By the late 1960's, Hammer was starting to struggle. The increasing reluctance to change the old formula was started to bite. Could their next Mummy film be different?
In the days of Ancient Egypt, a rebellion against the Pharaoh (Bruno Barnabe) forces the ruler to send his son Kah-To-Bay (Toolsie Persaud) away to safety with his most trusted servant Prem (Dickie Owen). Sadly the journey is too much for the boy's health and he is buried in secret.
Moving ahead to 1920, an expedition led by Sir Basil Walden (Andre Morell) and Stanley Preston (John Phillips) discovers the tomb of the boy ruler. Hasmid (Roger Delgado) warns them both against desecrating the tomb and the curse they could unleash upon the world. They both ignore him.
Sir Basil should have listened, as he is bit by an asp. Preston, seeing a business opportunity, has him declared insane due to the snake bit and has him locked away in an asylum. He then takes the full credit for the mummy's discovery. Hasmid, now knowing who to blame, follows the party to Cairo. Saying the proper prayer over the Mummy's shroud brings it to life.
From there the Mummy unleashes a violent (for 1967) rampage against the members of the expedition. Stanley's son Paul (David Buck), who has twice the common sense of his father, along with surviving party member Claire de Sangre (Maggie Kimberly), work to destroy the mummy.
At least there isn't yet another 'reincarnated love' subplot. Delgado steals the show and the effects are decent for the time. It shows too many things we've seen before, but the change of the Mummy from a slow moving bundle of bandages to a prototype of the 1980's slashers is clever.
No comments:
Post a Comment