THE AWAKENING —- a game Charlton Heston had done well by sci-fi, batting a triple with Planet Of The Apes, The Omega Man and Soylent Green, but a home run was denied this 1980 horror flick. Unlucky archaeologists reincarnate an Egyptian queen, with bad juju for all concerned. You’d think they would have paused when they read the helpful hint on the tomb: “Do Not Approach the Nameless One Lest Your Soul Be Withered”.
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The script was concocted as the third filmed version of Bram Stoker’s 1903 tale “The Jewel Of Seven Stars”. Slow, murky, quicksand in general, it at least boasts decent production values, including cinematography from Jack Cardiff and a fair amount of location work in Egypt. The first theatrical release directed by Mike Newell, it co-stars Susannah York, Jill Townsend and Stephanie Zimbalist.
Eventually it excavated $8,415,000, yet during its 101 minutes you may fight to remain awakened (ha! got that in, finally: my dig here has unearthed something awful to behold).
Good morning
