Professor Dave Barrie (Anthony Eisley) is an archaeologist. He is in possession of two sarcophagi that he rescued from Lake Meade when the helicopter carrying them went down. One is a mummy (Saul Goldsmith). The other is a wonderfully preserved Egyptian specimen. It is the body of the princess Akana (Marliza Pons).
Dave tells his friends Bob (Robert Alan Browne) and Donna (Maurine Dawsosn) the curse surrounding the mummy. The legend says that anyone who is in the presence of Akana’s mummy during the full moon will turn into a Jackalman. Being a scientist, and fascinated by the legend, Dave decides to test it. He has Bob lock him in with the princess. During the night Dave turns into the Jackalman and kills two policemen. In the morning he doesn’t remember anything that happened, so he believes that the legend is untrue.
Dave begins reading up on Akana. He learns that Akana was laid in a special coffin and put in a deep sleep for 4815 years, which would end this year. She would then awake and have special powers. One of the priests was in love with Akana and tried to take her away. He was caught and sentenced to be buried alive to protect the princess as a mummy.
That night Dave turns into Jackalman again. A vagrant wanders into Dave’s house and is attacked. In the fight Akana’s protective cover is damaged. The princess comes alive. Dave goes into town to get some current clothes for Akana. He runs into Bob who talks Dave into having dinner with him and Donna. Dave reluctantly agrees and takes Akana. While they are out, the mummy comes to life and starts looking for Akana. Dave begins to change into Jackalman and abandons his friends. The mummy and Jackalman begin roaming the streets of Las Vegas looking for the princess.
“The Mummy and the Curse of the Jackals” AKA “The Mummy VS the Were-Jackal” was released in 1969 and was directed by Oliver Drake. It is a low budget independent horror movie. According to many, the movie was never finished. It sat on a shelf for years. That may explain the many plot holes and threads of subplots that never went anywhere.
The movie is rife with bad acting and bad editing. The film stock is dark, so it is difficult to see what is going on. It is, however, very campy and somewhat absurd. There are several things that make the movie fun. The music score is canned cartoon music, which I found amusing, and the monsters; both mummy and Jackal are dumb looking, which again I found amusing. John Carradine has a small part, but he doesn’t come in until the last 18 minutes or so of the film. All these things add camp value.
My favorite part is when both the mummy and the Jackalman are wandering through the streets of Las Vegas. People are casually going about their business while a mummy shuffles by. Again, when the werewolf goes by no one pays any attention. Although one person did hold the door open for the Jackalman at one point.
There is also a scene where Bob becomes possessed by the spirit of goddess ISIS. Nothing more is said about it so we don’t know why. Also, the princess supposedly has a mission that ISIS wants her to complete, but we never find out what that is. I assume that these pieces of the plot were part of the film that were never completed. I don’t think answers to those burning questions would have helped the film anyway. All in all, the movie is bad and stupid, but a bit of a hoot.