Welcome to the Second Union 31 Days of Horror event! Every day leading up to Tuesday, October 31st, (starting Sunday, October 1st) we will post a review of one horror film.
Today’s Film: The Mummy. Enjoy!
The Mummy is directed by Karl Freund, who was the cinematographer for Dracula. Boris Karloff stars as the Egyptian priest Imhotep. Continuing my Universal Monsters segment on 31 Days of Horror, we’re taking a look at the 1932 film that spawned a ton of sequels and a franchise starring Brendan Fraser. This was my first viewing of this “classic” film, and I have to say that compared to the ones I have seen, this one is rock-bottom on the list. Honestly, it’s quite boring, and an almost exact replica of Dracula. But, ya know, with a mummy.
The film begins in 1921, shortly after the tomb and mummified body of Imhotep are found by archaeologists. After one of them reads off of an ancient scroll found with the body, Imhotep is given life and escapes with the scroll, intending to find the reincarnation of his lover and kill, mummify, and resurrect her. While the acting, and direction in this movie are both decent, the actual story and writing are pretty lackluster. As said before, if you compare this to the 1931 Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi (Day 1), you can find a lot of similarities. I won’t go into detail, but it’s painstakingly obvious how much the two have in common. And not in a good way.
The backgrounds are very nice and extremely interesting to look at. Unlike the ones in Frankenstein (Day 2), these work quite well as both a background for the actors and a setting for the characters.
It goes without saying that Boris Karloff’s role as Imhotep is unforgettable. His cold stare and vast silence at times make for one of the creepiest villains in cinema history. Plus, you know, he can choke people to their death and put people in a trance by reading off of a scroll. Quite awesome, frankly.
THE VERDICT
Tonally and story-wise, The Mummy is one of the weaker links in Universal’s Classic Monsters franchise. Extremely boring at times, it seems like a chore to get through. However, in design and direction, it succeeds on every level, proving to be stunning in that regard. I’m going to give it a C+.
The Mummy stars Boris Karloff, Zita Johann, David Manners, Arthur Byron, Edward Van Sloan. Directed by Karl Freund.
