The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.0
Audio		2.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.0

The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman August 31, 2016

Note: Mill Creek has released 'The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb' as part of a two-film collection with The Revenge of Frankenstein. Currently, the two-pack is the only way to own this film on Blu-ray.

The year is 1900. The place is Egypt. Several archeologists (played by Jack Gwillim, Ronald Howard, and Bernard Rebel) discover a find of a lifetime: a sarcophagus containing a mummy. The American who financed the expedition (played by Fred Clark) orders the find returned to London in order to monetize public displays. But things begin to go awry when it seems the mummy inside has returned to life, bent on killing those who have interrupted its slumber.

Cursed!

The movie banks on real-world mythology, anticipation, fear of the unknown, and general horror to terrify, and entertain, audiences. It works to an extent. The movie is a crude -- sometimes limp, lame, and tired, but usually halfway enjoyable -- entertainer with a few tricks up its sleeve. It's not particularly scary, at least not by today's standards, though a few boundaries are pushed and several squeamish moments pop up on the screen. It's a bit slow out of the gate and on through the beginning parts of the second act, but it picks up rhythm and even some intensity as it moves forward. Production values are fair and performances are solid enough given the relative dearth of legitimate characterization. Hardly the jewel of the Hammer collection, the film nevertheless makes for passable, lazy day throwback entertainment and serves as a decent lower-rung baseline for what to expect from the company.

The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb doesn't look particularly bad on Blu-ray...nor does it look particularly good. Mill Creek's middling 1080p presentation handles the basics well enough. Color saturation is fair, even if the image lacks real, serious punch. Gold plated and colorfully jewel-adorned sarcophagi look nice enough, sparkling rather nicely and revealing the punchiest colors the movie has to offer. Otherwise, the palette is rather straightforward, maybe a hint bland, but with enough vitality to scrape by. Details fare just ok as well. Definition holds firm enough for the duration, with those historical artifacts and sarcophagi showing off a good bit intimate texturing, while rougher surfaces around the frame show enough raw definition to please. Faces and clothes aren't insanely complex, but the image presents them well enough. A light grain structure hovers atop the image, but so too does noise and occasionally heavy macroblocking. Skin tones appear neutral and blacks occasionally, but not detrimentally, push a little light. Overall, this is a fair image, but nothing to be too terribly excited about.

The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb arrives on Blu-ray with a sonically unremarkable Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. The track gets the job done, embraces the basics, and never stretches itself in any way. Basic clarity is adequate. Dialogue is delivered intelligibly with a commendable center placement. Sound effects are rather crude but serviceable in defining the simpler elements that unfold throughout the movie, including various crashes and moments of action-mayhem. Music plays with simple definition, little range, and no real stretch in the speakers.

The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb contains no supplemental content.

The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb scrapes by as decent entertainment but does little to make a lasting impression. Neither does Mill Creek's Blu-ray. The featureless release delivers merely acceptable video and audio. Check it out as a rental or a purchase during a steep sale.