BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY'S TOMB

BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY'S TOMB (1971). Director: Seth Holt.

An maltreated Egyptian Princess named Tera (Valerie Leon) takes over the mind of a young woman, Margaret Fuchs (also Leon), who was born at the exact moment her tomb was discovered twenty or so years before. Her corpse is remarkably well preserved, and drips blood from the wound where her hand was cut off centuries before. Various people who were on the expedition to her tomb are killed, their throats torn out. The bloodletting doesn't help a bit in making this slow, dull and somewhat inept film more entertaining. The tomb doesn't look as if it's older than the few days it took to put up the set, and the story is confusing. Holt's uninspired direction is absolutely no help at all. Andrew Kier plays Margaret's father, but his part is under-written. Mark Edwards is Margaret's boyfriend, named "Tod Browning." There's a lot of rushing around to little effect. Many people consider this one of the better Hammer horror films, but it's really quite forgettable. Based on Bram Stoker's novel The Jewel of the 7 Stars. Rosalie Crutchley, who plays another victim of the curse, was memorable as creepy old Mrs. Dudley, the caretaker's wife, in The Haunting. George Coulouris from Citizen Kane plays an aged professor, and James Villiers adds some zest as Corbeck. This film was remade as The Awakening in 1980.

Verdict: Nothing to shout about. *1/2.