Brownrigg has a small but loyal group of fans (here, here!), and this film is one of the reasons why. Low budget doesn't have to mean low quality, and KEEP MY GRAVE OPEN incorporates all of Brownie's favorite elements: beautiful female leads, insanity, and atmosphere to burn. The lead in question is Camilla Carr, a gorgeous redhead who had been a quasi-regular in Brownie's stock company of versatile actors (she played a doll-toting crazy in DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT). There's a sense of isolation--or maybe more correctly, desolation--that plays from the opening scene all the way through the film. Gloomy interiors and shots of lonely Texas two-lanes reinforce this. Occasionally the film drifts into soap opera territory, as when Carr's character gives a length exposition describing her past traumas, but it's by and large a study of grief, abandonment, and madness. And the ending still has me scratching my head! Oh well, them's the grits!
Review of Keep My Grave Open
