Based on Bram Stoker's novel The Jewel of Seven Stars, Hammer's fourth and final mummy film is perhaps their best. Known to be a “cursed production” due to the director dying before shooting was completed, and its star (Peter Cushing) having to bail out due to his wife’s illness, BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY’S TOMB arrives on domestic Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory.

Believed to be evil and possessing great powers, Queen Tera is buried in ancient Egypt by a group of high priests. They think that a ruby ring (bearing the design of "The Big Dipper") she wears is the secret to her powers, so Tera's hand is severed and she's sealed in the tomb. However, as the priests exit the tomb, they all have their necks mangled and are killed by an unseen force. Centuries later, Professor Fuchs (Andrew Kier, DRACULA: PRINCE OF DARKNESS) and four other English archaeologists – James Villiers (ASYLUM), Hugh Burden (FUNERAL IN BERLIN), George Coulouris (THE WOMAN EATER) and Rosalie Crutchley (CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT) – desecrate the tomb. The breathtaking Tera is still remarkably preserved and her wound still oozes blood, while the severed hand wearing the ring remains not far behind. Back in England, at the moment that the tomb is opened, Fuch's wife dies while giving birth to their daughter, Margaret (Valerie Leon, THE SPY WHO LOVED ME). Twenty years later, Fuchs harbors the Queen in his cellar while other expedition members each hold a relic from the tomb (a jackal's skull, statuettes of a cobra and a cat) and lead very sorted and agonizing lives — one of them (Berigan, as played by Coulouris) winds up in an insane asylum.

On Margaret's 21st birthday Fuchs gives her Tera's ring as a gift. This opens up a can of worms as Margaret has continuous nightmares and eventually becomes possessed by Tera's spirit. When Fuchs becomes mysteriously ill, a conniving member of the expedition, Corbeck (Villiers) enters the picture. He plans to use Tera's power for his own selfish purposes by partnering with Margaret to gather the remaining relics, much to the dismay of Tod (Mark Edwards, TERROR IN THE WAX MUSEUM), her archeology-studying beau. One by one, the Queen's spirit is responsible for a number of violent deaths, as the victims have their throats minced in the same manner that the Egyptian priests perished centuries earlier.

With an unconventional script by the innovative Christopher Wicking (SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN, DEMONS OF THE MIND), BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY'S TOMB was directed with flair by former editor Seth Holt who unfortunately died of a heart attack before completion (the shoot was completed by Hammer managing director Michael Carreras). Holt's previous Hammer efforts were SCREAM OF FEAR (aka A TASTE OF FEAR) and the Bette Davis vehicle THE NANNY, both black & white psychological thrillers. Here he delivers a gothic Hammer (though set in a modern setting), that's not atypical of their usual output. As photographed by Hammer’s dependable Arthur Grant, the film is visually splendid, the characters are rather cold and humorless, the settings suggest both seclusion and doom, and although dabs of graphic violence are offered throughout, this is the closest that Hammer has ever come to something in the tradition of a Val Lewton production. The score by Tristram Cary (QUATERMASS AND THE PIT) gives the proper aura of hysteria and a sense of mystical unworldliness while keeping with the simulated Pharaoh-land harmonies that mummy films are often associated with.

The voluptuous Valerie Leon is perfect in the role of Tera/Margaret (with the help of a double who is also seen in a flash of rear nudity), furnishing the character with a combination of beauty and evil, stunningly captured on film (her voice was re-dubbed by Olive Gregg, who did likewise for Ingrid Pitt in COUNTESS DRACULA). The well-rounded cast of character actors — a consistent attribute in Hammer films — walk through it all with dignity, including Villiers as the snotty and determined Corbeck, Kier (replacing the outgoing Cushing) as the weakening professor, and Aubrey Morris (A CLOCKWORK ORANGE), as a smiling family physician who falls victim to Tera's curse. The effects are pretty good overall (except for when Edwards evidently rubs a red-soaked sponge on his neck to reveal a fatal wound), and technically, there's no real mummy in the film (unless you consider the final shot of disturbing irony). The excellent cast also includes James Cossins (THE LOST CONTINENT), David Jackson (KILLER’S MOON), David Markham (TALES FROM THE CRYPT), Jonathan Burn (SUDDEN TERROR), Graham James (THE HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN) and Tamara Ustinov (THE BLOOD ON SATAN’S CLAW).

BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY'S TOMB was released theatrically in the U.S. by AIP, often on a double bill with the abridged Jess Franco fiasco NIGHT OF THE BLOOD MONSTER, and sometimes with Hammer's DR. JEKYLL AND SISTER HYDE. The film was trimmed of most of its gore and brief nudity in order to secure a PG rating, finally being released uncut here by Anchor Bay Entertainment on DVD in 2001 (they had also issued it on VHS). Scream Factory’s new Blu-ray (as licensed from Studio Canal) looks identical to the UK Blu-ray, presenting the film in 1080p HD in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Colors are bright and well rendered, with detailed flesh tones and excellent contrasts. The presentation’s darker scenes are appropriately shadowy and grainy, and night-time scenes are clear, resulting in nice detail. Blemishes on the source material are nonexistent, with the image being clean throughout. The 1.85:1 aspect ratio opens up more picture information than the previous Anchor Bay DVD, and the 1.66:1 framing option (viewable here from the “bonus” menu) reveals even more picture information on the top and bottom. The 1.85:1 version carries an English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono 2.0 track, while the 1.66:1 has an English Dolby Digital 2.0 track, both are impressive tracks without any noticeable flaws, as dialogue is always perfectly understandable and music and sound effects also come through nicely.

Included is a new audio commentary with author/film historian Steve Haberman, who offers an impeccable examination of this “cursed production”, describing it as one of Hammer’s best 1970s efforts. He discusses the differences between the film and the original Stoker novel (which plays out more as a mystery), how screenwriter Wicking threw everything together plot-wise and what he added to the story’s structure (the revenge subplot), he points out which scenes Carreras actually directed, and he details the genesis of the movie including American-born producer Howard Brandy’s involvement. Haberman is a champion of the underrated Wicking (as well as frequent collaborating director Gordon Hessler), so it’s refreshing to hear his praise of the screenwriter, especially in the context of his appreciation of this film. Originally appearing on the Anchor Bay DVD and carried over here is the featurette "Curse of Blood From the Mummy's Tomb" (9:30) which contains interviews with the late screenwriter Christopher Wicking — who states that he wanted the film to carry the name of the novel — and star Leon who recalls her day of shooting with Cushing, her hatred of the wig they made her wear, and she proudly admits to getting more fan mail at the time of this featurette than she did back in the 1970s. Wicking describes working with both the film’s directors, as well as being banned from the set by producer Brandy.