To Keep Her
Local Filmmaker’s Horror Film on the Rise
By Taylor Onski
When Thunder Bay-born Tommy Doughty picked up a camcorder for the first time as a kid, he never let go. From making short films and animations at St. Patrick High School to studying literature at Lakehead University, the Hamilton,Ontario-based creative now has a full-length feature film under his belt.
“Making this movie was what it all had been leading to most of my life,” says Doughty. “I've been a horror fan since I was a teenager. But when I started seeing films like Hereditary or The Babadook, I realized that every great horror film has a surface, and a subtext, an underlying theme representing something bigger.”
Doughty’s film, To Keep Her, is a 90-minute horror/thriller made with his wife Tassia Dorsamy, exploring the literal and metaphorical experience of being in a toxic relationship. When a true crime novelist stumbles upon murders by a supposed serial killer, she has her next big story. But the deeper she goes, this all-consuming and obsessive hunt for answers takes a sinister and potentially, paranormal turn for her and everyone around her.
“I remember thinking this could make a good premise for a film. What if there is some kind of spirit or entity that latches itself to you and acts almost like a parasite, and you can't escape it, and before you know it, you’re not yourself?” says Doughty. “[Toxic relationships] have happened to me, friends, and our family members. You love somebody, and they apparently love you, but you find yourself isolated from loved ones and they start turning you into somebody you never thought you would be. That’s a literal nightmare.”
After one to two years writing the script, Doughty filmed the movie around Hamilton and Toronto between August 2024 and January 2025, with post-production completed by August 2025. To Keep Her has screened the Toronto Independent Horror Festival, the Phare International Film Festival Mauritius, and has had its biggest success so far in November 2025, when it won the Best Feature: Horror Thriller at the Los Angeles Fantasy Festival. However, a big win for Doughty would be to bring his film home to Terror in the Bay this upcoming year.
“My goal with this film is to scare some folks and have them walk away more informed about being in a toxic relationship,” says Doughty. “If they know somebody who is, they might understand it a little more. For people who tend to be in those relationships, they think this is all their fault. And this film wants to say it’s not your fault. If anybody else sees this and even just one person feels less alone, it’s worth making.”
To keep up with all things happening with To Keep Her, follow @tokeephermovie or Animatrium Studio on Facebook.
