Maldición de Faraón

First up, the only reason I am writing this review is I fear the low rating the movie has will drive some viewers away. A 4.2 rating implies junk and that is not the case at all.

The opening sequence showing the civil unrest in Egypt is well done and gives a nice back drop to the ensuing story. I won't repeat the synopsis which many have covered, except to say it is a little different, which is welcomed. The leads, particularly Mark Dana were quite good and earnest in their performances. The film manages to build suspense nicely and the short run time is probably a help.

The negatives are it doesn't have the glitz of a Hammer flick and there is zero gore that modern horror fans require. Also the Mummy is not in the film at all during the first half of the picture. This is no masterpiece by any means, but it is a well made low budget monster movie from the 1950's. If you love old B movies from the 1950's then this is a nice way to spend 75 minutes.

I watched this movie often when I was a lad and "Chiller Theatre" ran it on Saturday nights. Even then I sensed there was something different about it, the mummy looked like he was walking around in his pyjamas! Oh I had already seen THE MUMMY (1932) and THE MUMMY'S HAND (1940) and those other mummy movies done by Universal in the 30's and 40's but this film was lots different from them! This was no bandage wrapped monster; to my young eyes the mummy looked like a very old man wandering around an underground tomb. I could not figure out why everyone else in the movie was afraid of him; of course there was that scene where someone tried to grab the mummy and only succeeded in pulling his arm off!

This is not an easy movie to find these days but I did manage to locate it on late night TV once. Knowing it might be my only chance for a long time I videotaped it. After watching it carefully I learned all the nuances that had escaped me back when I was 7. The mummy of the Pharaoh does not come to life, its spirit takes over the body of a young Egyptian man (Alvaro Guillot) and uses him to get revenge on those who have desecrated the tomb. An original idea, I must say. The downside of this is the young man begins to age at an accelerated pace until he looks no better than the mummy itself. His method of execution was different too. Instead of strangling his victims leaving a telltale mark of mold on their necks he bites their throats (admittedly a difficult thing to do when his teeth get more and more rotten by the minute!) and drains their blood.

Let's not forget the mysterious woman (Ziva Rodann, using the name Ziva Shapir in this movie) who appears out of nowhere and joins the expedition. She treks through the scorching desert and never takes a drink of water or gets tired. She also seems to know what is going to happen before it happens. Is she the cat goddess Bast in human form? Perhaps!

The moral of this story, if scary movies are meant to have morals, is Stay Out of Egyptian Tombs. They don't want to be disturbed and you probably have better things to do anyway.

Director Lee "Roll 'Em" Sholem also directed movies like TOBOR THE GREAT and SUPERMAN AND THE MOLE MEN. He knew how to get a movie done on time and under budget and still make it look good.

Pharaoh's Curse is one of my all time favorite "BAD" movies. I had a big crush on Ziva Rodann, billed here as Ziva Shapir, and to have Diane Brewster in the cast as well was double fun. Mark Dana was a busy TV leading man in the 1950's but his career ran out of gas by the mid 60's. He tries to effect a British accent for his role but fails badly. George N Neise had a four decade career as a character actor in films and television.He's a bit overblown here as the films obsessed archaeologist.Ben Wright's voice was as familiar the his face. He worked for Disney in 101 Dalmatians, The Jungle Book, and the Little Mermaid. Director Lee "Role Em" Sholem was a favorite of "B" movie and television producers all over Hollywood because his reputation for staying on schedule and within budget and being able to do the most with the least. He delivers a creepy and entertaining fright film here. Make up men Gordon Bau and Ted Cooley created a very realistic and frightening mummy based on Nick Volpe's concept.

The mummy is a little different from most of the other movie mummy's in that it is really one of the expedition members whose body has been possessed by the mummy's vengeful spirit. It is also a bit of a vampire too, in that it needs fresh blood to keep on going. After several mules and a few expedition members meet their end it finally dawns on the group what is going on. Although they still can't seem to determine what to do about it.

Pharaoh' Curse was made to be a low budget Saturday Matinée shocker for junior high aged kids. That and a film for the drive-in movie crowd. It holds own with most any of the black and white horror films that were being released at the time. It's not Boris Karloff but it's a fun little film that is worth a watch.

Archaeologists in Egypt find one of their crew has been turned into a blood sucking mummy after they have unleashed a three thousand year curse by entering a Pharaoh's tomb.

The only person I know from this film is Les Baxter, who conducted the score. Not sure if that means anything... maybe these people were better known in the 1950s, or maybe they are all amateurs. I suppose I could check.

I expected, based on the plot, for this to be a ripoff of "The Mummy". Not so. While it does have a mummy's tomb, that is just about the only connection. Hammer films featuring mummies are more like "The Mummy" than this film is. (And, I should point out, this film is shot very crisp and acted fairly well... that it gets low ratings and is largely unknown seems unfortunate.)

British soldier, Captain Storm (Mark Dana) is enlisted to escort the wife of an archaeologist through the desert. Along the way, Storm and his team encounter a beautiful, enigmatic woman named Simira (Ziva Rodann). Soon thereafter, odd occurrences begin. Is Simira somehow responsible?

Upon their arrival at the dig site / tomb, the real, supernatural shenanigans unfold. But first, a soap opera-like love triangle made up of Storm, the archaeologist, and his neglected wife ensues. In between spats, a mummy causes trouble.

PHARAOH'S CURSE is a fairly entertaining entry in the mummy movie sub-genre. The novel idea of including soul transference and a vampiric mummy works quite well.

Actually, Simira is the most interesting aspect of the film, with her cryptic words and far-off looks, she pretty well steals the show...