Gothic castles, moody English countryside, sex...what is there not to like? There is a lot to like about this film, yet somehow it does miss its mark. Despite the great locations, fine period wardrobes and excellent cinematography, a scripting misstep and excessively contemporary score leaven what should have been a really great Gothic thriller from the '70s.
The plot is simple: The Lord of a crumbling castle brings back a mummy from Egypt for study. Upon opening the sarcophagus, he finds the mummy perfectly preserved. Clues left on a papyrus lead him to a method for bringing it back to life-a deed he soon regrets, as the mummy imprisons him in his own dungeon and proceeds to kill a host of unappealing '70s starlets.
Most of the film is spent depicting these women being killed by a decidedly un-macho mummy, who "rapes" them before death. While this writer enjoys a good cinematic rape scene (such as in 1978's "I Spit On Your Grave," or EuroCine's "Rape"), these assaults are totally un-sexy. With his fruity Beatles wig, Liz Taylor eye makeup and gold lame skirt, the mummy is neither scary or manly enough to be sexy.
This film could have been saved by canceling the mummy character entirely and replacing it with the son of the Baron who lived in the castle. The distraught Baron could use alchemy to revive his dead son, only for the (preferably hot) young man to go on a rape and blood-drinking rampage to sustain himself. This would have made the sex scenes a lot hotter and the visuals a lot more consistently Gothic.
Nevertheless, worth a look.
