With having recently been in the mood to watch some Hammer Horror,I decided to search around Zavvi,where I was thrilled to discover a double Blu-Ray/DVD of writer/director John Giallings final collaboration with the studio being sold for half price,which led to me excitingly getting ready to unwrap Hammer's Mummy.The plot:2000BC:Escaping from the kingdom with the families few remaining loyal guards as his dad is murdered by a former friend,the pharaoh's son is taken to a far away desert,in the hope that he can be protected from the bloodshed which is taking place across the kingdom.With supply's having dried up,the guards start to die out one by one,remaining loyal to his master till the very end,the pharaoh's son uses his dying wish to give the final guard a royal seal,as a sign of appreciation,and also as a key,so that the guard can protect him in life,and death.1920:Backed by huge financial support from a wealthy investor called Stanley Preston,a group of archeologist's led by Sir Basil Walden head off to Egypt in the hope of proving that a recent discovery of a mummy by architect's who are claiming it to be the body of the long-lost pharaoh's son,is actually that of a former loyal guard.Ignoring the towns people's plea to not going digging around,the gang are relived when they soon stumble upon the elusive tomb containing the pharaoh son's body.As the group excitingly start to lift out the artifacts from the tomb,the pharaoh's most loyal (now mummified) guard prepares to save his master from these unexpected invaders.View on the film:Before getting to the movie itself,I have to mention that whilst the films original soundtrack features flaws that can never be fully fixed, (such as the actors footsteps sounding "hollow",which causes a strong feeling of them being stage bound,instead of being in the middle of the vast desert that the movie is taking place in)Studio Canal bring Hammer's final movie to be shot at Bray Studios alive with an excellent restoration,which along with allowing every line of dialogue to be clearly heard,also allows for the full set details of the movies great Egypt setting to be displayed.Taking his final collaboration with Hammer Horror in an interestingly proto-Slasher direction,writer/director John Gillings, (who would later moan about how the movie turned out,which was probably partly caused by Gillings relationship with Hammer having always been on the "shaky" side of things) shows a real eye in expanding the gang v Mummy outline to include some rather noticeably,subtle touches.Gillings gives the Mummy's a real motivation for its killing spree,and also bravely puts all of the male character's into the background for the movie's second half,so that the second half almost becomes a "Women's Horror" picture,thanks to Gillings making each of the female character's much smarter and cunning then any of their male counterparts.Along with his fast moving screenplay,Gillings also gives the movie a warm desert appearance,that is sharply turned to an icy chill when Gillings display's a strong stylised eye for the film's set piece murder scenes,with Gillings and editor Chris Barnes closely working together to give each murder set piece,a distinctive, snappy feel,from the first victim being only able to see the Mummy in a blurred vision due to losing his glasses,to another first catching a glimpse of the monster from a reflection of photo developing chemicals.Making their own mark in the ensemble cast,Andre Morell reunites with John Gillings for a delightfully cartoon performance,whilst the brilliant Michael Ripper gives a performance that completely changes the design of the character which had been lay down on the script,with Ripper showing his henchmen to be someone who knows all too well what awaits him and the other explores.Joining Morell and Ripper,Elizabeth Sellars (whose previous Hammer title was the first ever one to be shot at Bray studios,in 1951!) gives an icy performance as Barbara Preston,whose frozen glances to her husband Stanley (played by a witty John Phillips) suggest that she is all too aware of the doom that her husband has unwittingly unleashed upon them.

The Mummy's Shroud is directed by John Gilling who also co-adapts the screenplay with Anthony Hinds. It stars André Morell, John Phillips, David Buck, Elizabeth Sellars, Maggie Kimberly and Michael Ripper. Music is by Don Banks and cinematography by Arthur Grant.Mezzera, Egypt, 1920, and an expedition to find the tomb of Pharaoh Kah-to-Bey gets more than they bargained for when they unearth a shroud adorned with the ancient writings of life and death...The third instalment of Hammer Films forays into Mumified based Egyptology, The Mummy's Shroud follows the standard formula but never the less entertains in undemanding fashion. Released as the support feature to Frankenstein Created Woman (not Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed as listed in some quarters since that was two years later), it's nicely photographed, stoically performed by the cast (especially by Hammer hero Ripper who gets a meaty role) and is pacey enough to uphold the interest. The violence aspects are strongly constructed, but kept mostly in suggestive terms as per visual enticements, and how nice to see the lead ladies here be more than token cleavage.This was the last Hammer feature to be made at Bray Studios, so it has some poignant significance in the history of Hammer Films. It's not a great send off for Bray, but it's unmistakably one of those Hammer Horror films that fans of the studio's output can easily spend the evening with and not feel it has been time wasted. 6.5/10

I didn't know this version of a mummy movie existed. It's made around the same time as the Christopher Lee's version, but this one is less well known.The movie starts out good. The characters are good, the story is good, and the scenes are beautiful. Then it starts going down hill. Acting starts to slip, the characters loses their edge, and the mummy looks like Jason in pajamas.Far from being the horror classic done by Ron Chaney Jr., this one is almost comedic when the mummy starts moving.So the ghastly horror is spoiled by the main antagonist not fulfilling its role. If the horror movie is not scary, then rest of the story won't matter.It could have been a lot better movie. They had everything going for it, but they blew it on few critical spots, that spoiled the whole show.

Hammer Films made a bazillion horror films from the 1950s-1970s. This is one of several mummy films they made during the era. It's not the best of their mummy films (this would be THE MUMMY, 1959), nor is it the worst (that would probably be CURSE OF THE MUMMY'S TOMB, 1964. In fact, it's very typical of a mummy film in most every way.The film starts with a long prologue about a young Prince whose throne is usurped. A faithful servant takes him into the desert and the boy dies. However, in death, the servant makes sure his master goes to the afterlife by having him buried. In 1920, an expedition finds both this mummified boy and the servant who is also a mummy (though they look very, very different). It's obvious that the servant is just some bozo in a cheap mummy suit (looking nothing like the great Universal films mummies of the 1930s and 40s). As for the boy, I thought it looked like a real dessicated dead kid, but my daughter (who has taken classes in archeology and has seen mummies up close) says it looked nothing like one. Either way, to the untrained eye, it's not bad--not a cheesy one like the servant.Later, some weirdos who are mummy cult members utter a long curse in order to bring the dead servant to life and kill those who desecrated the grave. Wow, you didn't see that coming...no wait, that's the plot of virtually EVERY mummy film! So, for the next 30 minutes, the mummy does some nasty killing. The first few are particularly nasty, though the really bad guy who DOES have it coming dies in an amazingly anticlimactic manner.The film has several pluses. The sets aren't bad and although the story is very, very familiar, it's handled well. Also, a few of the murders are clever and different. As for the minuses, it's not terribly original. Also, I don't know why Hammer did such a rotten job with their mummies--they just look terribly unrealistic and cheap--although the scene with the mummy at the very end was well done.Overall, very watchable for monster fans, but don't rush out and see this. It's a case of "been there, done that".