Palaest recommended

Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

mark.waltz Moderately enjoyable and fairly well made, this archaeological thriller fails to capture the true bite of its theme as it deals with a curse on those invading the land of the pharaohs and breaking into their resting places. The basic story involves the expedition to these ancient pyramids where an estranged married couple (Diane Brewster and George N. Neise) argue constantly, a mysterious princess (Ziva Rodann) declares that there is a curse on them for invading this sacred land, and leader Mark Dana tries to keep everything in order. Suddenly, there's the deadly presence of a blood-thirsty creature who makes the ancient Vlad in "Bram Stoker's Dracula" look healthy, and the attacks on various members of the crew. The curse also include scorpion bites, weird sounds coming from the pharaoh's tombs and suspicious activities by members of the journey. Made just as Hammer was about to do their remake of "The Mummy", this suffers in comparison, even weak by the standards of the Universal series of the 1940's and no threat to Karloff's 1932 classic. There are a few thrills and shocking moments, but it's a standard B programmer, probably made for drive-in audiences who were not so much into plot as into the occasional fright which does occur here and there. On the scale of frights, this gets a 6, but on the scale of originality and story, merely a 2.

JoeKarlosi A drab horror film that runs only 66 minutes but feels like it's 166. A group of archaeologists in Egypt encounter a curse that starts to affect a sick member of their group, gradually transforming him into a wrinkled, mummy-liked ghoul wearing pajamas. All the characters are bland and uninteresting, and the pacing is like sludgy molasses which plods along endlessly. Once the mummified man starts walking and doing his thing, there are some good moments of chills, but that does not occur until about the 40 minute mark (which may sound like a short amount of time, but it doesn't seem like it), by which time it's already too late. The makeup is pretty good, but the pj's had to go. While writing these notes I couldn't help comparing the structure of PHARAOH'S CURSE to THE MUMMY'S HAND (1940). That was another similarly short film around the same length where its monster doesn't get to work until later on, but the differences between the two are astounding. At least in HAND we are invested in the main characters and don't feel so bogged down. Interesting wrong and right way to do this type of film. *1/2 out of ****

sol1218 **SPOILERS*** Slow as molasses mummy movie involving this expiation in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt that has to be aborted in order to keep the native population, who are at the time revolting against British rule, from finding out about it.Given the task of getting to this archaeological dig by his superiors British Capt. Storm, Mark Dana, together with a couple of British soldiers and Mrs. Sylvia Quentin, Diane Brewster, the wife of the head man at the dig Robert Quentin, George N. Neise, make their way to the unearthed mummy's tomb. On the way there Capt. Storm Sylvia and his men run into this desert-like princess Simira, Ziva Rodann.Simira seems to be superhuman in her ability to withstand the rigors of desert life, she doesn't drink water or get tired, but also knows just what Capt. Storm & Co. are looking for and warns him and his group to stay as far away from the dig, Pharaoh's Ra Ha Tet tomb, as possible.At Ra Ha Tet's burial chamber Robert Quentin and his crew of archeologist's together with his Egyptin guide Simira's brother Numar, Alvaro Guillot,already opened his tomb before Capt. Storm can get there to stop them. Quentin violated Ra Ha Tet's body by having Dr. Farrady, Guy Prescott, cut his bandages. This action on Robert's and Dr. Farrady's part has Numar faint dead in his tracks. It later turns out that Numar somehow was possessed by Ra Ha Tet's spirit or soul who took over his body and caused him to age, at the rate of 500 years per hour, to become himself a 3,000 year-old mummy.The movie has Numar dressed in what looks like a pair of pajamas slinking around Ra Ha Tet's tomb and it's surroundings attacking and sucking out the blood in order to survive, like a vampire, of anyone man or animal that he comes in contact with. This blood-sucking adventure by Numar, with him later losing his right arm, goes on for some time until the by now crazed Quentin trying to find the entrance, you in fact thought that he already found it, to Ra Ha Tet's tomb get's himself killed is an indoor rock slide.We learn at the end of the movie that Numar, to absolutely no one's surprise, is actually Ra Ha Tet reincarnated into another, some 3,000 years later, person or life. Numar's sister the mysterious and sexy Simira is not only Ra Ha Tet's sister, since him and Numar are really one and the same person, but also the Egyptian Cat Goddess Babesti! Also not that hard to figure out.With Numar/Ra Ha Tet back in his tomb and all the deaths, due the the Pharaoh's Curse, now at an end Capt. Storm Sylvia and whatever is left of his men and the late Robert Quentin's archaeological expedition trek their way back to Cairo and modern, this in 1902, civilization. The survivors of Pharaoh Ra Ha Tet Curse keep what they found, and unearthed, only to themselves since no one would believe them anyway.

jc1b7 I saw this movie last weekend and it is silly and mindless. An ancient curse turns a man into a mummy in his pajamas? The victims are scared senseless and can not run from a slow moving old man. They drop their torches and shiver instead of attempting to ward him off or,duh, burn him. Quentin alias Mr. Fabersham of the Honeymooners is married to Diane Brewster alias Miss Canfield of Leave it to Beaver fame, who is unhappy in marriage. Wow, love plot. The rest of the cast just follows each other in the tombs and wait for screams to react and run to their aid. The Egyptian girl is not bad looking but does not lend much to the film. Where is the mummy? Really just a curse unleashed. This does not hold a torch to Universal Mummy films in the least.Watch this movie if you need sleep, because you will dose off.