La Momie sanglante

It's been many years since I read Bram Stoker's 1903 novel "The Jewel of Seven Stars," but what I mainly recollect is a feeling of great disappointment; the book is all buildup, with very little in the way of payoff. The 1971 Hammer filmization, renamed "Blood From the Mummy's Tomb," can be accused of the same unfortunate misdemeanor, but still has much to offer. It tells the tale of Tera, an ancient Egyptian sorceress who had been executed back when, had her hand dismembered and her body encased in a tomb. Centuries later, that tomb is discovered by a researcher named Fuchs, whose daughter is the very image of the priestess. It would seem that Tera is about to be finally reincarnated.... Taking place in an indeterminate year (the clothing and furnishings are modern, yet the automobiles are vintage), "Blood From" boasts some mild gross-out FX (that severed hand, and Tera's many throat rippings), an interesting enough story, adequate sets and--typical for a Hammer film--fine acting from its second-tier cast. In her dual role as the "slumbering" Tera and Fuchs' possessed daughter, Margaret, actress Valerie Leon literally stands out in this cast. A stunning-looking woman even today, her, um, mUmmarian protuberances are amply brought to the fore here in any number of negligees and low-cut gowns. As Tera, she is found completely unswathed; I suppose even the ancient Egyptian priests felt that her body was too impressive to be kept under wraps! In any event, Valerie's presence is reason enough to give this film a recommendation. The film's story line presents some unanswered questions (Just how does the Corbeck character plan to control Tera once she "awakens," for instance? And that ambiguous ending is anybody's guess!), but I must say that I enjoyed this film more on a repeat viewing, with lowered expectations. It's a fun latter-day Hammer flick, shown to good advantage on this great-looking Anchor Bay DVD.

It never crossed my mind that archeology could get so sexy. The findings usually tend to have a much drier and dustier appearance. Valerie Leon has really showed new aspects to Egyptology here. In her double role as remarkably well ministered mummy of Queen Tera and Margharet Fuchs she is widely let use the two most expressive features of her physique and to steal the scenes totally without really doing anything. Her lovely eyes.

After countless variations of Count Dracula it was nice to see Hammer studios make good use of another story from Bram Stoker for a change. Mind you, the original novel 'Jewel of the Seven Stars', which this film is based on, does seem to use many of the same kind of story elements; a living dead with a curse and otherworldly powers, bringing the evil to London to be unleashed, a lunatic asylum patient closely connected to proceedings, a beauty with meaningful nightmares and so on. But it doesn't really matter, nobody here gets bitten too badly, anyway.

The film is occasionally rather slow moving and maybe a little too carelessly scripted, but it looks fantastic with the sets and props of Egyptian theme. And the loose hand of the mummy saying hi here and there brings joy every time. For the general mood the whole film seems to have a certain peculiar halo with heavily bright lighting, specially those scenes taking place towards the end. The shine of the curse coming true perhaps. Or good natured fun of silliness.

Which is what you'll be wondering as Blood From The Mummy's Tomb concludes with just about all the cast members meeting a grisly end.

Andrew Keir was the leader of an expedition to Egypt where the tomb of an evil sorceress Queen is uncovered and the body looks like it was fresh from the morgue, no wrappings on it at all. She was one beautiful queen with only a hand cut off and buried separately.

At the same time in the United Kingdom Keir's wife dies in childbirth and it turns out he gives birth to a bouncing baby sorceress though that's not known at the time.

When I say bouncing I mean that literally. Valerie Leon has some really ample bosoms which Hammer Studios took every opportunity to show off during the film. It was one way to keep the audience interested. Leon also does well as the sorceress and the modern role.

James Villiers and George Coulouris have good supporting parts. Villiers is our villain who has some cockeyed notion he can control the sorceress and guide her through the modern world. And Coulouris has a fine mad man act as a scientist locked in an asylum driven mad by what he's seen and unleashed.

It's a good horror flick without use of monsters by Hammer, a rare exception for them.

This is by a long way the best of the three adaptations so far of Bram Stoker's complex and disturbing novel of an Egyptologist's obsessive desire to revive an evil ancient Egyptian queen. (The novel was so worrying in 1903 that the ending was changed for the second edition: this movie keeps mainly to the original ending.) The cast ranges from competent to quite good, with the Queen/daughter suitably seductive but unreadable. The appearance is handsomely and oppressively Edwardian - the ancient Egyptian is rather silly - and the direction firm. Try this as a better taste of Stoker's obsessive psychological horror than any of the versions of "Dracula" except the long British TV adaptation.

The first thing I noticed when watching this movie is the gaping distance between this and the horror movies of today. There are two glaringly obvious differences.

Firstly: Scope. This film takes you to Egypt and the tombs of the Pharaohs where we see the Queen being interred in her tomb and the rights the priest's carry out, along with the beginnings of her curse. We then move to England where the action continues between three different locations. In modern horror films, the story usually takes place in one ___location in one time period.

Secondly: Story. There's more going off in this film than most of today's horror. I know this is based on an actual novel where most of the modern films are based on the director's ideas. The end product can also suffer from budgetary issues which may restrict them to one ___location and hence hinder the story.

The other differences are acting talent and direction. I have to admit that Hammer used to get some pretty top notch actors in their films. Even the bit-parts are covered by a better-than-average cast and this is the case in this film. Due to that fact, this is a highly enjoyable and believable story that I found myself fully immersed in. It also didn't hurt that Valerie Leon is one of the most beautiful actresses on the planet and does a great job in the lead role as Margaret Fuchs and the Egyptian Queen Tera. Along with Andre Keir, who people from Dr Who: Dalek's Invasion Earth 2150AD and Quatermass and the Pit, and James Villiers this is a strong cast.

As for the directing, it was an absolute blessing not to see shaky cam. I do wish that more directors would invest in fixed and smooth-moving camera mounts. I remember there being some negative input for the Evil- Deads shaky cam through the woods - now that is some of the smoothest camera work when compared to today's efforts. Also, all the scenes are watchable in daylight. Dark scenes are lit and visible, with the director using lighting to build mood and atmosphere; the viewer doesn't have to turn off any lighting even ambient just to make out what's happening - just because a scene is shot in total darkness doesn't make it scary. There's also no grey filters, which are so overused today, everything is shot in glorious colour. This actually helps the film as it doesn't make the audience depressed and sad.

Though the special effects are outdated by today's standards they are few, as the director uses the story and the atmosphere to build up the tension, suspense, and horror. Though the effects that are used are passable. I did love the severed hand - you can't beat a good severed hand - and the constantly bleeding stub its decapitation left behind.

This is one truly lush and lavish, well shot and acted horror film which still has strength in today's horror market. I would recommend everybody to watch this film as it's one of the best Hammer released. I would even watch this one again... and probably sooner rather than later.