Ne refermez pas ma tombe

Denizens of a Southern-U.S. agronomic community are being violently shanked by a sword-brandishing bedlamite. The killer is introduced formally as Lesley, an attractive woman with a history of mental problems who lives in a sprawling antebellum manor with "Kevin", her brother and erotic "idee fixe". There is a surreptitious nature to the Kevin character, as his existence is supported only by reference. He may be either dead or entirely nonexistent, or possibly a spectral alter-ego drawn forth from Lesley's troubled mind, emerging during her repressed libidinous yearnings to wreak the bloody murders she is otherwise incapable of. This mystery only deepens with the film's oblique denouement.

Despite being a lesser entry in the small but celebrated S.F. Brownrigg oeuvre, KEEP MY GRAVE OPEN is by no means a starch or disposable low-budget drive-in quickie. A surprisingly well-acted impecunious project, it manages to loom a mournful and chilling presence of wandering detachment, and occasionally feels like a pauper Polanski film. It does have its share of observable technical deficiencies(though I personally found the cheap visual impurities an enhancement of the occasion), and the music score is strange and often rather extraneous. Still, this is an effectively subdued horror mood piece, and why it's been unable to galvanize the same substantial cult interest as other Brownrigg titles is anyone's guess.

7/10

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.

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).

As a whole this movie was totally lame. Not scary, not funny, not unexpectedly heart-warming, not gross, not incomprehensible. You don't even really have any sympathy for the director as someone trying and failing. But it looks really, really good. It would make a decent silent, with the right score & titles. It's all washed out and almost-there most of the time, and I thought that was really nice. So I have a soft-spot for it in that regard. I wouldn't get rid of my copy. There's something there inside it, there are people there somewhere. Something ought to be done with it.