Dawn of the Mummy

You might actually get into this grade-z cannibal mummy movie. I know I did. The plot concerns the desecration of a centuries-old tomb, with the standard curse on it (an obligatory pre-credit sequence establishes that anybody who desecrates the tomb will be folded, spindled, and mutilated). The moron who unearths the tomb centuries later allows an equally moronic crew of fashion models and photographers to conduct a photo shoot amid the ruins, despite the fact that a priceless collection of spray-painted flowerpots and dollar-store statues is reportedly stashed somewhere in the tomb's two or three corridors. OK, there wasn't much of a budget.

So guess what? There is a mummy that comes back to life, but more importantly the mummy brings with him a whole bunch of zombies in rotting leisure suits (not very fashionable at all, really). They don't really do anything for a while except hide in the shadows and stare at people, but they do manage to kill off one or two dumb bunnies, like in one outrageously stupid set piece that takes place in an oasis. Yeah...these two models leave camp and ride their horses to the oasis to do a little skinny dipping, then one of them gets out of the water and discovers that the horses have bolted. So what does she do? Heads back to camp on her own, leaving the other one behind. Enter mummy and cohorts, stage left.

A lot of inspiration is drawn from Fulci's "Zombi 2", particularly one sequence involving a zombie attack during a wedding party. The groom unveils the room where his bride is preparing herself, only to discover mummy zombies eating her corpse, just like Mrs. Menard in "Zombi 2". Some of the makeup even resembles that film, only Fulci obviously had a lot more to work with than this director did.

The attack of these mummy-zombies has to be seen to be believed, especially the climactic village raid following the wedding party. I don't know how many of these undead assailants there are supposed to be, since they only really show about four or five of them on screen at the same time, but they are pretty nimble for being zombies and all. They are able to pluck people out of moving vehicles, chase running people down, and more importantly, they are able to strangle their victims in mere seconds. Oh yeah, they are able to make flesh rot with just a single touch, too, a concept that gains some points for originality. Watch for the two zombies who fight over the dead bride's severed forearm, proving that social problems continue on after death.

Unremittingly amateurish home-movie but with one kick-ass aoundtrack over the closing credits!

A quartet of foxy US models hightail it to a forgotten village on the edge of the Sahara for a major fashion-shoot. They stumble across the violated tomb of one King Safirman (presumably he after whom the Safir hotel in Cairo itself is named?) and......well, talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Cardboard sets, Z-Grade actors, $50 fx abound BUT, come that final scene as the mummy raises its hand in triumph, is heralded one of the most unexpectedly stirring film themes you will ever hear. "Dawn of The Mummy" from musical director Shuki Y. Levi (and allegedly still available on the soundtrack album - if they ever printed more than half a dozen!) is one rousing egyptian-flavored full blown orchestral masterpiece that single-handedly drags the film up from a 1 to a 4. Its THAT good! I'm amazed no other critique mentioned it. More than likely I'm the first person ever to have sat through the entire film and no one but me therefore has ever heard it!

I've been wanting to see this movie for nearly a decade, my mind awash with the creepy premise: Fashion models and their photographers trapped in an egyptian tomb with the titular creature and his zombie minions. Yummy!!

Unfortunately, a decent premise is all this film has to offer. A pair of tomb raiders open the mummy's crypt looking for gold, but their plans are thwarted when a group of models and photographers show up and decide to use the tomb as a backdrop for their pictures. This nonsense eats up most of the running time, while we wait and wait and wait for a mummy to show up and start wreaking havoc.

About midway through the mummy reanimates along with some of his zombie minions, but then they spend some more of the running time hiding in the shadows while members of the cast go skinny dipping (nothing's shown...) and head to the bazaar to smoke hookahs and shop for jewelry.

Finally we arrive at the much touted finale, where the mummy and the zombies attack a wedding party. The action picks up and there are some nifty gore shots, but it's too little too late. The mummy (probably the least menacing movie mummy of all time) is destroyed and the heroes celebrate. But as usual we're offered one final scene which leaves the scene open for a sequel...Day of the mummy? Let's hope not.

Dawn of the Mummy (1981)

** (out of 4)

Rather stupid but interesting American-Egyptian-Italian co-production has a group of fashion models heading to the pyramids of Egypt for a photo shoot. Sadly for them they show up just as a curse has been released with a mummy looking to eat people. Not only that but this mummy brings some zombie servants with him.

DAWN OF THE MUMMY, as the title suggests, is trying to cash-in on Romero's DAWN OF THE DEAD but it goes a step further and appears to have been really influenced by Lucio Fulci's ZOMBIE, which of course was released in Italy as a sequel to the Romero movie. This film isn't all that well made and features several flaws and boring moments but at the same time it's rather unique and has enough going for it to make it worth sitting through.

What I enjoyed most about the film was the actual mummy. The actor playing the part was extremely skinny and this gives the mummy a very unique look and helps separate it from other films in the genre. I also liked the actual look of it with an almost tar-like quality. The zombies aren't quite as interesting but who's going to frown on a mummy and zombies in the same film? The gore is scattered throughout but once the finale hits we get some very good gore effects with several people bitten and chewed up.

The performances really aren't anything special and there's no question that whenever the mummy isn't on the screen that the film becomes boring. Still, DAWN OF THE MUMMY has a great monster and enough gore to keep it entertaining.

My review was written in December 1981 after a 42nd St. (Anco theater) screening: Latest in the longtime series of mummy films (over 30 so far worldwide) is a gory, low-budget exercise filmed on location in Egypt. Producert Frank Agrama (whose last presumably completed effort, "Queen Kong", has sat on the shelf for the past five years), took over directing this opus from original helmer Armand Weston during production, and resulting picture is a disconnected series of corny scenes. Commercial prospects are grim, with only the gore as a selling point.

Weak premise as an Egyptian royal personage entombed circa 3000 B. C., with his guards also buried. All will rise with him some day and kill any desecrators of the sealed tomb. Pic's tone is set immediately with camera recording the removal of organs from the royal corpse as part of the mummification process.

Three present-day graverobbers searching for gold open the tomb and in a ridiculous coincidence are joined by a U. S. crew shooting glamor mag photo layouts of pretty models, looking for interesting backdrops. Instead of using sacred Tana leaves, this mummy is revived by the heat of the photog's lights.

Mummy is an impressive dude, tall and thin, with body bandaged and face uncovered. Besides the usual choking, his aides are into cannibalism, biting chunks out of the graverobbers (and numerous bystanders) and feeding gruesomely on entrails in the manner of recent film zombies.

Cast overacts miserably, with direct-sound English track instead of the usual dubbing. This picture should be entombed permanently.