DAWN
OF THE MUMMY (1982)
Directed by Frank Agrama
Madacy DVD
Reviewed 01.17.04
Review by Joseph A. Ziemba
THE FILM
In the early 80s, when I was just
a little guy, my parents bought
our first family vcr. Soon after,
we made a trip to the local video
shack (a closet sized store front
with approximately 100 tapes, all
jumbled up and in no order). I was
given permission to pick out a couple
of sure-fire hits. I chose a Chip
and Dale cartoon compilation
and Dawn Of The Mummy.
See, back then, ratings weren’t
always on the mark on the back of
those huge boxes. I remember many
instances of so-called PG rated
films featuring ample amounts of
blood and boobs.
So for the last 18 years or so,
I’ve carried around the memory
of the opening scene in this film
-- a scary egyptian priestess and
her servants preparing a body for
mummification, gore and all. That’s
as far as I got. Eject. It scared
the crap out of me and I could never
remember the title. After reading
some reviews, I realized that Dawn could be THAT film...and whaddya
know?
Some hotsie-totsie New Yorkers decide
to shoot a fashion spread in Egypt
for the hippest mag around. At the
same time, three bandits are “excavating”
the burial site of the Mummy, who
was introduced during the film’s
opening. The two groups cross paths
and the fashion photographer decides
that the Mummy’s tomb would
make a really great backdrop. Whoops,
bad idea! The place is cursed and
the ten foot Mummy comes back to
life, bringing an army of zombies
with him. But before that occurs,
an hour of film passes by and actors
act very badly.
I’m not going to beat around
the bush. Dawn Of The Mummy was very disappointing, boring,
and unoriginal. There wasn’t
even anything to laugh at (save
for the painfully obvious hatchet-to-the-dummy-head)
and that can sometimes make or break
these trashy 80s movies. However,
gore fans take note: during the
last half hour, things kick in and
the film gets very gruesome. Zombies
munch down many, many times. Over
the top gore for gore’s sake
just isn’t my bag though,
so it was the kiss of death for
me.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
The film is presented full frame
and looks surprisingly crisp for
a budget release. Things get a bit
dark in spots and I noticed some
video hiccups during an early desert
sequence. The sound had a layer
of tape hiss on it, but was audible.
Overall, very impressive and surely
miles ahead of any old vhs tape.
EXTRAS
Another surprise, considering this
is a budget release, is the inclusion
of a director’s commentary.
It’s set up with a moderator,
kind of a Q & A type of thing.
The track runs through the entire
film. Very interesting and filled
with little bits of trivia relating
to the production. We also have
a cast list, director’s credit
list, and a trailer for some total
waste of time called Road
Ends.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Alright, I’ve tracked down
that infamous mummy movie that’s
been flying around in my brain all
these years. Whatever. Skip it,
unless you’re into the red
stuff and animal guts. |
Mummifications
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