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twistedtummies2 · 3 months ago

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Top 5 Versions of The Mummy

The culture and iconography of Ancient Egypt has been fascinating to more modern minds for many decades. Perhaps its peak of prominence was with the discovery of the resting place of Tutankhamun, a.k.a. King Tut’s Tomb. Among the many, MANY reasons this moment in archaeological history became so famous was because of the rumors of a supposed curse, placed upon the King’s burial chamber, which swore all who disturbed the dead pharaoh’s slumber would suffer a terrible fate. This rumored curse seemed proven when various people connected to the expedition began dropping like flies not so long after the digging was done. While most people accept that King Tut’s Curse is a totally fictitious urban legend, the mystique surrounding the discovery, the rumored hex, and the rising interest in Egyptology as a whole all sort of blended to create an increasing popularity in the use of the subject for works of mystery and horror in fiction. This fascination has never really disappeared, and nowhere is this more obvious than in one recurring monster in fiction: the living mummy. Mummies as walking corpses, spurred on by ancient curses and old superstitions, have been around in fiction since the Victorian era. However, the concept reached its xenith in the early 1930s, when Universal released their famous horror flick, simply called “The Mummy”: the story of a long-buried evil, and a strange romance, returning to wreak havoc on the modern world. I was initially going to talk about Mummies as a whole with this countdown for my October specials…but after much consideration, I realized how difficult that would really be. It’s a bit like talking about Dracula AND other vampires in the same list: you know that one is going to dominate the ranks, and it’s also hard to compare good and heroic characters to the more traditional monster. Perhaps I’ll do a second list about other Mummy characters in the future, but for now, I decided to just focus my list on THE Mummy: the specific, branded property handled by Universal. This franchise, and its lead Mummy figure, have evolved over the years quite a lot. In fact, not only have multiple actors played the creature over the decades - from Lon Chaney Jr. to Tom Tyler - but it’s not even the same Mummy in every single movie. With that in mind, I’m going to base this countdown on a few questions: which Mummies were the most interesting from a character perspective? Which were the most frightening from a horror perspective? Finally, which ones just appeared in the best stories from a writing perspective? With that said, here are My Top 5 Favorite Versions of The Mummy!

5. Michael Reid MacKay, from Monster Squad (1987).

This is the only Mummy on the list whose given name isn’t offered, as well as the only Mummy who isn’t part of a specific line of films. “Monster Squad” was the Universal Monsters’ response to successes like “The Goonies” and “Ghostbusters.” In fact, the film was literally described as being a combination of those two movies! The plot focuses on a group of kid-and-teen heroes working together to stop the classic Monsters, who have all joined forces with Dracula in a plan to - of course - take over the world. One of the things that made the film popular was the way it updated the designs of the Monsters, making several of them more viscerally unsettling and threatening in appearance. The Mummy was no exception: the costume and makeup for MacKay’s Mummy really does make him seem more gnarled, twisted up, and withered than any other Mummy before, while also making him fittingly unnerving in the scenes where he goes on the attack. He’s one of the creepiest Mummies out there, but he sadly gets taken out pretty easily, and is the first of the Monsters to be properly defeated. As a result, as much as I love MacKay’s physical performance and the outfit he’s in, I don’t think I can rank this version too highly.

4. Eddie Powell, from The Mummy’s Shroud (1967).

After Hammer’s adaptations of “Frankenstein” and “Dracula” turned out to be successful, Universal - who were Hammer’s U.S.A. distributors for a while - gave the UK-based studio the rights to use some elements from their films and adapt them in their own fashion. For the most part, Hammer still did their own thing, but this did give them the opportunity to do their own take on the Mummy franchise. However, while most of the Universal Mummy films followed a loose continuity, there is NO continuity between ANY of the Hammer Mummy movies. All of them are standalone pieces, which just so happen to share similar plot elements and themes. Of all the latter Hammer Mummy movies, “The Mummy’s Shroud” is my favorite. The Mummy in this case (no pun intended) is called Prem; played by actor and stuntman Eddie Powell in the bandages, and by Dickie Owen in flashback scenes (Owen previously played the Mummy in another film). His backstory is a little different from others before him: instead of being a lover-out-of-time, determined to avenge his long lost darling, Prem is the bodyguard and devoted caretaker of a young prince, who died during childhood. Prem is sworn to guard the body of his young charge even after death. When a snobby aristocrat desecrates the tomb, and accidentally brings Prem back to life, a wave of murder and terror ensues. The twist to the Mummy’s motivations is interesting to me, and I also like Prem’s design, with his facemask and unique wrappings actually being inspired by the real life Mummy at the British museum. This film seems to be considered one of the weakest of the Hammer films, but I personally enjoy it…of course, the fact that the Master from Doctor Who is controlling the Mummy probably helps. No joke, look it up.

3. Boris Karloff, from The Mummy (1932).

The one that started it all. What’s interesting is that the popular perception of the Mummy - a shriveled, withered, bandaged, staggering creature - isn’t really present in the original film at all. After the initial resurrection scene, where Karloff’s Mummy isn’t even seen walking onscreen, the character spends most of the movie looking (relatively) normal, apparently revitalized, although still very stiff and wrinkly. In this case, the Mummy is Imhotep: an architect and high priest from Ancient Egypt, who fell in love with his pharaoh’s princess. Heartbroken by his beloved’s death, Imhotep tried to bring her back, but was caught in the act and punished for his blasphemy and insubordination. When he is reawakened, Imhotep goes on a quest to seek out the reincarnation of his lost love. This, for the record, is the basic motivation most versions of the Mummy have been given, including the two above Karloff. The original Mummy movie owes a lot to Universal’s earlier success of Dracula, featuring several of the same plot points and cast members playing the same basic roles. (Edward Van Sloan, for example, plays Van Helsing in Dracula, and plays a character who is pretty much Diet Van Helsing in this movie.) It’s also a bit slow in places, mostly due to its age. However, Karloff’s performance - equal parts intensely creepy, even now, and genuinely tender in his romantic desires - still holds up strongly. Ironically, just as Dracula inspired the Mummy, the Mummy would inspire later versions of Dracula: Dan Curtis, Francis Ford Coppola, and multiple other takes on the vampire would use the same idea of an undead lover seeking his reincarnated bride in future adaptations. “The circle is now complete.”

2. Arnold Vosloo, from The Mummy (1999) AND The Mummy Returns (2001).

When most people nowadays think of the title “The Mummy,” this is probably the version they think of first. Heck, for a long time, this was the version I thought of, even before Karloff! In the late 90s and early 2000s, Universal and filmmaker Stephen Sommers seemed to want to try and upgrade the Universal Monsters franchise, by bringing out of the world of Gothic horror and more into the vein of action/adventure; more like Indiana Jones than anything else. The 1999 film, starring Brendan Fraser as adventurer Rick O’Connell, proved a big hit, and led to a whole franchise of Mummy-related things, including sequel films, a cartoon show, a spin-off series of movies called “The Scorpion King,” and even an attraction at the Universal Studios theme parks! While Fraser as the hero gets a lot of attention, it’s also worth mentioning Arnold Vosloo as the central antagonist of the franchise: the Mummy himself, once again named Imhotep. This version shares the same basic backstory as the Karloff version, but with a few new twists. First, Vosloo’s Imhotep is a bit more evil, as he not only plans to bring back his lost love, but also wishes to - what else? - take over the world, and rule by her side. Second, this Imhotep is able to become younger and more handsome by devouring the souls of other human beings, thus turning them into Mummies in turn. The more souls he consumes, the more powerful Imhotep becomes, able to control the elements, as well as being able to show off some sick fighting moves when necessary. As a kid, I was honestly terrified of Vosloo’s Mummy; I literally had nightmares about him destroying me and those I loved, no joke. As an adult…I’d be lying if I said I found him, or…most things in these films scary anymore (except for the Scarabs, those things are freaking HORRIFYING), but he’s still a very memorable action film antagonist, and while all of these movies have their flaws, several of them are still extremely entertaining.

1. Christopher Lee, from The Mummy (1959).

This was Hammer’s first foray into the Mummy franchise, following their agreement with Universal. In a way, it feels like a sort of crossroads between the slow, looming, creeping menace of Universal’s earlier movies and the more spectacular, action-packed, adventurous spirit of the Sommers films. The story and characters are sort of a conglomeration of elements from the whole Universal series beforehand, taking the best bits from each and combining them into one movie. At first, that sounds like a recipe for disaster, but the combination of excellent casting, opulent cinematography, great effects and stunts (especially for the time), and a well-crafted script described as a combination of “Egyptology and Razzmatazz” makes for a really fun, thrilling movie. At the center of the action is Christopher Lee as the titular Mummy, here given the name “Kharis.” Once again, the Mummy is a tragic lover, who was gruesomely punished for crimes of heresy when he tried to resurrect his precious princess, Ananka. Years later, he is resurrected by the mad cultist Mehemet Bay, who uses Kharis to punish a group of archaeologists who dug up Ananka’s tomb. Covered from head to toe in Mummy makeup, Lee nevertheless delivers a powerful, multi-layered performance. While he lacks the sorcerer-like abilities of either take on Imhotep, he is probably the most intimidating Mummy on a physical level. So much of what Lee does comes simply from the smallest of gestures, combined with the power of his eyes; he is able to go from a dead-eyed stare, to a look of vengeful rage, to a tortured expression of pained remorse and anguished love, all in the span of seconds. The 1959 version of the Mummy is my personal favorite reimagining, even more than the rip-roaring excitement of the Sommers films. A big part of the reason why comes from Lee as Kharis: by far My Favorite Version of The Mummy. (Mummy) Case Closed.

HONORABLE MENTIONS…

Valerie Leon, from Blood From the Mummy’s Tomb (1971).

Long before the “Dark Universe” attempt in 2017, this Hammer production tried to twist the tale by making the requisite princess of the story into the monster. However, despite the title, Valerie Leon’s “Mummy” - Queen Tera - isn’t TECHNICALLY a Mummy at all, so I wasn’t sure how much she should really count.

Jim Cummings, from The Mummy: The Animated Series.

This somewhat forgotten cartoon show was spun-off from the first two Stephen Sommers films, and supposedly takes place in the same continuity. However, in this show, Imhotep has learned how to speak English. Aside from the speech matters, this is SUPPOSEDLY the same character played by Vosloo, and I therefore wasn’t wholly sure how much he should count.

Eddie Parker, from Abbott & Costello Meet the Mummy.

In my opinion, none of the black-and-white Mummy films following the original really hold a candle to Karloff’s inaugural presentation. No matter who wears the bandages and makeup, they just don’t have the same presence or level of character and threat. I give Parker’s Mummy, here called “Klaris,” a free pass for the simple fact that this movie is meant to be a comedy: if the Mummy is a bit of a klutz, at least it matches the tone.

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