What we flagged
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Our take
This is a 1960s Hammer horror with a grimmer streak than the old Universal mummies. A revived mummy hunts down the men who opened its tomb, and the revenge is openly described as violent and bloody. There is moderate swearing, including one coarse insult, some social drinking, and a dark, menacing mood throughout. We put this at US NR because the blood and stalking sit in the open for most of the runtime.
Uplifting themes
Greed and grave-robbing bring their own punishment, which is about as moral as the story gets. A couple of characters warn against disturbing the tomb. The uplift stays faint under the horror The cast is a mix of showmen, schemers and scholars, few of them admirable. One or two show restraint and good sense. You watch for the monster, not for someone to copy
Story (may spoil tone)
Those who have interfered with the Tomb of Ra-Antef are in terrible danger. Against expert advice, American showman and financial backer of the expedition, Alexander King, plans a world tour exhibiting this magnificent discovery from the ancient world but on the opening night the sarcophagus is void of its contents. The mummy has escaped to fulfill the dreadful prophesy and exact a violent and bloody revenge on all those who defiled his final resting place.
What we flagged
Details
Violence The mummy works through its victims one by one, and killing drives the…
The mummy works through its victims one by one, and killing drives the whole plot. Attacks are forceful and the revenge is spelled out as bloody. Compared with the older Universal pictures, the blows land with more weight
Language Swearing is moderate for its day. A couple of uses of 'hell' land in an…
Swearing is moderate for its day. A couple of uses of 'hell' land in anger, and one character throws out a sharp b-word insult. There is nothing beyond that
Sex / nudity A mild romantic thread runs through the story, with a little flirtation…
A mild romantic thread runs through the story, with a little flirtation along the way. There is no nudity and nothing explicit, just period courtship
Drugs / alcohol Social drinking features, and one scene plays on a character trying to…
Social drinking features, and one scene plays on a character trying to get another tipsy. It fits the period setting and is not glamorised. Easy to overlook
Frightening A towering, bandaged killer stalking Victorian London builds steady dre…
A towering, bandaged killer stalking Victorian London builds steady dread across the film. Dark streets, a reawakened corpse and a creeping sense of doom set the tone. Properly unsettling for a 1960s chiller
Gore / death / weapons Deaths are shown with the vivid blood Hammer was famous for, including…
Deaths are shown with the vivid blood Hammer was famous for, including crushing and brutal blows. Bodies and wounds feature, more graphic than the bloodless classics. Not extreme by today's standards, but still strong
Flashing lights We have not confirmed whether this version contains flashing lights.
We have not confirmed whether this version contains flashing lights.
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Talk after watching
- The showman wants to put the mummy on a world tour for money. What does the film say about treating the dead as a spectacle?
- The curse is framed as payback for disturbing the tomb. Do you think the victims deserved what happened to them?
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The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb
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