PharohsCurse

Pharaoh’s Curse (1957)

It is the year 1902 and this movie opens with an uprising of the local population in and around Cairo Egypt. The local British garrison is under siege, but still ordered to send some men out to retrieve a group of British and Americans that are working on an unauthorized dig in the Valley of the Kings. They are only able to spare a Captain Storm and a pair of sergeants for the task. With the wife of one an Americans on the expedition in tow they head out to bring them back. Along the way they find a mysterious native girl who is able to help them find the tomb and team. But it is too late because they have already unleashed an ancient curse. A bloodsucking mummy walks among them!

I hadn’t ever seen this movie before, which is odd because I’ve seen most of the horror and sci-fi movies of the ‘50s. It is also odd that this one features a mummy because the decade was dominated by giant bugs and aliens from outer space rather then the classic creatures like a mummy. But then again there is an interesting twist here with reincarnation and the fact that the mummy drinks blood to ensure it’s survival. So there was a “modern” ‘50s take on the creature that was interesting. Other then that though I’m not sure there is much else to recommend the movie. In spite of only being 66 minutes long the first 20 or 30 minutes feels padded. We get to see the rescuers wandering around the desert and camping. With the exception of introducing the character of the native girl this doesn’t move the story along at all. And even then the girl doesn’t factor in much with the rest of the movie. The story does pick up once they arrive at the tomb, but this section of Pharaoh’s Curse is far too short and I felt cheated a bit by that.

I do want to give the movie some credit for it’s special effects. The mummy and it’s various states of disrepair are pretty good for 1957. You get to see him all shriveled up and he even loses part of an arm. Oh and I’m sure when the movie came out the scene with the mummy’s arm falling apart on the examination table was pretty creepy. Though by today’s standards it isn’t that impressive you can’t judge a 50 plus year old movie by what you can see now. As a fan of these older movies I liked what I saw from the creature in this one.

Now the big question is whether I recommend Pharaoh’s Curse. I will with a big caveat. If you dig these old school black and white horror flicks then Pharaoh’s Curse is going to be something you will want to check out. But because of some pacing issues it isn’t one of those movies that will appeal well to everyone. If you aren’t already a fan of this stuff then you probably won’t dig this movie.

2 ½ out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer