The Tomb (1986) User Reviews

A Bomb

[Zeegrade · 3/10 · 15 July 2009]

Mid-eighties grade-Z Indiana Jones knockoff starring David O'Hara as beer swilling tomb raider John Banning who unwittingly awakens an Egyptian sorceress Nefratis (Michelle Bauer) and becomes a pawn in her resurrected plans for world conquest, or something to that effect.

When looking at the cast of actors one might get the impression that with such B-movie royalty like Sybil Danning, John Carradine, and the always entertaining Cameron Mitchell that this movie might not be as bad as it sounds. You would be very wrong on that assumption. While all aforementioned actors try their best to elevate the "talent" level on screen they are collectively in the film for only about ten minutes with Mitchell making up the bulk of that time. Instead you get to watch the "don't quit your day job waiting at Spago's" performance buy the woefully inept Richard Hench who becomes the central character in the film about halfway in to it. The scenes with Hench and his professor sidekick are the visual equivalent of banging your skull off of a concrete wall. David O'Hara's character John Banning is so unlikeable that it's confusing as to why he wasn't rewritten better as the film clearly wants him to be the hero. Michelle Bauer's nudity free Nefratis sleepwalks throughout the movie. If anyone can tell me what the hell actually killed her at the end I would greatly appreciate it as I rewound it many times and failed to see what exactly happened. My word of advice for wary B-movie fans is if it says Olen Ray stay away!

Natividad's minute long cameo are the only two noteworthy reasons to watch.this

[movieman_kev · 3/10 · 20 September 2010]

Tomb raider, John Banning (David O'Hara), bites off more than he can chew when immortal ancient Egyptian, Nefratis (Genre scream queen, Michelle Bauer) gets peeved that he stole from her and so follows him to America to wreck havok. Think of this film as a fifth-grade Indiana Jones crossed with a third-rate Mummy. Not among the best Fred Olen Ray films, and the usually great Sybil Danning & Bauer are all waisted here, yet it's serviceable enough in a 'there's nothing else on and i'm bored to death' kind of way. But really, Natividad's minute long cameo provide the only two noteworthy reasons to watch.things about this film.

My Grade: C-

Eye Candy: Dawn Wildsmith gets topless; Kitten Natividad shows T&A

Don't bother with this one unless you have an airsick bag.

[ozthegreatat42330 · 2/10 · 20 January 2007]

I remember reading a write up on this film, the standard fare put out by the promotions people. It sounded exciting, horrific, all the things I enjoy about a good mummy movie. Then I got the box home and knew I was in trouble. The cheesy art of the box cover was the first clue. It could just have easily been the cover for "Big Trouble in Little China" which was a much better film, but this was no comedy, at least not intentionally. To begin with the budget on this must have been all of a $1.85 with tax. Then there are the sets. The film was supposed to take place in Egypt, but the sets bore no resemblance whatever. Cameron Mitchell is no actor, no way, never been. I was especially disappointed to see aging horror star John Carradine and Sybil Danning in this as they are both usually in much better quality work. You can safely give this one a miss, unless you are a fan of "Plan 9 From Out Space." This is right down there with it.

Strange Movie, Interesting Features

[dblazer690 · 7 March 2006]

I've always been a Cameron Mitchell fan, but he was probably really needing a payday here. As always he puts in a superior performance, even with the material, and it's good to see him. "Death of a Salesman" it is not.

Very attractive "monster" in Michelle Bauer, and a really classic 70s/80s topless dance routine by two time "Miss Nude Universe" (1970 and 1971) winner Francesca Isabel "Kitten" Natividad that has NO connection to the plot in any respect at all.

But, like chicken soup, it can't hurt.

The movie is well lit and the cinematography is actually very good. The special effects are generally cheesy, but fun. I doubt this is going to scare anybody, but although predictable it's a fun film to watch.

If you love the monster/horror/thriller genres you'll enjoy this one.

Written in 10 days and shot in only 13....'nuff said!

[planktonrules · 1/10 · 23 September 2012]

This is an Indiana Jones-type film that was made on the cheap (VERY cheap). It features hot young guys running about sets that looked LESS convincing than the props in a spook house! It also features an airplane that explodes with one shot from a pistol, a band in pharaoh head gear and others dressed like mummies or wearing a fez singing "Tutti Frutti" (presumably in the Middle East), BAD dialog and acting and one embarrassing moment after another. When the film began, I knew it was crap--simply because of the cheapo soundtrack. It's all synthesizers and sounds pretty much like what other cheap 80s films sounded like (such as "Warlords of the 21st Century"). And, it features John Carradine--a guy who would have starred in ANYTHING (including tampon commercials) if they paid him in cash! It also features Cameron Mitchell--a once decent actor who, by 1986, was seriously looking for work. As for the rest, they're mostly unknown actors (aside from Sybil Danning, who made a career out of appearing in low-budget films)....and I can see why. Overall, it's the sort of picture that would have gone straight to videotape or been seen on the USA Network back in the late 80s. If you like crap, then give this one a try. As for me, I couldn't even finish this one...it was that lame.

truly dreadful

[JoeB131 · 2/10 · 30 March 2015]

This was a film made on the cheap, including actors like Sybil Danning and John Carradine, who most people would be surprised was still alive in 1986. These good actors were brought in for short cameos so that we wouldn't notice the actors who were actually the stars of the film.

So a corrupt archaeologist finds some artifacts in a tomb and unleashes a sorceress/vampire/mummy. The rest of the film involves characters who are or are not the protagonists trying to stop her before the final anti-climatic showdown.

One of those great signs of cheapness. The aforementioned Ms. Danning firing an Uzi with the muzzle out of frame because they couldn't afford blanks.

Not quite in the "So bad it's good" category.

If ancient Egypt was as dumb as this film, it wouldn't have survived to see Cleopatra.

[mark.waltz · 2/10 · 13 June 2023]

I had a good time laughing at this supernatural adventure that was dumb and dumber long before that movie franchise uncovered the sands of silliness. Two dudes invade an ancient Egyptian tomb, bring to life the vengeful daughter of a long dead pharaoh, and her spirit manages to make it to Beverly Hills, only stopping briefly to ask for directions, turns one of the deadheads into her slave and sets out to find the stolen gems now in the hands of Cameron Mitchell.

Delicious hideous acting dominates the film with Michelle Bauer the epitome of horrible as the evil vampiress princess of the Nile. Sybil Danning is Mitchell's niece who falls for handsome Richard Hench who is researching the theft of the tomb. A cameo by John Carradine tries to explain it all. It's okay for a few giggles, but interruptions of girly shows at some L. A. dives where Bauer seeks victims really has no point other than to expose some female top anatomy. A giant bug implanted in the heart of the idiotic tomb raider is similar to the flesh eating creatures from the Mummy movies decades later. Fun hideousness at its most eye rolling.

Tomb Grater

[gridsleep · 2/10 · 10 October 2006]

This is not the worst film ever made. I can't think of what that one is at the moment. I'll have to wait for my eyes to stop bleeding.

Actually, there are two mildly redeeming factors. John Carradine, whose two minutes on screen probably comprised half the movie's budget, and Kitten Natividad dancing topless for about thirty seconds total. Yeah, that's it.

Another line. Another line. Another line. Another line. Is that enough for that ridiculously arbitrary ten line rule? Apparently not. Let's keep adding pointless text until this so-called comment meets the minimum requirement for mindless bureaucratic self-aggrandizement. Some suit trying to qualify his or her paycheck came up with this rule, undoubtedly.

I didn't like it

[utgard14 · 3/10 · 15 April 2020]

Bram Stoker gets the cheesy 80s action movie treatment in this early Fred Olen Ray stinker. This is an adaptation of Stoker's novel, The Jewel of the Seven Stars. Obviously this is a very loose adaptation (so loose no credit is given), but make no mistake it's derived from his story about a female mummy. The action scenes are hilariously bad. A single gunshot makes a plane explode. The music is also the pits. As for the cast, David Pearson is the star not top-billed Thomas Mitchell. Actually all of the big names in this have small roles. I watched it mainly for Sybil Danning, so you can imagine how disappointed I was by her one scene. It's a pretty boring cheapie. Skip it

If you like this title, we also recommend...a good beating

[cassebent · 1/10 · 10 May 2004]

This movie is by far the worst I have ever seen, and coming from a guy that enjoyed Starship Troopers (1!!) that says alot. This one just has it all, it's a complete waste of time. They should put warnings on crap movies like this, honestly. At some point the woman makes a scarab crawl up some dudes "skin" which is CLEARLY and unmistakebly some rubber overlay. This tells me that not only was the budget really low, but the crew were also in a hell of a hurry and nobody could be arsed to tell the director he was really really bad. The make-up artists should be cursed for all eternity and beaten with various sticks. This is me, telling you, not to see this movie, unless you want to have something to talk about.

Inept, low-budget drivel

[rstef1 · 1/10 · 7 March 2006]

Hack director Fred Olen Ray unleashed this loser back in the mid eighties. "Stars" Sybil Danning and John Carradine are in the film for about 5 minutes each, and Cameron Mitchell has the good sense to not show up until about 50 minutes in and then gets killed about 15 minutes later. It's for sure none of these actors listed this on their resumes. As for our lead, David O'Hara, well let's just say he shouldn't have quit his coaching job. And the second male lead, Richard Hench, who doesn't enter the film until it's half over, seems to be reading his lines from cue cards offscreen. At times he appears to be in a trance. Some of the furniture has more life in its performance than he does.

Of course most of the blame falls squarely on the director's shoulders here. Olen Ray can't seem to pace a scene to save his life; they all just drag on and on with the actors taking long, I mean long, pauses between each line of dialog. You can just feel precious seconds of your life slipping away while waiting for them to complete their discussions. Naturally we need some pointless t & a to pad out an already stretched film, and plenty of go nowhere scenes that do nothing to advance the "plot". The best I can say for this garbage is that it is only 84 minutes long.

Skip this film and watch the 1980 flick The Awakening, which covers pretty much the same ground. While not a great movie, it's worlds better than this dreck.

Detective Sullivan Was Just Fantastic

[pclover · 10/10 · 5 March 2004]

This Mummy was no dummy!

Up agains the likes of Stu Weltman (Det Sullivan) he was just a pile of putty and rags.

Weltman (definately not an Irishman) was just terrific. He delivered just the right touch to what may have been a total bomb were it not for his sterling performance.

Watch our Sam Spade. Weltman now in his dotage would still outshine any Dective of recent vintage swith the possible exception of the late Robert Stack as Eliot Ness.

Stu had him by a nose.

Prone to wearing a powderblue Tuxedo Later on in life and appearing with sme in Corned Beef Johnnies on Washington Blvd where I immediately recognized him quaffing a Johhnie's special, Stu is at one impressive and very friendly.

The Tomb will take it's place along side the Ma and Pa Kettle Films of the 40's.

Stu could have been a contender were it not for Sheldon Leonard who resembes him in speach pattern and that toght guy attitude.

Stu's short film career (He made Two) is a tru loss to we who worship character actors, with that suave of a New York man about town.

The movie is kitch to be sure, but Stu was the show stealer. What a detective!

Cool Danger Boy Disco Scene!!!

[edgeofterror · 6/10 · 18 March 2005]

This move rocked!It has everything you could want in an eighties American horror movie...cool humor,rock music and Michelle Baur! Well...Okay so there only one rock song ("Danger Boy") but that was one cool song.I especially loved the scene in the disco were that song was playing and Michelle Baur slowly creeps up on our main heroine...reminded me of that disco scene form Fright Night.There's also some cool special effects too, like in the end when Michelles true face is revealed...she looked really creepy...(not sure how her hair turned from blonde to brown for no apparent reason though!).The story is about a bunch of archaeologists who stumble upon an old tomb...but an evil mummified Egyptian (Michelle Baur) is awoken in the process...most of the guys are killed of except one...but can he stop her...only the final frame reveals all!!! Wicked movie...you've got to check it out!

Slow, boring mummy film

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 5/10 · 31 March 2017]

Hearing of a tomb buried in the African desert, a treasure hunter finds that the reanimated Egyptian princess he accidentally revived has chased him back to California seeking the return of her stolen artifacts and forces a team of experts to discover her quest and rush to stop it.

This could've been surprisingly decent but is mostly for the B-movie fans. The main problem with the film is that this was a really slow- paced film that really could've been decent but is somewhat missed here. This is due to the fact that most of the scenes just drag on and on with long gaps between anything remotely called action scenes to spice up the running time. It takes forever while waiting for the characters to complete their discussions and everything is played out that way as it takes forever to get through this film with the way everything has the longest possible take to get through. This pads out an already stretched film with the long rambling discussions about the quest for the artifacts and how they come together into her plans, the scenes with the archaeologist getting his way through the different agencies looking for him as well as the different scenes of her wandering around looking for them herself, and with plenty of go nowhere scenes that do nothing to advance the plot it results in a film with very little to get interested in and long on needless scenes. The plot is decent enough, but the boring, wordy resolution really cuts off most of the film, and with the collection of actors on display this could've gone even further and really loaded up on the cheese even more than it does. The strip-club sequence and bedroom scenes could've used that kind of cheese to it's fullest extent, and the few kills in here are decent enough and give off some blood but are simply over really quick as the majority are simply brutal-sounding without exploiting the fun of the situation. That leads into the film's final issue, it's depressing cheapness that has a big hold over the film, from the special effects to the sets and the overall fact that the majority of the film has her looking like a valley girl rather than a true mummy. As it stands, these here hold this one back quite highly even though there are a few decent parts on display. The main factor here is the fact that the plot is a gender-swapped version of the original film and that provides with some potential to have some fun updating that storyline to a more modern time. This is mostly brought about by including a series of scenes featuring the mummy walking among the modern new-wave era with the fashions and music which makes for a cheesy enough time to keep this one going as it winds through the varied scenes throughout here. When it does go for the action, this one isn't bad as the opening shootout in the airport tarmac gets this one off rather nicely, the resurrection in the tomb is pretty fun with the creature slowly emerging from the crypt behind them and the finale's sacrificial ceremony is quite a fun cheesy time that gives this one the kind of flamboyant ending that really sells this one more so than most of the other scenes here. It's not enough to overcome the flaws but it does raise this slightly.

Rated R: Violence, Language and Nudity.

One of Fred Olen Ray's Best...

[BaronBl00d · 29 April 2001]

...And I don't really know if that is saying a lot either. The Tomb tells the story of some stupid robber in Egypt disrupting the sacred tomb of an Egyptian sorceress, dead and yet still alive. The guy sells the artifacts found in the tomb, and the mummy(wearing low-cut outfits, breasts popping out here and there, and speaking as though she was picked up off of Hollywood Boulevard) goes to Los Angelos to get them back so she can perform a ritual sacrifice and stay young. Alright, the story is not too good, but the film is entertaining. For one of Ray's films, the acting is better than usual. Some nice performances by horror veterans Cameron Mitchell(he does a real fine job) and John Carradine in his five minutes of film raise the film from being strictly mundane. Throw in some great music and lots of T & A(a Ray specialty it seems...he even has Kitten Nativadad as a stripper in one scene doing some entertaining back-breaking bouncing) for extra measure. Let's not forget Sybil Danning too. Yep, she is in the film in the first five minutes only in what can be described as nothing more than a throw-away cameo. Her presence seems to be totally unnecessary, although I really am not complaining. Sure this film is a cheap B movie, but what the heck. Fred Olen Ray is living a lifetime dream of creating movies. His affection for the horror genre is obvious when he makes a point of giving cameos and roles to the likes of Mitchell, Carradine, and in other movies Robert Quarry, Carroll Borland, Kirk Allyn, and many more. He is not hiring them for their billing potential. It is nonexistent except to people like me who like to remember those fond memories of another time. He hires them for his love of their work. He gives characters in his movie names like Howard Phillips(named for H. P. Lovecraft) and David Manners(the actor who starred in the original Mummy as the heroic lead). It is easy for me and others to denegrate his work, and I have in other reviews, but like them or not...I applaud the fact that he went out and made them. Kudos Mr. Ray!

Somewhat slow and dull but with fun moments.

[MonsterVision99 · 5/10 · 12 November 2019]

Fred Olen Ray's The Tomb its somewhat of a disappointment when it comes to the fact that its not a very entertaining film, however, I will say that it had a lot of potential to be a fun flick. It doesnt look or feel like a cheaply made film as this is Ray's biggest budget at this point of his career but falls flat when it comes to giving some of the exploitation goods it needed to make it stand out.

The film does contain a few good moments that make it worth watching but I dont think it works overall, at least not as well as his other features. Its lacking the edge that we have come to expect from this kind of picture, its not really that interesting or enjoyable as a whole.

I must say that its perhaps not what I expected to see, maybe with one or two more watches in the future and in a copy with better picture quality it may grow on me.

A yawner

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 16 April 2022]

THE TOMB (1986) is another adaptation of the Bram Stoker story Jewel of the Seven Stars, following Hammer's BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY'S TOMB and 1980's THE AWAKENING. Not that you'd know from watching: the plot has been transformed into a simple supernatural-being-seeks-revenge tale, as an Egyptian queen pursues the tomb raider who half-inched her artefacts back to America.

The warning is that this was directed by Fred Olen Ray, so expect it to be VERY low budget. I find Ray an acquired taste, I'm not sure I enjoyed any of his films, and that doesn't change here. The first half hour is more like a cheap action movie and attempts at horror later on are severely diluted by poor execution. As usual, there's more sexiness than terror or atmosphere. Michelle Bauer fails to convince as the antagonist, while the usual cameos (Sybil Danning, Cameron Mitchell, John Carradine) don't pass muster either.

The Tomb

[pclover · 10/10 · 5 March 2004]

Another Kitch classic. Stu Weltman co-stars in this zany takeoff complete with the likes of John Carradine....

Weltman's Detective Sullivan is the right guy for the right job. His accent is New York but his attitude is Joisey.

If the Sopranos knew what a latent talen Stu was he would have been great as the aging Don...

He could play an Irishaman, an Italian or a Greek detective with equal capability.

To see him is to love him. He brightens up the Tomb a truly memorable D type of movie. The Mummy was putty in Detective Sullivans trembling hands!

Some scenes were dull and some weren't, but it was still well done for a B-movie

[bassett · 5 March 2000]

This movie was average, but worth checking out! We have a couple of familiar faces like John Carradine and a special appearance by Sybil Danning. But there were alot of virtual unknowns. This marks scream queen Michelle Bauer's first horror film as she portrays a possessed mummy from an ancient Tomb. She's mellodramatic at many times, but she's that way in most films. There's some great music in this movie and it probably did play in theatres in it's time, Unlike the movies you see Bauer in these days that has an awful budget! Someone says that B-movie director Fred Olen Ray's films don't hit theatre's, but what do they know?! This one definetely stood a chance and twice it showed the opening credits saying "The Tomb!" The ending is the best part no doubt about it, even you horror fans will agree! There's also a cameo by cult actress from the film "Surf Nazis Must Die!", Dawn Wildsmith who plays a lesbian and gets eaten alive by Bauer's snakes!

Even with Mitchell and Carradine It's Pretty Boring

[Michael_Elliott · 26 October 2010]

Tomb, The (1986)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

If you remember the good old days when non-stop trash was shown on stations like Cinemax then you might have came across a film like this. The story is pretty simple as a con man is able to steal some jewels from a tomb in Egypt but the dead princess Nefratis (Michelle Bauer) comes back for revenge. She travels to America where she tracks down and kills all the men who bought these items. This film starts off with an incredibly silly action piece, which I'm guessing was meant to be some sort of Indiana Jones homage but then we move into more horror elements. As is to be expected, this film certainly isn't going to be mistaken for the work of Orson Welles but if you're lining yourself up for a film like this then I'm sure you know that already. Those wanting some cheap thrills will find some here but not nearly enough to make this film worth sitting through. At only 83-minutes things move way too slowly and sadly the energy runs out before the opening credits are over. I think fans of the horror genre might want to tune in just to see Cameron Mitchell and John Carradine but neither man can add too much to the film. I'm a die-hard Carradine fan and will attempt to see everything he's in but his work with Ray is cheaper than some of those films he did in Mexico back in the 60s. Mitchell chews up the scenery as only he can. Sybil Danning appears as well and fans of Bauer will be happy to know she has some nudity. There's not as much nudity in the film as one might expect but there are a couple gory death scenes. Most of the effects are cheap but mildly effective. THE TOMB is incredibly light-weight entertainment that isn't going to win any awards but I'm sure fans of "Z" movies might find it interesting. I enjoy low-budget movies but this one here just didn't have enough going for it.

Boring Boo-Haw.

[drhackenstine · 17 February 2006]

The Tomb is one of those stupid movies I remember seeing when I was around 7 or 8 and thinking it was the coolest thing in the world. Now, watching it almost two decades later, I realize I must have been a pretty stupid kid. Ancient Egyptian artifacts are stolen from a dead princess's tomb. She returns from the dead to exact revenge on the individuals who now possess them. Sounds like it could be good for average '80's horror cheese fodder, but it isn't. Slow-paced boredom with an irritating group of actors (minus Michelle Bauer, who is always fun to watch even though she can't act). The pace is horrible and many horror scenes never seem to deliver. Whoever wrote this must have been on speed for the story jumps around a bit for really no reason at all. For some reason the title of the movie is shown twice in the opening credits. Tedious schlock with really nothing to offer. Features goofy violence and gratuitous T and A. One Star.

The Tomb (1986)

[stevencraigvankooten · 13 April 2007]

No gore, no nudity (If I recall). A smart ass archaeologist faces off against a supernatural spirit in a fight for something or other. All the while, we get to drool over Sybil Danning and grimace at John Carradine. The spirit also seeks revenge for its disturbed tomb. - - - I usually had a soft spot in my bowels for Fred Olen Ray's early movies because they have gusto and that can do attitude in them, even when they don't succeed; however, "the Tomb" is simply missing this energy. Everything is filmed competently, but it doesn't have that kinetic something propelling the movie from scene to scene. Still, the decent acting, cheesy effects, and meatier story serve to keep interest through the underwhelming finale. Could've been better, but not a complete waste of time (okay, maybe it is).

*1/2 out of 4