Although Time Walker is riddled with laughable science, dopey characters, and implausible logic, I found myself enjoying it quite a bit.
As someone who loves 1980s science fiction and horror, I was surprised that I’d never heard of 1982’s Time Walker until I was browsing on the Shout Factory TV app. I was even more surprised that, despite quality as good as one could expect from a Roger Corman budget, it had a really nifty concept.
Professor Doug McCadden (Ben Murphy) discovers a second sarcophagus hidden inside King Tutankhamen’s tomb. The sarcophagus is transported to a small California university to be opened and studied. Inside, McCadden and his students find a mummy named Ankh-Venharis that’s covered in a strange, green mold.
A student named Peter (Kevin Brophy) takes X-rays of the mummy and, when he develops them, he discovers five jewels hidden in the sarcophagus. Peter steals the jewels and X-rays the mummy again to cover his tracks. This second dose of radiation re-animates the mummy and also mutates the mold into a flesh-eating organism. Soon, Ankh-Venharis is stalking the university campus to find the jewels; spreading the green death mold everywhere. I’m not spoiling anything when I tell you that the mummy is, in fact, an alien and the jewels are linked to a device also hidden inside the sarcophagus.
Time Walker is an unusual blend of science fiction and 80s slasher flicks. It’s rated PG, so beyond a little brief nudity, nothing very graphic or gory happens on-screen. The acting is uniformly wooden and the movie looks every bit like it was made for under $1 million. I have to give the story, written by Jason Williams and Tom Friedman, credit for trying something different. (The actual screenplay, written by Friedman and Karen Levitt, has plenty of clunky dialogue and boneheaded, frat-boy characterizations though.)
Although Time Walker is riddled with laughable science, dopey characters, and implausible logic, I found myself enjoying it quite a bit. I can’t argue that there’s anything redeemable beyond the good idea at its core. There’s just an inexplicable, old-fashioned charm that permeates the movie that really resonated with my inner twelve-year-old.
It’s cheesy. It’s not to be taken seriously. But Time Walker is a great way to spend a weekend afternoon.
3.0 out of 5.0 stars
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