STREET DATE: AUGUST 8th
Official Synopsis:
In THE CURSE OF KING TUT’S TOMB, archeologist Danny Fremont (Casper Van Dien) believes that evil powers are still in the tomb of King Tut. His race against time to search for the tomb and its Emerald Tablet becomes a life and death struggle as he battles another scientist (Jonathan Hyde) to find the tomb. While he wants to protect the tomb’s powers, others want to harness those powers to control the world. The result is an edge-of-your-seat power struggle filled with visual splendor, high adventure and creative special effects. Casper Van Dien (“Sleepy Hollow”), Malcolm McDowell (“A Clockwork Orange”) and Jonathan Hyde (“The Mummy”) star in this high adventure-packed search for the greatest and most powerful tomb in the world.
Our Take:
Another in the line of made-for-television movies produced by Hallmark Entertainment (such as Blackbeard and Merlin’s Apprentice), The Curse of King Tut’s Tomb isn’t so much of a story about mummies and curses as it is a tale of an apocalyptic nature of good against evil. Featuring a short list of familiar character actors, including Casper Van Dien in the lead role as well as Malcolm McDowell and Jonathan Hyde, the film’s actors could do this in their sleep. As far as story is concerned, it is an interesting vein to explore the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs; however, taken in over the course of three hours it is spread pretty thin.
Fortunately, the curse doesn’t carry over to the DVD. Packed inside are a couple of short but interesting features. Frankly, for a made-for-television movie, this is the equivalent of a special edition.
* Dark Secrets of the Hellfire Council (3 minutes) - Malcolm McDowell and Simon Callow briefly discuss the “Hellfire Council,” the secret society of rich white men who want to rule the world. Worth watching just to see McDowell.
* Shooting Egypt in India (7 minutes) - Featuring interviews with director Russell Mulcahy, actors Malcolm McDowell, Casper Van Dien, Jonathan Hyde, Leonor Varela and others as they talk about their time in India, not really pertaining to the actual filming process just their experiences.
Putting aside all historical inaccuracies and whatnot, The Curse of King Tut’s Tomb is a pretty mindless film. Unfortunately, its slow pace and paper-thin plot isn’t enough to warrant actually watching the film unless you’re a real Egyptian enthusiast.
Overall Picture:
Movie: C-
DVD: C+
- Chris Lawrence
Staff Writer
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