Director: Karl Freund
Year: 1932
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Mummy
Plot:
Discovering an ancient Egyptian queen's long-lost tomb, a group of archaeologists finds that a local's special interest in their find is due to his belief that a local woman is the reincarnated soul of his long-lost love and race to stop him from carrying out his nefarious plans.
Review:
This is one of the few classic films that is not as great as its reputation. The reason for its classic fate is solely based on the resurrection sequence, with the setting, the lighting, the dread that emerged from it, and the whole way it proceeds to play out as a large part of its success. From the warning against reading to the actual reading of the times, to the single eye that subtly opens and stares out, it really just sends a chill that resonates incredibly strongly. The slowly flickering arm beneath the bandages adds a whole second dimension and creepiness to it, and the conclusion is still utterly powerful and full of suspense. It's effective in its simplicity, and that is one of the best features of the film. The Egyptian sequence is also quite fun, and the way it works through the historical connections throughout the ages makes for some incredibly fun times here showing the manner in which he gets caught and then mummified for his troubles that has a lot to like here making it all that much better.
However, these two factors, along with being one of Karloff's most memorable and well-played roles at the time, is about all for this one as it's really an overrated film. The fact that the film plays more like a romance film and not a horror film is a big part of that. There's really a small number of scenes that can possibly be classified as being suspenseful, and those are so rare in the film that it's mostly played quite bland. The sequences in the museum should've been, but there's really nothing there to really call it suspenseful when it's all mostly off-screen. The fact that most of the film is a series of sequences following the romantic exploits of the leads is another helping factor, and they don't really belong in the film. It keeps the focus away from the title villain, who really should've had more of a say in the way the events unfold which manages to really focus in on a few areas which show this. Even the fact that the mummy appears on-screen for no more than five minutes and none of them involve actually fulfilling its destiny. This really wasn't all that great of a film.
Overview: **/5
A tad overrated but still a good movie at points, this is a bit problematic in the wrong areas which is enough to make this one of the underwhelming entries in the genre despite some likable features. Fans of Classic Horror, the studios' previous entries, or the creative crew involved, while most others out there who aren't into the style or approach taken should heed caution.
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