Each October, the Unsung Horrors podcast does a month of themed movies. This year they will once again be setting up a fundraiser to benefit Best Friends, which is working to save the lives of cats and dogs all across America, giving pets second chances and happy homes.

Today’s theme: Hammer Time

Peter Cushing was originally cast in this as Julian Fuchs and completed one day’s filming before leaving when he learned that his beloved wife Helen was dying from emphysema. He was replaced by Andrew Keir and this was one of the many troubled items of this production, as just five weeks later, director Seth Holt had a heart attack and collapsed into cast member Aubrey Morris’s arms before dying. Michael Carreras finished the filming, but Holt was rewriting the movie almost every day, as he was unhappy with Christopher Wicking’s script, which was based on The Jewel of Seven Stars by Bram Stoker. So is The Awakening and this is way more interesting than that.

Professor Fuchs (Keir) has found the tomb of Tera (Valerie Leon), a queen so unholy that she was drugged into suspended animation by priests who buried her with her relics, guarded so that she would never rise again. Fuchs becomes obsessed and creates a new temple under his home, where he brings her body. He also gives his daughter Margaret (also Leon) Tera’s ring and tells her to always wear it. Soon, the powers of the queen tempt the young lady into acts of evil.

Corbeck (James Villiers), her father’s rival, starts to use her to gather all of the evil treasures. When they are taken, the owners die one by one. Finally, they are used to bring Tera back from the dead, only to have Fuchs and Margaret try to stop her. They kill Corbeck, but the queen has risen, killing Fuchs and battling with Margaret as the temple falls all around them.

Here’s the most incredible part: in the hospital, we see a woman wrapped in bandages, the first mummy of the film. Who is it? We’re never told as she opens her eyes. It could be either woman and sadly, we never got a sequel to this. I wish we had, as despite all of the issues, it has a gorgeous look to it and I loved seeing Leon in a leading role.

This played double features with Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde. I can’t even imagine that!