Did you people see the same film I saw?

A Masterpiece!

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

This was a film made on the cheap, including actors like Sybil Danning and John Carradine, who most people would be surprised was still alive in 1986. These good actors were brought in for short cameos so that we wouldn't notice the actors who were actually the stars of the film.So a corrupt archaeologist finds some artifacts in a tomb and unleashes a sorceress/vampire/mummy. The rest of the film involves characters who are or are not the protagonists trying to stop her before the final anti-climatic showdown.One of those great signs of cheapness. The aforementioned Ms. Danning firing an Uzi with the muzzle out of frame because they couldn't afford blanks.Not quite in the "So bad it's good" category.

I remember reading a write up on this film, the standard fare put out by the promotions people. It sounded exciting, horrific, all the things I enjoy about a good mummy movie. Then I got the box home and knew I was in trouble. The cheesy art of the box cover was the first clue. It could just have easily been the cover for "Big Trouble in Little China" which was a much better film, but this was no comedy, at least not intentionally. To begin with the budget on this must have been all of a $1.85 with tax. Then there are the sets. The film was supposed to take place in Egypt, but the sets bore no resemblance whatever. Cameron Mitchell is no actor, no way, never been. I was especially disappointed to see aging horror star John Carradine and Sybil Danning in this as they are both usually in much better quality work. You can safely give this one a miss, unless you are a fan of "Plan 9 From Out Space." This is right down there with it.

I've always been a Cameron Mitchell fan, but he was probably really needing a payday here. As always he puts in a superior performance, even with the material, and it's good to see him. "Death of a Salesman" it is not.Very attractive "monster" in Michelle Bauer, and a really classic 70s/80s topless dance routine by two time "Miss Nude Universe" (1970 and 1971) winner Francesca Isabel "Kitten" Natividad that has NO connection to the plot in any respect at all.But, like chicken soup, it can't hurt.The movie is well lit and the cinematography is actually very good. The special effects are generally cheesy, but fun. I doubt this is going to scare anybody, but although predictable it's a fun film to watch.If you love the monster/horror/thriller genres you'll enjoy this one.

Hack director Fred Olen Ray unleashed this loser back in the mid eighties. "Stars" Sybil Danning and John Carradine are in the film for about 5 minutes each, and Cameron Mitchell has the good sense to not show up until about 50 minutes in and then gets killed about 15 minutes later. It's for sure none of these actors listed this on their resumes. As for our lead, David O'Hara, well let's just say he shouldn't have quit his coaching job. And the second male lead, Richard Hench, who doesn't enter the film until it's half over, seems to be reading his lines from cue cards offscreen. At times he appears to be in a trance. Some of the furniture has more life in its performance than he does. Of course most of the blame falls squarely on the director's shoulders here. Olen Ray can't seem to pace a scene to save his life; they all just drag on and on with the actors taking long, I mean long, pauses between each line of dialog. You can just feel precious seconds of your life slipping away while waiting for them to complete their discussions. Naturally we need some pointless t & a to pad out an already stretched film, and plenty of go nowhere scenes that do nothing to advance the "plot". The best I can say for this garbage is that it is only 84 minutes long.Skip this film and watch the 1980 flick The Awakening, which covers pretty much the same ground. While not a great movie, it's worlds better than this dreck.