‘A deadly curse has been unleashed’
Ancient Evil: Scream of the Mummy is a 1999 American supernatural horror feature film directed by David DeCoteau (Sorority Slaughterhouse; The Killer Eye; Prison of the Dead; et al) from a screenplay by Matthew Jason Walsh (Speed Demon; Bloodletting; The Sandman; et al). The movie stars Jeff Peterson, Trent Latta and Ariauna Albright.
It was misleadingly released in the UK as Bram Stoker’s Legend of the Mummy 2. A sequel, Ancient Evil 2: Guardian of the Underworld, followed in 2005.
In Mexico, an ancient Aztec pyramid, dedicated to the rain god Tlaloc, is discovered. It contains numerous artefacts as well as a remarkably well-preserved mummy. All of these items are transported to a university in the United States for study and display; the university is nearly deserted except for six archeology students and their professor.
Unfortunately, it turns out that one of the six students is actually a descendant of Aztec priests. He resurrects the murderous mummy…
Reviews:
“Ancient Evil is an embarrassing and painfully tedious horror film that fails to deliver on every conceivable element of horror, suspense, drama, or terror. Even for laughs, Ancient Evil will test your endurance.” Felix Vasquez, Cinema Crazed
“While the mummy’s makeup is pretty good, the prosthesis on his stomach makes it look like he has a beer gut. Most of the murders involve a whole lot of hacking and dicing, yet just a splash of fake blood. The little suspense DeCoteau generates with a well lit set and effective music score dwindle…” Charles Tatum, eFilm Critic
” …the film only consists of a mummy stalking various students around a campus, almost nothing else at all. The plot eventually turns out to be an uneasy attempt to mix the revived mummy genre and the underdog revenge plot, a theme that Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990) did much better.” Richard Scheib, Moria
“Even the mummy looks to be nothing more than an expensive fancy dress costume. From the first time you see it on the screen, there’s no way that anyone would believe it had been dead for centuries. Having said that, it is the best thing about the film […] No attempts are made to inject any atmosphere or tension into proceedings…” Andrew Smith, Popcorn Pictures
Cast and characters:
- Jeff Peterson … Don
- Trent Latta … Norman
- Ariauna Albright … Stacey
- Russell Richardson … Arlando
- Michele Nordin [as Michelle Erickson] … Janine
- Brenda Blondell … Professor Cyphers
- Michael Lutz … Morris
- Christopher Cullen … Scott
- Christopher Bergschneider [as Anton Falk] … The Mummy
Scriptwriter Matthew Jason Walsh later told Doom Cheez Cinema: “What remains is eighty minutes of Beer-Gut The Mummy waddling around these brightly lit hallways and these kids pretty much narrating the rest of the movie for us. And no blood. And no visual effects. And the plot … kids being left alone at an “archaeology summer camp”. I can’t think of anything else to say that hasn’t already been said, except, I’m sorry. I’m really, really, truly sorry.”
The post Ancient Evil: Scream of the Mummy – USA, 1999 appeared first on HORRORPEDIA.