CinemaSerf

Sep 20, 2023

4.0

Ageing "Uncle Felix" (Melvyn Rawlinson) isn't feeling up to snuff, so consults his physician who tells him that he hasn't long for the world. He's been an explorer and archaeologist all his life and has decided to leave everything to the British Museum - whether they want it or not - save for one mysterious box that is to be bricked in, permanently, to the cellar of the home which he is leaving to nephew "Archie" (Rafe Bird). Meantime, the slightly dodgy "Everett" (Chris Bell) is having some trouble with some local nasties and when he learns of this sarcophagus to be encased, he decides to explore. Might it be cursed? Might it contain the vengeful remains of a long-buried Pharaonic princess? Well it might but to be honest the mummy clearly read the script and decided to skip as much of the proceedings here as possible. This is essentially just a nicely filmed "Tales of the Unexpected" style eighty-odd minutes of verbiage. There isn't the merest hint of menace or peril, the visual effects really do smack of the proverbial smoke and mirrors and the pace of this film rivals that of a terminally ill tortoise treading in treacle. It's clearly made for television, but quite whose is anyone's guess. Indeed, it is actually all a pretty pointless, meandering, story devoid of anything substantial - by way of writing, acting or mythology, and the ending made me think that surely auteur Steve Lawson wasn't thinking of a "Return of...". Sorry, but you ought not to waste your time on this, however much you may like the genre.