A dying man divides a map revealing the location of the tomb of Runamb between members of his family; each recipient is consequently killed for their fragment of the ancient document. With the map in his possession, Professor Expedito Vitus (Wilson Grey) locates the mummy of Runamb and revives it using his elixir of life. In ancient Egypt, Runamb was a killer, murdering women during sex; now he is free to continue his reign of terror.
The Secret of the Mummy is listed on IMDb as a horror/comedy, but I didn't find it the slightest bit frightening or funny. Brazilian director Ivan Cardoso was an associate of José Mojica Marins, and his film is every bit as bizarre as one of Marins' movies, albeit very different in tone, but it definitely isn't edge-of-your-seat scary or a barrel of laughs. There's none of Marins sadism and torture, but the scrappy plot and offbeat characters (maid Regina and assistant Igor reminded me of Magenta and Riff-Raff in The Rocky Horror Picture Show) still make the film a very unusual and confusing experience. Cardoso sloppily combines colour and black and white photography with archival footage, giving his film a random, unfocused look and feel.
The unorthodox film-making techniques and weird characters make for a tough watch, and if it hadn't been for a constant stream of gratuitous nudity and a smattering of gore (I enjoyed the decapitation by shovel), I may well have struggled to finish the film in one sitting.
The Secret of the Mummy is listed on IMDb as a horror/comedy, but I didn't find it the slightest bit frightening or funny. Brazilian director Ivan Cardoso was an associate of José Mojica Marins, and his film is every bit as bizarre as one of Marins' movies, albeit very different in tone, but it definitely isn't edge-of-your-seat scary or a barrel of laughs. There's none of Marins sadism and torture, but the scrappy plot and offbeat characters (maid Regina and assistant Igor reminded me of Magenta and Riff-Raff in The Rocky Horror Picture Show) still make the film a very unusual and confusing experience. Cardoso sloppily combines colour and black and white photography with archival footage, giving his film a random, unfocused look and feel.
The unorthodox film-making techniques and weird characters make for a tough watch, and if it hadn't been for a constant stream of gratuitous nudity and a smattering of gore (I enjoyed the decapitation by shovel), I may well have struggled to finish the film in one sitting.