Review of The Mummy's Shroud (1967) by Eric R — 13 Aug 2009

"Beware the beat of the cloth-wrapped feet!" screamed the trailer to this third entry into Hammer's Mummy trilogy (preceded by The Mummy and The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb). The film has...take a wild yonder...another Mummy running amok.

Yes, again it is a different Mummy but thankfully the plot isn't as derivative as the second film. The main difference in the plot is that the entire film takes place in Egypt (the Mummy went amok in England the previous films). A group of diggers uncover a tomb of an Egyptian prince but an angry tomb watcher raises a mummy by reading a cursed inscription on a shroud.

The film also opens differently. As opposed to having a flashback in the middle of the film, this entry opts to have the flashback right at the start. Right away one can see the production values aren't quit as polished as the previous films. However the production is still nice and again the cast is full of solid British actors.

On the up side I found the film to be even more violent than the previous films. The mummy throws people from second story windows and smashes people's heads against walls. The make-up is decent but nothing that will wake the dead (Universal's Mummy movies still had the best looking mummies). By far the best effect is when the mummy awakens and his eyes open...creepy.

One aspect I didn't like as there was an elderly clairvoyant women who looked into people's future with a crystal ball. Yes I know the film is about a walking corpse so I shouldn't expect plausibility but this aspect was just a little much for me.

If you're ready to view Hammer's third Mummy movie then you know exactly what your going to get, a Saturday matinee monster film. If you expect that then you will enjoy.