Mummy movies are notoriously difficult to make interesting. The original Universal film with Boris Karloff succeeded by becoming a dark and dreamy romantic fantasy. Hammer's full-blooded remake in 1959 gave us a powerful yet sympathetic Mummy portrayed by Christopher Lee. Beyond those two, most mummy films have been of middling quality. This is one of the better ones, though it surely has its faults.
The lengthy historical prologue has been complained about by many, but I think it it necessary to show the great loyalty and devotion that the slave Prem has towards his young master, Kah-to-bey. It gives him a sympathetic edge, as he did everything to honor his master both in life and death. This aura of sympathy is in all of Hammer's Mummy films to some degree. Lee's Kharis suffered horribly for true love while Ra-Antef in "Curse of the Mummy's Tomb" was a noble soul terribly betrayed. Prem fits well with his predecessors.
The reanimated Prem is little more than a slave of the fanatical Hasmid and his crazed mother. But when he strikes, it's with a lot of violence in some very well-crafted death scenes. He crushes one character's head like an eggshell (off screen but we can imagine the gruesome details), splatters another with burning acid before setting him on fire, strangles another before dashing his brains out on a wall and wraps up another in a bed sheet before tossing him out a window to the street far below! Now THAT is a violent mummy and one capable of more than just simply strangling people.
Prem's unique look is based on actual Egyptian mummies. Some find it disappointing...I do not. One of the best scenes is when the mummy slowly opens its crusty eyelids. Prem is also mighty tough. He gets singed with acid (giving him a nice smoky look), hacked with an axe and shot to hell at close range without much effect. When destruction finally comes to the mummy, it comes in a most unique and gruesome fashion.
Most Hammer films boast good performances and there are several worth noting here. John Phillips hits just the right note as the arrogant and cowardly Stanley Preston. One of the more subtle horrors of the film is his completely loveless and emotionally dead relationship with his wife. Just before his meeting with the Mummy, Preston must realize that he will be missed by no one. Elisabeth Sellars as Mrs. Preston gives one of the most cold-blooded and emotionally detached performances I've seen. Roger Delgado is great as the sinister Hasmid, unleashing an amazingly perfect stream of Arabic gibberish. Delgado would perfect his evil as The Master in Dr. Who. Another wild performance is given by Catherine Lacey as the demented Haiti the fortune teller. Never has any fortune teller delighted in predicting her customer's deaths as much as Haiti.
One black mark against the movie is the criminal misuse of Andre Morell as Sir Basil. Morell was a terrific actor, so memorable in "Plague of the Zombies", "Hound of the Baskervilles" and the little-seen "Cash On Demand", but here he makes little to no impression. Something which I blame more on the script and the director than Morell himself.
Maggie Kimberly is quite stunning as Claire. She looks rather average at first, but the more she is in peril, the more attractive she becomes.
The actor who really walks off with the movie is Hammer mainstay Michael Ripper. What a versatile actor he was. As the meek and suffering lackey of Preston's, he makes for a perfect milksop. We feel an overwhelming sympathy for this simple character and his death is a brutal shock.
There are parts where the movie lags, particularly in the opening desert scenes, but once Prem is awakened, the action never flags and the movie builds to a powerful and action-packed climax. In the end, Hammer gave as much life as they could to the tired mummy concept with "The Mummy's Shroud" and the film should satisfy anyone looking for escapist horror.
The lengthy historical prologue has been complained about by many, but I think it it necessary to show the great loyalty and devotion that the slave Prem has towards his young master, Kah-to-bey. It gives him a sympathetic edge, as he did everything to honor his master both in life and death. This aura of sympathy is in all of Hammer's Mummy films to some degree. Lee's Kharis suffered horribly for true love while Ra-Antef in "Curse of the Mummy's Tomb" was a noble soul terribly betrayed. Prem fits well with his predecessors.
The reanimated Prem is little more than a slave of the fanatical Hasmid and his crazed mother. But when he strikes, it's with a lot of violence in some very well-crafted death scenes. He crushes one character's head like an eggshell (off screen but we can imagine the gruesome details), splatters another with burning acid before setting him on fire, strangles another before dashing his brains out on a wall and wraps up another in a bed sheet before tossing him out a window to the street far below! Now THAT is a violent mummy and one capable of more than just simply strangling people.
Prem's unique look is based on actual Egyptian mummies. Some find it disappointing...I do not. One of the best scenes is when the mummy slowly opens its crusty eyelids. Prem is also mighty tough. He gets singed with acid (giving him a nice smoky look), hacked with an axe and shot to hell at close range without much effect. When destruction finally comes to the mummy, it comes in a most unique and gruesome fashion.
Most Hammer films boast good performances and there are several worth noting here. John Phillips hits just the right note as the arrogant and cowardly Stanley Preston. One of the more subtle horrors of the film is his completely loveless and emotionally dead relationship with his wife. Just before his meeting with the Mummy, Preston must realize that he will be missed by no one. Elisabeth Sellars as Mrs. Preston gives one of the most cold-blooded and emotionally detached performances I've seen. Roger Delgado is great as the sinister Hasmid, unleashing an amazingly perfect stream of Arabic gibberish. Delgado would perfect his evil as The Master in Dr. Who. Another wild performance is given by Catherine Lacey as the demented Haiti the fortune teller. Never has any fortune teller delighted in predicting her customer's deaths as much as Haiti.
One black mark against the movie is the criminal misuse of Andre Morell as Sir Basil. Morell was a terrific actor, so memorable in "Plague of the Zombies", "Hound of the Baskervilles" and the little-seen "Cash On Demand", but here he makes little to no impression. Something which I blame more on the script and the director than Morell himself.
Maggie Kimberly is quite stunning as Claire. She looks rather average at first, but the more she is in peril, the more attractive she becomes.
The actor who really walks off with the movie is Hammer mainstay Michael Ripper. What a versatile actor he was. As the meek and suffering lackey of Preston's, he makes for a perfect milksop. We feel an overwhelming sympathy for this simple character and his death is a brutal shock.
There are parts where the movie lags, particularly in the opening desert scenes, but once Prem is awakened, the action never flags and the movie builds to a powerful and action-packed climax. In the end, Hammer gave as much life as they could to the tired mummy concept with "The Mummy's Shroud" and the film should satisfy anyone looking for escapist horror.