A Vingança da Múmia

Carlos Aured's "The Mummy's Revenge" stars Paul Naschy in three roles as a an Egyptian professor and villain Assad Bay,his ancestor the pharaoh Amenhotep and the mummy.Amenhotep is portrayed as a sadistic tyrant who enjoys torturing and murdering young women for his pleasure.The mummy played by Naschy is one hell of a strong creature that can talk,run and climb.There are some gory moments in "La Venganza de la Momia" including skulls crushing and ceremonial throat slashings,but the film lacks sleaze and nudity of many other Spanish horror movies from 70's.The ladies in "The Mummy's Revenge" are stunning(Helga Liné and Rina Ottolina).The sets in ancient Egypt and nineteenth century London are very stylish and nice to look at.7 sacrificed maidens out of 10.

... but unlike The Mummy (1959) or The Curse from the Mummy's Tomb, La Venganza de la Momia looks like all Naschy movies - flatly shot, cheaply made and clumsily staged, especially the Egyptian prologue. In Victorian London, some of the costumes and sets look better, though, and the story has nice feel of pulp Gothic. The cult favourite Helga Line as the villainess has screen presence sadly missed these days.

I don't really want to be too harsh on this film because it did have its moments, a cast of lovelies and a London location. Also, surely anyone watching a Paul Naschy knows pretty much what to expect. Average acting, wooden sets, predictable storyline... and yet it is likable enough. Far too many short and unnecessary scenes that far from taking the story forward simply slow it down and people like Helga Line, great though she is, could have been so much more profitably employed had she been given more of the action. But then, this is a Paul Naschy film and wouldn't have that distinctive feel to it if it were any other way and he certainly has his fans.

This film begins with an evil Pharaoh named "Amenhotep" (Paul Naschy) who tortures and kills innocent people for his wicked amusement. In addition to that his favorite concubine "Amarna" (Rina Ottolina) takes equal pleasure in his wanton acts of cruelty as well. Eventually, however, this catches up to them as Amarna is stabbed to death while Amenhotep is given a rare poison which doesn't kill him but leaves him in a paralyzed state which--combined with a certain mummification ritual--entombs him for life in his sarcophagus. And then one day a British archaeological expedition led by man named "Professor Nathan Stern" (Jack Taylor) finds his tomb and excavates the sarcophagus to the British Museum of Natural History in London where Amenhotep is revived by a greedy sycophant named "Assad Bey" (also played by Paul Naschy) and his beautiful assistant "Zanufer" (Helga Line). Unfortunately, this isn't enough for Amenhotep as he then offers power and wealth to the two if they agree to do whatever he orders. To that end they are sent out to capture and kill young women so that Amenhotep can drink their blood in order to attain eternal life. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film didn't follow the standard plot for a "Mummy film" in that the mummy was a pharaoh rather than the high priest. Likewise, the mummy didn't follow the orders of whoever revived him but gave them instead. Be that as it may, although it wasn't quite as good as some of the Hammer films it was okay for the most part with Helga Line and Maria Silva (as "Abigail") certainly adding to the scenery with their beauty and charm. Average.

Paul Naschy has a duel role as Amenhotep/Assad Bey, an ancient Egyptian mummified Pharaoh, and the high priest who brought him back to life. In order For Amenhotep to achieve immortality, Assad Bey has to kidnap nubile young virgins in Victorian London for blood sacrifices.

This film was supposedly released in both a cut version (for Spain and Mexico) and an uncut international version, but the uncut version apparently no longer exists. What it would have included is a mystery, as it is hard to imagine anything more gruesome than the "face-smashing" scene. Was there really more gore? Or was it nudity?

Regardless, this is a pretty good film overall with some decent makeup effects and the gore already mentioned. Tracking down a copy seems to be a challenge, and it has never had a proper DVD release so far as I am aware. Jack Taylor also appears, and it would be great to get an audio commentary from him before it is too late.