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This is another highly recommended entry in the series of Gothic Horror movies from Spain made by their premier star, the traditionally lycanthropic Paul Naschy, who wrote the film under his pen name/alter ego, Jacinto Molina. Director Carlos Aured, who had previously worked with Naschy on his epic Eurohorror outing HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB, returned to direct MUMMY'S REVENGE, along with HORROR RISES' female star, the incredibly sexy Helga Liné, with the great Jack Taylor in the heroic lead and wonderful supporting performances by familiar Spanish/cult horror faces like Eduardo Calvo, Fernando Sanchez Polack, Luis Dávila, and Eurobabes María Silva & Celia Cruz.
THE PLOT: An evil, despotic and bloodthirsty Egyptian Pharoh Amen Ho-Tep (Naschy in his usual dual role mode) is disrupted from his orgies of torture & human sacrifice by palace intrigue and winds up encased in a sarcophagus for 800 years, his body immobilized by a poison but his evil brain just itching for a distant ancestor (Naschy again, with help from Ms. Liné) to revive his mummified body so he can seek a generalized revenge against basically everything. His tomb is discovered by Taylor & Ms. Silva, and the fun begins when Naschy & Helga start chaining up the virgins and slitting their throats to create some sort of rejuvenate concoction to get the mummy (Naschy again) up and about to roam the sewers of Victorian era London in search of people who's heads need crushing. Between brutal murders they collect virgins to sacrifice in order to perform a blasphemous rite to resurrect the Pharoh's favorite concubine as well (embodied in the film's present time by an actress named Riva Otolina, for whom this film is her only credited performance).
Meanwhile, back at the Egyptian artifacts museum, Jack Taylor gets to look thoughtful with a full beard and eventually deciphers an ancient manuscript outlining Amen Ho-Tep's plans to have himself and his concubine restored to eternal existence and decides to do something about it, all of which culminates in another wonderful on screen death by Naschy that is tinged by tragedy and self sacrifice by his modern day self.
If all of this sounds rather familiar to folks who have seen a Naschy or three congratulations -- THE MUMMY'S REVENGE is a classic Jack Molina scripted "Soap Opera Horror" installment with a mummy instead of a werewolf, but story elements common to other popular efforts by Naschy/Molina portraying gruesome ceremonial killings that also require the female victims to be tortured, ancestral vengeance from beyond the grave, a love story of some sort or another figuring into the mix, the death of everyone in the film who has sexual relations on screen other than Naschy, a couple of good "Monster in the House" suspense sequences, and LOTS of atmospheric shots of mouldering catacombs, elegantly designed interior sets with altars, chaining racks, manacles & long ceremonial knives for the bloodletting. There is even a hint of potentially lesbian content between Riva Otolina & Helga that sadly goes underdeveloped, last minute oaths from the condemned that they will rise again to seek vengeance, the deaths of caretakers & transient nondescript types who always seem to end up dying horribly in Naschy's films, and other etcetera's that make up what I like to call The Paul Naschy Effect.
As such, for those with a taste for The Naschy Effect, THE MUMMY'S REVENGE is a must-see title. Not only to see him garbed up as the mummy (Naschy has played all of the Universal classic monsters in his films, other than maybe the Creature from the BLACK LAGOON movies) but to see how he re-defined the Mummy Movie conventions to fit his own storytelling agenda. The film was shot in gorgeous color and has that certain special something about Spanish 1970's horror that is so unique & hard to put into words. And even casual viewers who may not be devotees of Spanish horror & Naschy's work will find this an enjoyable viewing experience worthy of 2nd, 3rd & 4th looks. And by then, you're officially hooked.
But THE MUMMY'S REVENGE is actually a curious entry in Naschyalia for a couple of reasons. Like DRACULA'S GREAT LOVE he never reprised his mummy character in another film of it's own, but unlike that also wonderful movie THE MUMMY'S REVENGE was apparently shot without the "nude" or uncovered takes he usually had made for export from Spain (which did not permit frontal nudity in 1973) where such content would help to ensure a healthier box office showing.
There are two surviving versions of THE MUMMY'S REVENGE, a fullframe English version that runs 91 minutes and a widescreen Spanish version amounting to about 97 minutes of screen time: Six additional minutes, most of it dialog or transitional scenes, plus an extra virgin on the racks at the beginning. But no "nude" or uncovered version has ever been described nor even hinted at via the usual film release/promotional accouterments like lobby cards or publicity stills depicting bared breasts. They may simply have not had the budget to make an export version, and for what it's worth I think this is still a fine movie without boobs, and more accessible for first time viewers than the ultra-heavy HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB, which is not for all tastes in the truest use of that expression.
THE MUMMY'S REVENGE is more of just a good old fashioned monster movie, flavored by the Spanish atmosphere & tragedy element, with some nice gory head-smushing scenes that will delight fans of that kind of stuff. I prefer the scenes with Helga Liné's "Zennifer" dolled up in a HIGHLY sexalicious Egyptian harlot costume, reserved only for the sacrificial ceremonies & related footage. With a body like hers they could have trotted her out in a garbage bags with holes poked out for her arms & head and it would still be a riveting sight.
score 8/10
Squonkamatic 27 December 2004
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0990692/ |
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20-2-2021 04:44:05