Home Horror Horror Reviews Review: ‘Rage of the Mummy’ is a Fun Addition to Mummified Sub-Genre

Review: ‘Rage of the Mummy’ is a Fun Addition to Mummified Sub-Genre

January 15, 2019

Good mummy films are few and far between. Hollywood can’t seem to get them right, opting to make big-budget Egyptian adventure films rather than give fans what they want from a mummy movie…a hobbling, wrapped-up, dead guy ruining peoples’ day. That being said, there are a handful of wonderful mummy horrors. Perhaps most notably the 1932 version of The Mummy with Boris Karloff, and this writer’s personal favorite, the gory Dawn of the Mummy (1981). The new film from director Dennis Vincent, Rage of the Mummy, delivers with what fans want from a mummy movie, a mean ol’, wrapped-up, dead guy, and overcomes its issues with a slick-style and fresh approach.

The film follows two detectives as they investigate linked cases involving victims found decapitated with wrappings around their heads. All of the victims are members of a secret society of occult enthusiasts known as the Pharaohs of Darkness, a group who purchased artifacts from a mummy’s tomb and are now incurring its murderous wrath. This simple set-up allows for plenty of scenes of mummy mayhem.

Rage of the Mummy fully embraces its cheese factor. Designed to look like a ’50s horror comic, ala Creepshow, Rage is steeped in rich colors and fun scene transitions and animated sequences that morph viewers in and out of comic book cells. The look of the film, while not necessarily new territory for a horror film, gives the movie a unique feel that sets it apart from films of the same caliber. Red, green, and blue lighting make many scenes really pop and really sell the comic book feel.

The practical FX are well done in the film. The titular mummy looks very cool and classic and is a definite highlight. The strength of the FX leads me into one of my main issues with Rage of the Mummy, the scenes involving the mummy attacking the occultists all feel the same. Every victim is killed in the same way and mostly off-screen. As a viewer, I enjoyed what I saw, but I wanted to see more. It could be argued that the film was more in line with the classic Universal Monsters films and didn’t need to rely heavily on over-the-top gags, but at times the movie felt repetitive.

The story of Rage of the Mummy loses a lot of steam after the first act, as well. So much of the film is very pretty and fun to look at, but in terms of plot, aside from a couple interesting story additions, it never seems to evolve beyond its primary premise. The run-time is nice and short, which keeps the pacing up with plenty of action, but I couldn’t help feeling like the story just needed a little more to keep it interesting.

To wrap things up (sorry), Rage of the Mummy is a fun watch. It’s colorful, creative, and doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s a good popcorn film that hearkens back to a time when films delivered on their premises. Most of all, it doesn’t commit the ultimate sin that so many mummy movies do, it has plenty of shots of a mummy stumbling around attacking people (in this case, lopping their heads off!). And another thing, I loved the ending. It has a few downfalls, but I’m happy to add this to my short list of mummy movies that are really cool.

Rage of the Mummy is now available on Amazon Prime and DVD.