Keep My Grave Open

What would be a relatively mediocre non-Hollywood low-budget effort is raised to above average and better that expected by the performance of Camilla Carr in the lead. She's playing a character who's obviously a split personality, as we are led to believe, and who possibly had an incestual relationship with her brother, or at least an imagined one. The other personality is the "brother" who is a psychotic killer. We are left wondering if the brother ever really existed, or if she just created him in her mind, or if he did once live, is he now dead? And how may he have died? Camilla takes the role and does it justice, subtle when need be, and gregarious at other times. She exemplifies a beautiful and attractive women who is also overtly psychotic, and for men viewing the film, is a woman who would both attract and repulse at the same moment. It would be a tough choice to become involved in a relationship with her, as seen when she precociously tells her Doctor, "Don't you find me sexually attractive?", and he is momentarily befuddled as to how to respond. She's physically attractive and sexually arousing, but her wackiness is too much to handle. In the back of one's mind would be the warning that she might kill you later.

There are other performances that are above average as well, and some twists to the story that I won't give away here, but overall this is Camilla's film.

Out of the quartet of S.F. Brownrigg shockers (also including "Don't Look in the Basement!", "Don't Open the Door", & "Scum of the Earth"), this is the worst. That doesn't mean it's bad, it just doesn't measure up to the others that I've seen ("Basement" and "Scum").

Camilla Carr once again steals the show as Leslie Fontaine, a mentally unbalanced woman who lives alone in an isolated mansion with her brother/lover Kevin. A series of murders occur committed by someone wearing a horseriding suit and wielding a sword. Along for the ride are other Brownigg regulars Jessie Lee Fulton (a bit part here, but who was killed by Carr in "Basement"), Gene Ross (who appeared in all 4 Brownrigg shockers; this is his worst role as a spectacled psychiatrist), Ann Stafford (a step down from her performance in "Scum", but still likable and cute), and Anne MacAdams (a cameo in a pink wig as a brothel madam).

Brownrigg's technique has bettered since "Scum of the Earth", made 5 years earlier. The use of the camera and lighting has improved a great deal, the music is great (as usual in a Brownrigg film), and the acting is all well-done! Newcomers who make an impression include Stephen Toblowsky as the lad who takes care of Carr's horses and Sharon Bunn as Twinkle the prostitute. While this could never top Brownrigg's two previous films in a million years, it still manages to pack a few punches in 78 minutes. A few scenes to watch for: the stalking of Ann Stafford after she is locked in a cabin, including the dragging of a sword along the siding of the house and pushing a sword through a crack in the door; the twist in the storyline that results in a gory death in a bathroom; and the chase after Twinkle, culminating in her hiding in an antique car filled with the killer's victims! Brownrigg has yet to disappoint me with any of his films and I recommend this to those with patience (this movie is not fast-paced) and an appreciation for "less is better" (budget, that is).

The title is inappropriate but then it is of little consequence although seemingly Alpha Home Entertainment were misled because they have it paired with Beast of the Yellow night, in a 'Demonic Cannibal Rampage'. Anyway we know pretty much what a Brownrigg cheapie will be like and we are not disappointed. Bit slow to get started and even a rather slow end but somewhere around the middle this becomes decidedly weird and continues in fairly demented fashion for some time with Camilla Carr performing tremendously to keep this baby afloat. Always interesting, occasionally surprising and with a decent soundtrack, this is well worth a watch.

During the beginning of "Keep My Grave Open" a drifter is murdered by sword wielding loon after stealing in a deserted and darkened mansion.The house is owned by Lesley Fontaine who supposedly lives there with her husband or brother Kevin.The problem is that Kevin is never seen by anyone else in southern town.Kevin lives only in a troubled mind of Lesley and the bloody murders continue...S.F Brownrigg's genre swan song is an interesting character study.The performance of Brownrigg's regular Camilla Carr is superb as are her sudden bursts of schizoid rage.She even dons heavy make-up in order to seduce Kevin and masturbates in his presence.The film is filled with an unnerving atmosphere of haunting melancholy and the sword slayings are bloody enough.The pace is deliberately slow,but I did enjoy somber mood of "Keep My Grave Open".8 out of 10.An interesting,unique and mildly rewarding effort from Sherald Brownrigg.

This low budget obscurity might entertain you to stick with it to the end, and although the very low budget hampers it, the director is skilled enough to make a watchable feature out of the (very) raw materials. However, I wouldn't say that Keep My Grave Open is an undiscovered gem, its just better than it could have been. The plot follows a spinsterish woman called Lesley who lives in a remote house with her husband or brother Kevin, who never leaves his room and only Lesley seems to have ever seen him (Ahh – alarm bells!). People who get too close or too nosy about Lesley and Kevin fall foul of a murderer, but who is doing the killing?

Now you won't find this little thriller going too far from the well worn path but it does have a handful of positive features. First of all are the performances, which are on the whole very natural, with particular praise for Camilla Carr in the lead, as she thoroughly convinces as the unhinged Lesley. The film's most memorable sequence (in my opinion) involves Lesley getting dolled up to make an amorous nocturnal visit to Kevin's bedroom and the resulting trippy seduction (?) scene is all down to Camilla Carr's performance in what must have been a pretty difficult scene to shoot (you'll see what I mean). The remainder of the film is kind of predictable what with a few stalking and murdering scenes and general, none of which are outstanding, even though the "sword through the walls" attack is often cited as a suspenseful sequence, it doesn't really work for me as the victim has to be stupid enough to walk all the way around the room and then stand in exactly the right place to allow the killer to conveniently run her through. The effect isn't very good either, and things don't improve a great deal after it.

Sadly the biggest thing working against the film is the cheapness of it all. The lighting can be very poor, sound is tinny, nighttime shots are impossible to see clearly, and the film has a general grainy air. However, as I have said the film is directed and shot with competence and I would be interested to see how well it turned out had SF Brownrigg had more studio backing, as his scenes with people, especially all the scenes involving Lesley, which are well handled and show his skill with many different film-making techniques.

I wouldn't shell out to buy a DVD of this – certainly not the hideous one called "The House Where Hell Froze Over" with it's god-awful cover (the original video release cover is great), but if you happen to pass this film and have the time to watch it, you could have some fun. It even manages a perverse last minute twist ending of sorts that kind of surprised me, which always leaves a good impression.