Blood from the Mummy's Tomb

This difficult-to-find gem (my copy is a bootleg--sorry about that) sorts oddly with the kind of trash Hammer studios was churning out in the early 70s--Lust for a Vampire and that sort of thing. The production seemed to be under a curse of its own--Peter Cushing was involved for the first two days of shooting but then had to leave due to his wife's death; director Seth Holt had nearly finished the film and then died of a heart attack. The final film, finished by Hammer producer Michael Carreras, was described as barely coherent in magazine reviews of the time, but makes perfect sense to this viewer. It's in the style of Don't Look Now, Rosemary's Baby, or Night of Dark Shadows--a story of the supernatural slowly seeping into a modern day setting, with fine character performances, especially from Andrew Keir, James Villiers and Rosalie Crutchley. Leading lady Valerie Leon was dubbed--not sure by whom, but the voice is effective.

This is an unusual tale for those who like subtly constructed stories with a focus upon character and atmosphere. The occasional schlock element doesn't really detract at all from the sinister thrall of the film's design.

This is by a long way the best of the three adaptations so far of Bram Stoker's complex and disturbing novel of an Egyptologist's obsessive desire to revive an evil ancient Egyptian queen. (The novel was so worrying in 1903 that the ending was changed for the second edition: this movie keeps mainly to the original ending.) The cast ranges from competent to quite good, with the Queen/daughter suitably seductive but unreadable. The appearance is handsomely and oppressively Edwardian - the ancient Egyptian is rather silly - and the direction firm. Try this as a better taste of Stoker's obsessive psychological horror than any of the versions of "Dracula" except the long British TV adaptation.

'Blood From The Mummy's Tomb' isn't one of Hammer's very best, but it's still a ripping yarn about an expedition to Egypt which inadvertently awakens the powers of an evil Egyptian Queen with disastrous results. The movie is based on a Bram Stoker novel I'm not familiar with so I can't vouch for how faithful the adaptation is, but I found it to be extremely entertaining viewing. Andrew Keir, who had previously played Professor Quatermass in Hammer's excellent 'Quatermass And The Pit', is the leader of the expedition, and the stunning Valerie Leon, best known as a regular in the 'Carry On' series, plays the duel role of his daughter and the evil Queen Tera. The movie is full of thrills and chills, a strong supporting cast (including James Villers and the wonderful Aubrey Morris), and good production values, but I must admit I was as much mesmerized by Ms. Leon's killer cleavage as anything else on the screen! Hubba hubba! 'Blood From The Mummy's Tomb' is more remembered for the so-called curse during its production, but it deserves more than that. It's yet another enjoyable movie from the underrated Hammer studios, and is definitely worth a look. And not just to perv on Valerie Leon!

At the exact moment that Egyptologist Professor Fuchs (Andrew Keir) and party are opening the tomb of the Egyptian Queen of the Darkness, Tara, Fuchs' daughter is born dead in a London hospital. The two events are connected as Tara's spirit enters young Margaret Fuchs (Valerie Leon) and bring her back to life. Unaware of their connection, Margaret grows up to be the spitting image of Tara. Nearing her 21st (?) birthday, Margaret begins having unsettling dreams of Tara. Thus begins Tara's resurrection. To complete the transformation, Margaret/Tara must collect the artifacts from her tomb that are now in the possession of Professor Fuchs' colleagues who assisted in the original expedition. Collecting the objects will lead to a trail of bloody bodies, each with its throat ripped out.

Writing that poorly worded plot synopsis was much more difficult that it should have been. The problem is that the plot in Blood from the Mummy's Tomb is a mess of ideas going in several different directions. It's entertaining, but it is admittedly a mess. I quite enjoy the story, but as I've written before, I'm a sucker for Egyptian mumbo- jumbo. Throw in some hokum about an evil queen, possessed artifacts, stars aligning in just the right way, and a traveling, disembodied hand and I'll eat it up. So, despite the many flaws in the plot, none of it really matters to me as I always have great fun watching Blood from the Mummy's Tomb.

Watching the film last night for the first time in about 10 years, I realized I had forgotten much about the plot and really most everything else. One thing I hadn't forgotten was Valerie Leon. I defy anyone to watch this movie and not remember Ms Leon. I realize she wasn't hired for her acting ability, but she isn't all that bad. She may be a bit wooden in some scenes, but at worst, she's always watchable. I know Hammer used young women like Ms Leon, but at least Hammer provided her and others the opportunity to star in film. Hammer gave actresses like Ms Leon, Yutte Stensgaard, and Jennifer Daniel a chance for a role with some meat to it. None will be remembered as award caliber actresses, but all are memorable to fans in the various Hammer films/roles.

Beyond Ms Leon, the rest of the cast is surprisingly strong. Andrew Keir was a real pro and is quite good as Professor Fuchs. James Villers, as the scheming Corbeck, is a scene-stealer. He's one part smarmy and one part evil. An entertaining combination. The rest of the cast is solid with Aubrey Morris, George Coulouris, and Mark Edwards giving memorable performances.

To summarize, Blood from the Mummy's Tomb features a messy but very fun story, the memorable Valerie Leon, and a solid supporting cast. I'm keeping the 7/10 rating I gave it 10 years ago.

The first thing I noticed when watching this movie is the gaping distance between this and the horror movies of today. There are two glaringly obvious differences.

Firstly: Scope. This film takes you to Egypt and the tombs of the Pharaohs where we see the Queen being interred in her tomb and the rights the priest's carry out, along with the beginnings of her curse. We then move to England where the action continues between three different locations. In modern horror films, the story usually takes place in one location in one time period.

Secondly: Story. There's more going off in this film than most of today's horror. I know this is based on an actual novel where most of the modern films are based on the director's ideas. The end product can also suffer from budgetary issues which may restrict them to one location and hence hinder the story.

The other differences are acting talent and direction. I have to admit that Hammer used to get some pretty top notch actors in their films. Even the bit-parts are covered by a better-than-average cast and this is the case in this film. Due to that fact, this is a highly enjoyable and believable story that I found myself fully immersed in. It also didn't hurt that Valerie Leon is one of the most beautiful actresses on the planet and does a great job in the lead role as Margaret Fuchs and the Egyptian Queen Tera. Along with Andre Keir, who people from Dr Who: Dalek's Invasion Earth 2150AD and Quatermass and the Pit, and James Villiers this is a strong cast.

As for the directing, it was an absolute blessing not to see shaky cam. I do wish that more directors would invest in fixed and smooth-moving camera mounts. I remember there being some negative input for the Evil- Deads shaky cam through the woods - now that is some of the smoothest camera work when compared to today's efforts. Also, all the scenes are watchable in daylight. Dark scenes are lit and visible, with the director using lighting to build mood and atmosphere; the viewer doesn't have to turn off any lighting even ambient just to make out what's happening - just because a scene is shot in total darkness doesn't make it scary. There's also no grey filters, which are so overused today, everything is shot in glorious colour. This actually helps the film as it doesn't make the audience depressed and sad.

Though the special effects are outdated by today's standards they are few, as the director uses the story and the atmosphere to build up the tension, suspense, and horror. Though the effects that are used are passable. I did love the severed hand - you can't beat a good severed hand - and the constantly bleeding stub its decapitation left behind.

This is one truly lush and lavish, well shot and acted horror film which still has strength in today's horror market. I would recommend everybody to watch this film as it's one of the best Hammer released. I would even watch this one again... and probably sooner rather than later.