Dawn of the Mummy (1981)

A group of fashion models disturb the tomb of a mummy and revive an ancient curse. Along with the mummy rising, slaves who were buried in the desert thousands of years before, also rise, with a craving for human flesh.

Director:

Frank Agrama

Writers:

Daria Price (screenplay), Ronald Dobrin (screenplay)

Stars:

Brenda Siemer Scheider, Barry Sattels, George Peck

Cast

Cast overview:
Brenda Siemer Scheider	...	Lisa (as Brenda King)
Barry Sattels	...	Bill
George Peck	...	Rick
John Salvo	...	Gary
Ibrahim Khan	...	Karib
Joan Levy	...	Jenny
Ellen Faison	...	Melinda (as Ellene Faison)
Diane Beatty	...	June
Ali Gohar	...	Tarak
Ahmed Rateb	...	Omar (as Ahmed Ratib)
Baher Saied	...	Egyptian
Ali Azab	...	Egyptian
Ahmed Laban	...	Egyptian
Laila Nasr	...	High Priestess / Xena

Storyline

A group of fashion models disturb the tomb of a mummy and revive an ancient curse. Along with the mummy rising, slaves who were buried in the desert thousands of years before, also rise, with a craving for human flesh.

---

Plot Keywords:

mummy | fashion model | priestess | living dead | video nasty | 

---

Taglines:

A monstrous, chilling terror stalking the living ...

---

Genres:

Horror

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie is part of the notorious german "SchleFaZ" series. Thus, the censored version was aired August 2020 on german TV station Tele5. ("SchleFaZ" is a german abbreviation, means "the worst films ever". In that series 2 hosts present the whole flick - and make fun of it throughout the movie.)

---

Alternate Versions

The UK cinema version was cut by 27 secs by the BBFC and the same print was released on the Videospace label before the introduction of the VRA (Video Recordings Act). When the film was officially released on video in 1987 it received 1 min 43 secs of censor cuts with edits to all flesh eating scenes, an eye gouging, the stabbing of a man's head with a meat cleaver, and a woman being bitten in the neck and dragged under the sand. The cuts were waived in 2003 and the film was released unedited on the Anchor Bay label.

---

Connections

Referenced in Ban the Sadist Videos! Part 2 (2006)

User Reviews

Disco 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.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 December 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Mumie des Pharao

Filming Locations:

The Nile Studio, Cairo, Egypt

Company Credits

Production Co:

Harmony Gold

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1