Director: Steve Lawson
Year: 2023
Country: United Kingdom
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Mummy
Plot:
Arriving at his uncle’s house, a down-on-his-luck gambler hoping to gain an inheritance instead receives nothing and decides to stay there with his cousin to look over the remains left behind in their care including a cursed mummy that threatens to pull them into a deadly scenario.
Review:
This was a pretty fun and generally enjoyable genre effort. Among the films’ better qualities here is the rather fun setup here featuring some pretty intriguing qualities. As we’re initially given quite a fantastic insight into the need to repay his bookie that goes alongside the news of the inheritance which is a way out of that situation, the need to visit the family house where everything takes place. The knowledge about his ailing condition and how the curse starts to take shape all combine together to give the film a highly impressive starting point.
That provides a great launching pad to undertake the curse aspect as a central part of the film. Conducting a series of intriguing deductions based on the behavior of others they’ve been around, the investigation into the cause of what’s going on provides the reveal about the potential cause of the curse as a hallucinatory experience rather than a physical being. This approach to a mummy genre effort is a unique enough spin on the formula that allows for the typical shuffling scenes to appear as hallucinations in the midst of the cause.
Due to this, there’s some controversial action here as it moves into the final half. As this is more about the process required to bring it back to life through some highly controversial methods of getting the necessary fluids required for the performance and how that’s going to affect the rest of their interactions, there’s a quite unique and unconventional approach taken here. Introducing the real creature at the end is a great concept and brings about the few bits of gore here which is a rather fun time while setting up the highly enjoyable factors here.
There are some factors that bring this one down. What hurts this one is the strange introduction of the reanimation plotline at the very end when it could’ve made a more intriguing addition to the film had it not been seen as a means of continuing the storyline about needing to pay back his debts. It feels way too big of a concept to be introduced as an afterthought like it is, while the concept of what the film does during this whole section holds up the traditional shambling mummy so it might upset some genre fans. Alongside the low-budget feel of this one, these factors are its drawbacks.
Overview: ***.5/5
A drastically different take on the genre but still with quite a lot to like about it, this is a fairly solid and serviceable genre outing that still might upset hardcore loyalists due to the change it does. Those who are willing to give it a try, enjoy this style of filmmaking, or are fans of the creative crew should give it a shot while those who are turned off by the flaws should heed caution.
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