The Keeper spawns much quicker. The Keeper is extremely easy to kill, taking only two explosive arrows (Could also vary depending on level), but can respawn as long as there is a safe in the area. He is fast and his hits are devastating and stagger the player.
The Keeper lays down mines that can be disabled for parts. If the player is caught by the mine barb wire will wrap around the players leg, making them unable to move until it is cut, the mines can be used to immobilize The Keeper by shooting them when The Keeper is standing on top of them. He will turn around rather then follow the player and come from behind. He may also kill himself just to spawn next to the player.
He can not be staggered by a handgun, but can be by arrows, shotguns, and other heavy weapons (Though a shotgun and arrow that isn't explosive isn't guaranteed to stagger). After seemingly escaping The Keeper, his safe jumps up and attacks Sebastian. Sebastian throws the safe into a trap and as The Keeper takes form Sebastian pulls a lever destroying the safe and escaping The Keeper.
The Keeper reappears in Chapter 13 where he stalks Sebastian and Joseph through the apartments. He can be seen laying numerous traps around the area and will pursue the player if he detects them. He later corners Joseph in a meat locker but attacks Sebastian after he manages to escape through a vent. The player must then survive long enough for the vent to open and flee the room. The Keeper can be killed but he will keep respawning until the player escapes through the vent.
Two Keepers make a final appearance in Chapter 15 where they serve as the final line of defense before Sebastian confronts Ruvik. The room is filled with bombs and blade traps but the player can temporarily trap the Keepers using the switches. As they are the final enemy encounter in the game, the player can utilize their full arsenal against them without fear of conserving ammunition.
The Executioner
The Keeper is playable (in first-person mode) in the third DLC The Executioner. He appears to be an unknown man working in some way for MOBIUS. He is in the STEM system controlling a safe-headed creature known as a Keeper. The Keeper travels through areas of the Mansion, destroying monsters as well as searching for his daughter.
Trivia
- His character design appears to be very heavily influenced by Pyramid Head, an antagonist from the Silent Hill series, to the point where the final battle with the Keeper is exactly the same as the final battle with Pyramid Head in Silent Hill 2.
- Each time the Keeper dies, he spawns from one of the safes scattered around the room. If the player kills him enough times, he will no longer have any safes to spawn from and will not bug the player until they leave the area.
- The Keeper might be the strongest haunted in the game, being able to face Joseph, and as well as detecting the invisible haunted, he was also able to defeat Amalgam Alpha single handed, as well as another, stronger Dark Keeper.
- The hammer that the Keeper wields bears a strong resemblance to The champion's Cudgel, a warhammer from the dragonborn DLC in the Elder Scrolls V Skyrim.
Gallery
Concept Art
Screens
Other
.png "The Keeper (up close).png (1.03 MB)")
.png "The Keeper (full body).png (1.02 MB)")