23 reviews
- SteveStockholm
- Dec 12, 2014
- Permalink
"You get me the stone and we wipe the slate clean." Archaeologist Jack Wells (McNamara) is in trouble and when he is given a chance to clear his debts by millionaire Carl (Glover) he takes it. He joins a group in Egypt on the quest to find the lost Codix Stone. What they find is something that no one could have imagined. Just in case you were wondering this has nothing to do with the Mummy series. Other than that this is pretty much just not good. I was actually looking forward to seeing the way this was filmed. It is filmed in a type of video game style. Jack puts on a pair of glasses with a camera in it and you see Carl in a corner telling him what do to. That idea sounded neat, it was done OK but even that gimmick couldn't save this movie. I don't really like saying too many bad things about a movie because I have never made one, but if someday I get that chance I'm pretty sure it would be better than this. Overall, a neat filming idea and a awful, awful movie. I give it a D.
- cosmo_tiger
- Dec 14, 2014
- Permalink
I don't think I've ever seen a more bored group of actors pretending to be actors. The characters are completely devoid of any sort of personality, charming or otherwise. They have no notable growth as people to make it interesting. Oh sure, the hero is a sleazy, greedy jerk who also believes that people's lives are worth more than money, but that doesn't make him heroic now does it? No, it makes him pretty normal I'd say. I've known more than a few people who behave like degenerates when left to their own devices, but will still go through heck to be there for a friend in need. People are funny like that, but I can't call them heroic.
And what's with the strong lady who is hired for "security"? Looks to me like she was hired because she's hot. Not to be rude, but she seriously didn't do anything useful in this movie except drop the tough guy act and crawl into the hero's sleeping bag before the first half hour was through.
The storyline is like being fed spoonfuls of dusty Egyptian fairy tales that are obviously garbage. It sounded fake even to me, a guy who knows next to nothing about Egyptian history.
Fortunately, special effects were limited in this feature. I'm not a big fan of overdone special effects, but having the camera blink out when anything exciting happens has never been a convincing method of building the tension to me. Especially when there isn't a reason for the camera to be blinking out.
But of course the biggest weakness this movie has is the "found footage" style of filming. I don't care how clever the writers think they are. "We thought up YET ANOTHER way to explain having a convenient camera to film everything in our movie! Yay!" It feels more like a ripoff of popular video games like "Metal Gear", with the boss routinely appearing in the corner every few seconds to bark an order, and the hero's voice coming in smoothly crystal clear, like it was recorded in a studio (it was, by the way).
Are there any good bits? I feel like I should mention some, but to be honest I'm having trouble thinking of any. The performance was very dry and honestly fairly dispassionate. Sure the actors ACTED angry, sad, in pain and the like, but it just still felt.. distant. Like you didn't have to care. Somewhere along the way the movie just got so cheesy that the viewer feels removed rather than involved. It fails to pull you in.
It's not the worst movie I've ever seen, but it really just feels completely unexceptional and easily forgotten. In my mind, this is the greatest failure any movie can have, to be unmemorable. So I'm giving it a 2 to be generous.
And what's with the strong lady who is hired for "security"? Looks to me like she was hired because she's hot. Not to be rude, but she seriously didn't do anything useful in this movie except drop the tough guy act and crawl into the hero's sleeping bag before the first half hour was through.
The storyline is like being fed spoonfuls of dusty Egyptian fairy tales that are obviously garbage. It sounded fake even to me, a guy who knows next to nothing about Egyptian history.
Fortunately, special effects were limited in this feature. I'm not a big fan of overdone special effects, but having the camera blink out when anything exciting happens has never been a convincing method of building the tension to me. Especially when there isn't a reason for the camera to be blinking out.
But of course the biggest weakness this movie has is the "found footage" style of filming. I don't care how clever the writers think they are. "We thought up YET ANOTHER way to explain having a convenient camera to film everything in our movie! Yay!" It feels more like a ripoff of popular video games like "Metal Gear", with the boss routinely appearing in the corner every few seconds to bark an order, and the hero's voice coming in smoothly crystal clear, like it was recorded in a studio (it was, by the way).
Are there any good bits? I feel like I should mention some, but to be honest I'm having trouble thinking of any. The performance was very dry and honestly fairly dispassionate. Sure the actors ACTED angry, sad, in pain and the like, but it just still felt.. distant. Like you didn't have to care. Somewhere along the way the movie just got so cheesy that the viewer feels removed rather than involved. It fails to pull you in.
It's not the worst movie I've ever seen, but it really just feels completely unexceptional and easily forgotten. In my mind, this is the greatest failure any movie can have, to be unmemorable. So I'm giving it a 2 to be generous.
- rushknight
- Jul 30, 2015
- Permalink
- eric_ccj77
- Oct 21, 2014
- Permalink
You can see the miscasting in the opening scene, one half of a scene to setup a entire movie of cheap handy cam, point of view movie making, it was atrocious. The Mummy shows up very late in the movie, and we are never released from handy cam hell(if your on that tight of a budget, skip making a movie) or at least learn to make a movie that does not look like you made it for a boob tube channel.I kept hoping for the camera battery to go dead, unfortunately for me it held a charge to finish the 1 hour and 20 minutes of this wreck. For what he did in the movie, Glover was OK, it is just a shame to see him take work like this. Dreadful,Cheap,Cheesy. Save your money for a DVD of something watchable.
What a load of Rubbish.
1 hour and 20 minutes of my life I will never get back. Although as I had it on fast forward much of the time due to no dialog taking place perhaps only an hour lost.
Shocking acting and lousy story line.
I should have known as Danny Glover was listed. A cameo role. Seems like all these "has been" actors are nowadays giving up 15 minutes of their time to appear briefly in a "B" or "C" grade movie so they can get a cut.
Don't bother with this at all.
1 hour and 20 minutes of my life I will never get back. Although as I had it on fast forward much of the time due to no dialog taking place perhaps only an hour lost.
Shocking acting and lousy story line.
I should have known as Danny Glover was listed. A cameo role. Seems like all these "has been" actors are nowadays giving up 15 minutes of their time to appear briefly in a "B" or "C" grade movie so they can get a cut.
Don't bother with this at all.
- markanderson333
- Dec 12, 2014
- Permalink
Only one Mummy movie, in my opinion, is worse and that's The Mummy Resurrected, which had eerily similar problems to the ones that this had. Day of the Mummy does have one redeeming quality(whereas The Mummy Resurrected had none) and that's the location of the inside of the Mummy's tomb, suitably claustrophobic and effectively creepy. In fact the locations in general are not too bad. But it was very difficult to enjoy them because the movie had such a dreary look and the way Day of the Mummy was shot was highly suggestive someone having the complete inability to keep a camera/video-recorder straight.
Day of the Mummy does use the found footage-like/picture-in-picture idea. This could have worked and could have potentially been creative, but it is way over-used and often at points where it was not needed. To say it was distracting was an understatement, so much so that a lot of the time it was used it took me right out of the movie. The script is incredibly weak, some of it sounds like it was improvised on the spot but most of it sounds like the actors only received the dialogue just minutes before and were reading from cue cards, hence why it was acted out in such an uninvolved and awkward manner. As for the story, there are glimpses of one but there is strong emphasis on the glimpses, what there is of story is painfully predictable, interminably slow in pace and lacking in everything you'd expect for a horror to work(suspense, tension, horror, fun, scares, thrills etc.).
The characters are walking clichés ridden to death, and they are not developed or interesting at all so it's impossible to root for them. To make things worse the acting is awful from actors who clearly did not want to be there in the first place, even from Danny Glover who squints and winces his way through his screen time giving the impression of why did I ever agree to do this. However that he is actually the best actor in the movie is testament to how bad the acting is, William McNamara is a long way from a dashing hero and actually looks bored out of his skull, even the most bored-sounding answering machine has more energy than him. Don't expect the Mummy/monster to save the movie, it doesn't look too bad but it's under-utilised, it acts intoxicated rather than imposing so it doesn't come across as scary at all and it's hard to shake off the feeling of that it's a man in a costume. Apparently the director has prior experience, but considering the ineptness of the direction here that's hard to believe.
In conclusion, awful movie in every way apart from the tomb location. Maybe see it to see for yourself how Glover fares here and how his career has gone down the toilet, otherwise while not quite as abysmal as The Mummy Resurrected Day of the Mummy should have stayed buried. 1/10 Bethany Cox
Day of the Mummy does use the found footage-like/picture-in-picture idea. This could have worked and could have potentially been creative, but it is way over-used and often at points where it was not needed. To say it was distracting was an understatement, so much so that a lot of the time it was used it took me right out of the movie. The script is incredibly weak, some of it sounds like it was improvised on the spot but most of it sounds like the actors only received the dialogue just minutes before and were reading from cue cards, hence why it was acted out in such an uninvolved and awkward manner. As for the story, there are glimpses of one but there is strong emphasis on the glimpses, what there is of story is painfully predictable, interminably slow in pace and lacking in everything you'd expect for a horror to work(suspense, tension, horror, fun, scares, thrills etc.).
The characters are walking clichés ridden to death, and they are not developed or interesting at all so it's impossible to root for them. To make things worse the acting is awful from actors who clearly did not want to be there in the first place, even from Danny Glover who squints and winces his way through his screen time giving the impression of why did I ever agree to do this. However that he is actually the best actor in the movie is testament to how bad the acting is, William McNamara is a long way from a dashing hero and actually looks bored out of his skull, even the most bored-sounding answering machine has more energy than him. Don't expect the Mummy/monster to save the movie, it doesn't look too bad but it's under-utilised, it acts intoxicated rather than imposing so it doesn't come across as scary at all and it's hard to shake off the feeling of that it's a man in a costume. Apparently the director has prior experience, but considering the ineptness of the direction here that's hard to believe.
In conclusion, awful movie in every way apart from the tomb location. Maybe see it to see for yourself how Glover fares here and how his career has gone down the toilet, otherwise while not quite as abysmal as The Mummy Resurrected Day of the Mummy should have stayed buried. 1/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Dec 26, 2014
- Permalink
Watch the trailer, the movie is worse than the trailer, which is frankly appalling. I'd prefer root canal therapy without anesthetic to sitting through this rubbish. Shabby POV footage, tired storyline. The screenplay appears to have been written by a particularly slow witted 10 year old boy with a mummy fetish. I'd recommend watching damned near anything else besides this film. There is a plethora of better films about mummies that you could watch, pick any of them and you'll be well served avoiding this rancid POS. If you're the product of incest then this may be the film for you. Otherwise I advise avoiding this at all costs.
- lewisglover77
- Dec 15, 2014
- Permalink
For goodness sake, do yourself a favor and close your eyes for 80 minutes instead of watching this, you will be more entertained.
After having sat through 80 minutes of the worst movie I have ever seen, I spent the next almost 4 hours with self torture techniques trying to remove any recollection of having watched it.
I must admit it was only because Danny Glover was cast I watched it, but never has he acted so poorly. I have been a long time fan of his, but how he was directed to be so bad, I will now question any future movies he is in.
The directing was pathetic. I thought this was his first, so willing to cut some slack, but nope, he has done this before. One thing for sure he will never see red carpet in his life.
All in all this movie might have been made on a McDonalds meal budget, but directing could have made this acceptable.
Johnny Tabor failed. He is now Johnny Ta-boring..........
After having sat through 80 minutes of the worst movie I have ever seen, I spent the next almost 4 hours with self torture techniques trying to remove any recollection of having watched it.
I must admit it was only because Danny Glover was cast I watched it, but never has he acted so poorly. I have been a long time fan of his, but how he was directed to be so bad, I will now question any future movies he is in.
The directing was pathetic. I thought this was his first, so willing to cut some slack, but nope, he has done this before. One thing for sure he will never see red carpet in his life.
All in all this movie might have been made on a McDonalds meal budget, but directing could have made this acceptable.
Johnny Tabor failed. He is now Johnny Ta-boring..........
- denisfarrell14
- Dec 18, 2014
- Permalink
It's not really a horror film but more of an adventure flick. It's reminiscent of the 80's action/adventure. Think (Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold) and and (King Solomone Mines). I have never been a fan of POV films and must admit this is one of the best ones I have seen because it's not shaky like the others. I would assume they spent all their budget on Danny Glover and in my opinion it would have been better without him. The writing is a tad weak and I did not know William McNamara was still acting but his voice carries along the film nice. The other actors are not too shabby considering this is probably the height of their work so far. The tomb they shot in looks amazing but I think the mummy could have been in it a little longer. The locations Venezuela (Egypt) look great on camera. If you watch it as a fun little flick and don't expect an award winning picture you'll enjoy it.
- prakashkondas
- May 27, 2020
- Permalink
Well, we all know it is a low budget movie. But still this one had it all, the lines, the suspense... the gore(almost real gore). It was not colossal like Arnold Vosloo movies, but it had the adventure thing, true dungeon feel. Danny Glover always gets the job done, even with low budget. Not the fancy all effects movies, but it was not boring. Also, there was good camera work, and if you want to have different movie, this one is good...
- donmarinelo-830-361603
- Jun 13, 2017
- Permalink
It shot the movie with a handy cam. It's constantly shaking and it makes me dizzy from the beginning to the end. All my 3 kids and my wife and I vomited. The movie has basically no plot, but full of dumb cheesy conversations.
About 10 minutes before the end, a couple of mummies showed up a bit and they were all played by humans in cheap Halloween costume. Not scary at all! It'd be nicer if it could use computer-aided scenes. Waste of my time and money and physically made me uncomfortable. I feel the director has stolen money (a few dollars) from me.
I strongly suggest you not rent this movie. It borrows the name Mummy and has similar scenes on its DVD cover and hence makes you think it is a sequel to the wonderful movie -- The Mummy.
About 10 minutes before the end, a couple of mummies showed up a bit and they were all played by humans in cheap Halloween costume. Not scary at all! It'd be nicer if it could use computer-aided scenes. Waste of my time and money and physically made me uncomfortable. I feel the director has stolen money (a few dollars) from me.
I strongly suggest you not rent this movie. It borrows the name Mummy and has similar scenes on its DVD cover and hence makes you think it is a sequel to the wonderful movie -- The Mummy.
- howardqi-50504
- Oct 20, 2016
- Permalink
This should have buried along with everyone involved.Even in the days of Black and White films they were miles better than this load of garbage.You have a so called hero wearing glasses with a built in camera that never moves no matter what he does ,up, down, sideways,the camera is always fixed. Danny Glover,You should be ashamed.. how much does he need the money.Can,t some of his friends lend him a few bucks or at least send him to a local food bank.,or soup kitchen.And please could i have my time back.Hang your heads in shame every one involved in this tripe.At least the next time i see something directed by Johnny Tabor or written by Garry Charles i will avoid like the plague..
- DareDevilKid
- Dec 18, 2014
- Permalink
- mr_waterfall
- Dec 18, 2016
- Permalink
- nogodnomasters
- Nov 18, 2018
- Permalink
Out of the over 260 Found Footage films I have seen, only a handful combine exotic locales with a setting rich in history (see list at the end). There definitely needs to be more, for when a found footage movie manages to take advantage of the setting, the result can be an amazing vicarious experience. Unfortunately, it does not happen too often, and here the result is mixed.
DAY OF THE MUMMY is a found footage horror adventure movie in which a team of archaeologists are looking for the tomb of a cursed pharaoh, and the protagonist in addition is secretly given the task by the wealthy financier of the expedition, played by Danny Glover, to find a valuable gemstone.
The movie feels very much like a live-action video game, with the gimmick of a camera being clandestinely installed in the protagonist's eyeglasses and the financier boss periodically adding commentary to the happenings on screen through a hidden ear piece. I take it that the protagonist, an Indiana Jones type, is meant to be drawn as a complex character, not entirely good and not entirely bad, but he ends up feeling like a video game character, too.
Although the film has some atmosphere, the happenings on screen are always at arm's length and therefore fail to involve the audience. There are also some major requirements of suspension of disbelief (e.g. A signal going through even while deep inside a cave: the group reaching a chamber full of lit candles and never even asking who lit them and when, and so on). The ending was less than satisfying.
Still, there was enough to at least keep me entertained. So, while it is not a good found footage movie, I think the IMDB rating (2.6 as of this writing) is too harsh. The film may well have an audience in those who, like me, enjoy found footage movies with an adventure component and exotic setting.
There is one other ancient Egypt-themed FF movie I know of, made even the same year as this, THE PYRAMID (2014), which is a couple of notches better (see my review). Some other comparable movies I liked are
1. JERUZALEM (2015)
2. AS ABOVE, SO BELOW (2014)
3. FINAL PRAYER (2013)
DAY OF THE MUMMY is a found footage horror adventure movie in which a team of archaeologists are looking for the tomb of a cursed pharaoh, and the protagonist in addition is secretly given the task by the wealthy financier of the expedition, played by Danny Glover, to find a valuable gemstone.
The movie feels very much like a live-action video game, with the gimmick of a camera being clandestinely installed in the protagonist's eyeglasses and the financier boss periodically adding commentary to the happenings on screen through a hidden ear piece. I take it that the protagonist, an Indiana Jones type, is meant to be drawn as a complex character, not entirely good and not entirely bad, but he ends up feeling like a video game character, too.
Although the film has some atmosphere, the happenings on screen are always at arm's length and therefore fail to involve the audience. There are also some major requirements of suspension of disbelief (e.g. A signal going through even while deep inside a cave: the group reaching a chamber full of lit candles and never even asking who lit them and when, and so on). The ending was less than satisfying.
Still, there was enough to at least keep me entertained. So, while it is not a good found footage movie, I think the IMDB rating (2.6 as of this writing) is too harsh. The film may well have an audience in those who, like me, enjoy found footage movies with an adventure component and exotic setting.
There is one other ancient Egypt-themed FF movie I know of, made even the same year as this, THE PYRAMID (2014), which is a couple of notches better (see my review). Some other comparable movies I liked are
1. JERUZALEM (2015)
2. AS ABOVE, SO BELOW (2014)
3. FINAL PRAYER (2013)
- Armin_Nikkhah_Shirazi
- Apr 19, 2024
- Permalink
Not sure why this film has undergone such bad reviews, it's obviously a cheesy horror film and the title says it all.
The Siskel and Eberts of the world always seem to voice their poor opinions.
On to the film, I have a feeling this film was shot on a very small budget, not sure how they squeezed in Danny Glover but something tells me that someone pulled some strings for that one. It's cheesy people, not gonna lie, but if you're looking for a few laughs like the young pimply kid you once were then I think its a good fit for you. People are too serious nowadays that they've lost their sense of humor, too busy on their phones and drinking their lattes and pretending to be important that they forget to be a kid again. I rather enjoyed the film, it was a bit slow at times and wish the Mummy had been in it longer, but it was better than a lot of the other films I've seen, considering the film is shot from a POV (not my favorite) the scenery is great feels like Egypt and has a little modern edge to it. In my humble, honest opinion it's worth a watch.
The Siskel and Eberts of the world always seem to voice their poor opinions.
On to the film, I have a feeling this film was shot on a very small budget, not sure how they squeezed in Danny Glover but something tells me that someone pulled some strings for that one. It's cheesy people, not gonna lie, but if you're looking for a few laughs like the young pimply kid you once were then I think its a good fit for you. People are too serious nowadays that they've lost their sense of humor, too busy on their phones and drinking their lattes and pretending to be important that they forget to be a kid again. I rather enjoyed the film, it was a bit slow at times and wish the Mummy had been in it longer, but it was better than a lot of the other films I've seen, considering the film is shot from a POV (not my favorite) the scenery is great feels like Egypt and has a little modern edge to it. In my humble, honest opinion it's worth a watch.
- derekhouse13
- Dec 17, 2014
- Permalink
Many amateur film-makers strive for a professional feel, and some succeed. This is a professional effort that strives for an amateur feel, or that is the way it comes over. It includes one A List actor, albeit an ageing one, Danny Glover, who although sitting in a hotel room thousands of miles away is directing the action through an earpiece and some high tech glasses which are worn by a rogue archaeologist who can't keep it inside his trousers, and would you believe he can even score in a jaunt out into the Egyptian desert?
Jack and the rest of the team are searching for the tomb of a mythical king, although it appears he is not so mythical because the last bloke who went in search of him found the tomb, and more than he bargained for. The big question is will the same fate befall all or some of this band of miscreants?
When it starts, the action is quite good, but much of the film is spent walking around in dark tunnels. There are a couple of genuinely scary moments, but if your experience of Egyptian mummies is Boris Karloff or Christopher Lee, this will add a new dimension to them.
Jack and the rest of the team are searching for the tomb of a mythical king, although it appears he is not so mythical because the last bloke who went in search of him found the tomb, and more than he bargained for. The big question is will the same fate befall all or some of this band of miscreants?
When it starts, the action is quite good, but much of the film is spent walking around in dark tunnels. There are a couple of genuinely scary moments, but if your experience of Egyptian mummies is Boris Karloff or Christopher Lee, this will add a new dimension to them.
Wondrous science fiction/fantasy adventure centering on the return of an Egyptian king from the land of the dead. Imaginatively directed by Johnny Tabor and highlighted by startling special effects, the thrills never let up as an American archaeologist encounters something so horrific that it's beyond belief. Screen writer Garry Charles penned an exciting script which isn't just jam packed with unrelenting terror but also allows the characters to be developed so they're not just the usual one dimensional figures that run through horror movies. William McNamara gives an inspired performance as Egyptologist Jack Wells and he brings intelligence and charisma to his role. The always wonderful Danny Glover does some of his finest work in years in the supporting role of Carl and it's good to see him back in form. While the film contains its share of blood and some gore, it's still an adventure story in the tradition of King Solomon's Mines and Indiana Jones, therefore suitable for most young people 13 years of age and older. Don't miss the spectacular, epic saga that awaits you on The Day of the Mummy.
- jlthornb51
- Jun 19, 2015
- Permalink