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Charlton Heston, Susannah York, Jill Townsend, Stephanie Zimbalist, Patrick Drury ... see more see more... , Bruce Myers , Nadim Sawalha , Ian McDiarmid , Michael Halphie , Leonard Maguire , Miriam Margolyes , Michael Mellinger , Osman Ahmed , Ishia Bennison , Madhav Sharma , Christopher Fairbank , Roger Kemp

English archaeologist Matthew Corbeck (played by the emphatically-American Charlton Heston) undertakes an expedition to find the tomb of the Egyptian princess Kara, despite his awareness of a nefariou... read more read more...s curse that is said to befall anyone who disturbs the tomb. Eighteen years after Corbeck's discovery of the burial site, his teenage daughter (who was born at the very moment of the tomb's violation) begins to behave strangely. Turns out she's been possessed by Kara's malevolent spirit, carrying out the princess's revenge by causing several deaths and developing a less-than-healthy obsession with Daddy. Based very loosely on Bram Stoker's novel The Jewel of Seven Stars (itself the inspiration for Hammer's superior Blood from the Mummy's Tomb), this is basically Warner Brothers' attempt to jump on the big-budget horror bandwagon in the wake of The Omen's staggering success. The result is a good-looking but artistically hollow film -- with elaborate sets, lush cinematography and a sweeping musical score, but little in the way of logic or suspense. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

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36% liked it

372 ratings

R, 1 hr. 41 min.

Directed by: Mike Newell

Release Date: October 1, 1980

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Stats: 35 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (35)

  • ajv2688
    January 8, 2011
    ajv2688
    An okay movie about mummies, it kind of has an "Omen" feel to it at times, and it's pretty boring in the beginning, but it gets better in the end. Overall, it's okay.
  • jjnxn
    August 26, 2010
    jjnxn
    The words claptrap, junk and hokum all spring to mind when this silly possession movie is mentioned. Produced during that unfortunate period after The Exorcist hit big and every other movie was some type of scare flick this one doesn't even have a very plausible script to start w... read moreith. Poor Susannah York, the most talented of the actors trapped herein, spends the beginning of this turkey in one of the most unbecoming wigs ever seen. Watch this only if you want to make fun of something.
  • drblood
    August 19, 2007
    drblood
    This is just a remake of Hammer's "Blood from the Mummy's Tomb" and is equally as slow and boring.
    The only moment of any merit is how beautiful the transformed Stephanie Zimbalist looks near the end.
  • Lyndaofwirral
    January 11, 2011
    Lyndaofwirral
    This film version of Bram Stoker's horror novel, The Jewel of the Seven Stars, is a worthy enough effort with a strong cast and impressive locations but it's all a bit too clinical and dry to be genuinely entertaining.
  • The80sExpert
    August 19, 2010
    The80sExpert
    If you've ever wondered what The Omen would have been like if the story were about mummies instead of the devil, then this movie is for you. The movie starts out average, but ends well. Overall, an okay movie, not great but okay.
  • sevenember62
    May 19, 2008
    sevenember62
    I caught this one night on late night tv and was somewhat intrigued by it. While the whole "Egyptian curse" thing has gotten extremely worn out and overused by so many movies - I still found this one to be fairly entertaining. Not a bad watch if you aren't expecting excellence.

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Critic Reviews

Ken Hanke
July 30, 2002
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Funnier than most comedies

Scott Weinberg
July 26, 2002
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

Dry-as-dust "possession" fare.

Janet Maslin
August 30, 2004
Janet Maslin, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Emanuel Levy
July 24, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Carol Cling
August 22, 2003
Carol Cling, Las Vegas Review-Journal

No review available.

Geoff Andrew
February 9, 2006
Geoff Andrew, Time Out

Click to read the article Full Review

May 24, 2003
Film4

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The Awakening Trivia

  • What movie was filmed from Bram Stoker's novel "The Jewel Of The Seven Stars" hint, Charlton Heston stars in this horror flick.  Answer »
  • Just got this question. How many Omen movies were made? Correct answer 4 However there were 5 Omen movies made. The Omen 1976 Damien: Omen II 1978 Omen III: The final Conflict 1981 Omen IV: The Awakening 1991 The Omen Remake 2006  Answer »
  • In the 1998 Hollywood version of Godzilla, the creature is awakened by nuclear tests by France. In the original 1954 Japanese version, not the French but which country was responsible for awakening Godzilla with advanced weapons testing?  Answer »
  • In which movie did Robert de Niro and Robin Williams stars from?  Answer »
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