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British archaeologists unearth a mummified Egyptian prince and bring him back to England where their American financier plans to exploit the corpse to a paying audience. But when someone uses a mystical amulet to bring the mummy back to life, it begins killing everyone who participated in its excavation.

This second mummy movie from Hammer Films (following 1959’s The Mummy) treads painfully familiar ground. The first half of the film trudges along at a slow pace before the mummy makes its first appearance. Things pick up once the killing starts, even if the murder scenes all feel the same. The title character is easily the best part of the film. Actor Dickie Owen moves well inside the Mummy makeup, accompanied by a deep, labored breathing sound that’s effectively creepy (an inspiration for Darth Vader?).

The casting is dull compared to other Hammer films. Only Fred Clark (Sunset Boulevard, Auntie Mame), as the American showman, is memorable. The sets, wardrobe, and music are all up to Hammer’s usual high standards, but the film is an overall sub-par affair that only gets interesting in the final twenty minutes.

Directed by Michael Carreras. With Terence Morgan, Ronald Howard, Jeanne Roland, George Pastell, and Jack Gwillim.