GL84
Excavated from an expedition at Pompeii, a professor and his assistant find that the recovered mummy of an ancient guardian believes that she is the princess he loved reincarnated and sets out to reclaim her forcing them to protect her while trying to find a way to stop him.This here wasn't all that bad of a drive-in feature. One of the films' better features is the fact that there's quite a lot of work here on the build-up to the reveal of the mummy and its condition. The connection to ancient Roman history, setting the whole affair around the eruption of Vesuvius which is carried out rather nicely through the discovery of the mummy, and it's contents from the dig site which leads rather well into the dreams she has about the mummy coming for her which comes off as the vast majority of the first half here. When it gets to the point about him being alive and coming after the medallion, this one gets even more fun as these are where the film really offers its best scenes as the first resurrection in the museum in front of her is quite the impressive offering, while the main attack in her apartment after it chases them out after it's chamber and goes on stalking her throughout the building which is a really fun and exciting sequence which remains a nice highlight. Even the finale is rather nice, from the final abduction out of the museum and the trip through the countryside where they arrive at the beach when the police arrive and engage in the final confrontation with the creature which is a rather nice and unexpected finish that ends this on a rather fun note. Along with the great look and imposing features of the mummy, these here are what make this one fun enough to hold over the flaws. The issue here is the fact that a vast majority of the film has an annoying and utterly irritating voice-over narration that is completely unnecessary as a whole. The voice-over tells us absolutely nothing important about what's going on since it merely describes the action playing out on-screen or shoots off a quick blurb following up on what was just learned which renders the exercise quite comical as well as irritating. Since it's carried on throughout the whole film, oftentimes just for a line or two, it's pointless needling on the story really gets old, and becomes a hindrance due to its continuation while it stayed only for the beginning this wouldn't be an issue. Likewise, the only other problematic issue is the overall cheap and quickie feeling to it as there's just not a whole lot here that denotes too much went into this, from the cheap look and cramped sets to the flimsy look of everything which makes this look incredibly cheap. That does tend to lower this one, although there's still plenty to like overall here.Today's Rating/PG: Violence.
bkoganbing
Curse Of The Faceless Man tells the story of a man encased in stone after the lava hit him at the destruction of Pompeii. He's been that way for almost 2000 years until an archaeological dig found him. But he's as dead as an unstaked vampire and he's carrying a 2000 year old itch that needs scratching.I'm sure a lot of viewers spotted the parallels between this film and the classic Boris Karloff version of The Mummy. Both Karloff's Im Ho Tep and Quintillus Aurelius the gentleman caught in that lava flow are staking claim to a currently alive woman who is the reincarnated beloved of their ancient crushes. The scientific explanations offered by Doctors Richard Anderson, Adele Mara, Luis Van Rooten, Felix Locher, and Gar Moore are really kind of sketchy. These players sure got nowhere near Naples on the budget this film had.How did they destroy this man of stone? Here's a hint, he went the way of the Triffids. Typical and cheap 50s science fiction.
ferbs54
"Curse of the Faceless Man" was hardly the first film to deal with the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79, and the subsequent destruction of the city of Pompeii. Indeed, following English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton's 1834 novel "The Last Days of Pompeii" (itself based on a painting by Russian artist Karl Briullov entitled "The Last Day of Pompeii"), no fewer than six versions of the book appeared on film (in 1900, 1908, 1913, 1926, 1935 and 1950) prior to the "Faceless Man"'s release in August 1958. But unlike those earlier pictures, this one was set in modern-day Pompeii, and dealt with a centuries-old survivor of that ancient cataclysm. The film initially appeared as part of a double feature, paired with the sci-fi cult favorite "It! The Terror From Beyond Space," and although its status and renown are hardly in the same league as its co-billed item, it yet has much to offer to the viewer of today. And thanks to the fine folks at Cheezy Flicks, a nice-looking DVD of the movie just might find the Faceless Man a new legion of admirers.In the film, the petrified, stone-encrusted body of a victim of the Pompeii disaster is excavated in the Egyptian section of the ruined city. The head of the Naples Museum, Dr. Fiorillo (Luis Van Rooten), calls in American doctor Paul Mallon (Richard Anderson) to examine the body, and for good reason: The truck driver who had been transporting the body had been mysteriously murdered, and his blood is soon discovered to be on the stone man's hands! Even more strange is the fact that Mallon's artist girlfriend, Tina Enright (Elaine Edwards), has been having dreams about the so-called Faceless Man (the disinterred body in truth looks very much like a stone mummy), and is being compelled by some agency to paint his portrait. Before long, it is revealed that the Faceless Man is nothing less than a 2,000-year-old Etruscan slave named Quintillus Aurelius, brought back to life by dint of ground radiation, Egyptian preservation methods and volcanic heat (!), who believes Tina to be the reincarnation of his Roman beloved, Lusilla Helena! And he will do just about anything to get his stony mitts on her...."Curse of the Faceless Man," though preposterous sounding in synopsis, is actually a well-put-together little film (and I do mean "little"; the entire affair clocks in at a brief 66 minutes) that manages to maintain its dignity, as well as a serious tone. Though the film features a cast of relative unknowns, it is surprisingly well acted by one and all. The picture is a bit on the talky side but is never dull, and the Faceless Man himself is a very pleasing creation; again, like the Mummy, but with a rocklike crust. He is at once both sinister and mysterious, and more than capable of engendering chills. DOP Kenneth Peach has done a marvelous job of shooting this B&W affair; the scenes captured by the ocean (the so-called Cove of the Blind Fisherman) look especially fine, and his use of extreme close-ups is inspired. And director Edward L. Cahn does a terrific job at keeping the mood both eerie and tense, which should really surprise no one; Cahn, in the period 1955 - '59, helmed a remarkable number of these "psychotronic"-type films, including "Creature With the Atom Brain," "The She-Creature," "Zombies of Mora Tau," "Voodoo Woman," "Invasion of the Saucer Men," "It! The Terror..." AND "Invisible Invaders"! His film here provides the viewer with any number of chilling moments. In one, the Faceless Man slowly, creepily comes to life as Tina draws it in her sketchbook. In another, arms stiffly held out, the Faceless Man crashes into Tina's apartment while she sleeps. And in still another, Tina flashes back to her previous life while gazing out at the sea. And then there is that wonderful line of Dr. Fiorillo's: "It is not dead...not as we know death...."Good as it is, "Curse of the Faceless Man" is hardly a perfect film, dependent as it is on not just coincidence, but on double coincidence. I mean, it's almost too much to believe that American artist Tina should be visiting Naples just at the moment when Quintillus is dug up; the odds of her being there would seem to be incalculable. But then add in the fact that a good part of the film's action transpires on August 24th, the anniversary of the Vesuvius eruption, and you've got a double coincidence of truly mind-boggling proportions. Somehow, though, these two highly unlikely juxtapositions of time and place don't seem to make a difference, and the film remains a modestly entertaining, moody, and professionally made little picture that just might surprise those expecting a campy shlock fest. Despite the name of the outfit putting out the DVD, this is hardly a "cheezy" affair. Like the titular character himself, "Curse of the Faceless Man" would seem ripe and ready for a modern-day excavation....
