Review by Ben Bussey
It’s putting things very mildly to say that I tend not to approach the latest direct-to-DVD found footage horror movie with the utmost confidence. I’ve been at this horror reviewing lark for about six years now, and in that time barely a month has gone by without another cut-price first-person shakey-cam effort crossing my path, and while the format has produced the occasional gem like the [REC] movies or Troll Hunter, the vast majority of it has proved to be worthless sludge. But, on occasion, just a little creativity can go a long way: a slightly less obvious setting and approach can make what is ostensibly the same old shit seem a whole lot fresher. This, I’m happy to report, is very much the case with Day of the Mummy. While at a glance it seems to follow the conventions of the contemporary found footage format, at heart it’s really more of an old-fashioned, swashbuckling boy’s own adventure; and despite the fact that they probably spent less money on this than they did on Rachel Weisz’s hair and make-up in 1999’s The Mummy, in many respects this cheap and cheerful effort is more enjoyable than the most recent entries in that blockbuster series.
For starters, how shit-sick are we all of every found footage movie being shown from the perspective of some wannabe filmmaker douchebag who can’t hold the camera still for more than 0.5 of a second, invariably has major hang-ups with the opposite sex, says “fuck” and “bro” at least twice in every sentence, then runs screaming in the face of danger? How about instead we see through the eyes of someone we might actually fantasise about being: a ballsy, have-a-go adventurer type? That’s the first smart move of Garry Charles’ script, giving us a time-honoured lovable rogue type in the central character of Jack Wells – who we first meet in the throes of a hotel threesome (very brief and not very explicit, I’m afraid). Actor William McNamara doesn’t exactly have the heroic good looks of a Harrison Ford, but that’s hardly too important as we don’t spend too long looking at his face.
Jack’s forced to send his two lady-friends to the next room when a mysterious package arrives at his door, and he finds himself talking via satellite link to elusive shady billionaire Danny Glover, who wants Jack to join an expedition in Egypt. Officially the team are heading out to investigate the tomb of a supposedly cursed king, but Glover has an ulterior motive: he wants Jack to locate a precious stone believed to be buried in the mummy’s tomb. To this end, Glover has supplied our hero with a pair of high-tech camera glasses – and, in another fairly neat twist, these glasses not only allow his rich benefactor to watch the action, but also to pop up and occasionally offer commentary, speaking directly into Jack’s ear without the rest of the team ever hearing or knowing anything about it. And so it is that Day of the Mummy achieves something exceedingly rare in found footage: it makes the first-person perspective feel entirely appropriate to the story. It also means that, rather than being the one-scene cameo I’d initially assumed it would be, Danny Glover is in fact a recurring presence throughout the film, more or less warranting his top billing. Very smart use of a big name actor who, from the look of things, probably only did two or three days work at most on the film.
It all unfolds in a predictably pulpy fashion; Jack-the-lad butts heads with Eric Young’s tightly-wound academic in charge of the mission, empties guns into local militants who get in their way, and romances Andrea Monier’s security officer (who seems to need rescuing a bit much for someone in her profession, but – once again – this is a boy’s own adventure, and these require a damsel in distress). Naturally the team wind up trapped in the underground tunnels that lead to the mummy’s tomb – and, as Jack struggles to locate both the treasure and the exit, it soon transpires they’re not alone down there. You don’t have to be an Egyptologist to work out what comes after them.
I think a big part of why I found myself enjoying Day of the Mummy far more than I’d expected is the simple fact that mummy movies are such a rarity. In many respects this isn’t too surprising; when all’s said and done they’re not too far removed from zombies, and dudes shuffling about wrapped in bandages do tend to look a bit goofy – which is certainly the case here, as you’ll have gathered from the top picture. Even so, given the light-hearted nature of proceedings here, the silliness of the monster really isn’t too great a hindrance. This is a carnival haunted house-type horror movie, designed to give you a good ride rather than truly get under your skin.
It’s disposable, and I doubt it’ll prove especially memorable, but for what it is Day of the Mummy is a perfectly respectable bit of fun, and well worth a look.
Day of the Mummy is out now on DVD from Image Entertainment.