American Mummy

American Mummy (2014)

Reviewed by Mario Dominick

Director: Charles Pinion

Cast: Suziey Block, Aidan Bristow, Aaron Burt, Esther Canata, Erin Condry, Jack Grimmett, Rudy Marquez, Peter Marr.

It had been two decades since iconic low budget filmmaker Charles Pinion had delivered a feature film to the world. His shot-on-video efforts Twisted Issues (1988), Red Spirit Lake (1993), and We Await (1996) have had much appeal and cult followings with fans of subversive and outlandish cinema, echoing the transgressive filmmaking styles of Nick Zedd, the gore-on-a-budget DIY spirit of Herschell Gordon Lewis, and the experimental art of Psychic TV and Genesis P-Orridge. After a lengthy hiatus, Pinion’s return to filmmaking is delightfully welcomed.

American Mummy is the story of a group of college students on an expedition in a New Mexico desert. They discover an ancient tomb and mummy. One of the students practices an ancient ritual on the mummy. Chaos ensues as the mummy’s spirit rises from a long sleep as a result of the ritual and begins a reign of terror possessing the bodies of the students turning them into blood thirsty, rampaging demons.

American Mummy is a much different movie compared to Pinion’s earlier works, but for a more mainstream effort, it’s actually pretty good. The gore FX (by Roy Knyrim) are plentiful and well-executed. There are lots of guts, dismemberments, a beheading, and more. The film works as a fun tribute to classic mummy movies and mixes elements of them with the chaotic action and gore of Evil Dead. The possession element also adds to the Evil Dead touches the film delivers.

For a long awaited return by a director known for transgressive, experimental SOV efforts, American Mummy is nice surprise and something of which Sam Raimi fans will find much enjoyment.

Wild Eye Releasing has brought the film to Blu-Ray and DVD in a combo set with both 3D and 2D versions of the film on the Blu-Ray. Since I don’t have a 3D TV, I had to settle with watching the 2D version, but that didn’t take anything away from my ability to enjoy the film. The disc also contains numerous extras such as a behind-the-scenes featurette, outtakes, a promotional video, and trailers.

Get the film from www.wildeyereleasing.com and check out Charles Pinion’s site at www.charlespinion.com