This is the third installment in the Universal Mummy series and by this point the series is starting to lose some steam. I am such a loyal junkie of the Uni monsters, though, that I can't help but still enjoy these flicks and give them halfway decent ratings.
This movie is a direct sequel to THE MUMMY'S HAND, only it's 30 years later. The new high priest encharged with protecting Kharis takes the monster to Massachusetts to wipe out the people who violated his tomb and fulfill the curse. Like all good Uni sequels (and really most horror to date), the monster is still alive despite the fact that it appeared, for all intents, to be destroyed in the previous movie. This was very common in Universal movies even when the monster's death seemed irreversible.
This one is really light on new and original ideas. We begin by rehashing the story of HAND, for new viewers, using recycled footage from the previous movie. Then George Zucco, as the elderly high priest, initiates his replacement into the order, introducing him to Kharis, the mummy, and explaining the tanna leaves that will keep him alive. This scene is, also, almost a shot for shot recreation of the same scene in HAND in which Zucco became the high priest. By this point, you are a quarter of the way through the run time and we're only just getting to anything new.
The decision to take the monster and thus the setting, to the United States is a bad decision for the movie. In HAND we were already worlds apart from the atmosphere and tone established in the Karloff original. By removing the series from Egypt and putting it into the states, we lose any sense of the fantastic, at all. Instead, it's just another shambling creature killing off people.
Lon Chaney Jr takes over the wraps of the Mummy this time around. I find his overall presence to be stronger than Tyler in the previous movie, as he brings a more physical, less cowering approach. It's nice to see more of the Mummy, as well. However, at this point in the series the monster is little more than a puppet to do the master's bidding and is in dire need of the some of the sinister look used in HAND when they blacked out the eyes and mouth. He's starting to look like an overweight guy wrapped in linen.
This may very well be the beginning of the "ramp up the body count" approach to horror sequels. Having seen my fair share of horror's history, this does seem to be the earliest example I can think of that used the approach of replacing the lost atmosphere of the original with more murder and violence, a trope that is all too common in today's horror sequels. Sadly, all of the murders amount to strangulation. This was all too common of movie's of this era. When I think of the dozens upon dozens of "golden age" horror films I've seen, I think every victim ever died of strangulation. No matter how terrifying the monster, they always resort to hands around the neck, which I can assume was necessary due to a mixture of censorship and low budgets.
If you're reading reviews of this movie, I can only assume you are either a fan of Universal monsters, or classic horror in general, and you will find something to enjoy in this movie. If you are a modern fan who has, somehow, stumbled upon this movie, there are far better Universal pics that you can choose from.
This movie is a direct sequel to THE MUMMY'S HAND, only it's 30 years later. The new high priest encharged with protecting Kharis takes the monster to Massachusetts to wipe out the people who violated his tomb and fulfill the curse. Like all good Uni sequels (and really most horror to date), the monster is still alive despite the fact that it appeared, for all intents, to be destroyed in the previous movie. This was very common in Universal movies even when the monster's death seemed irreversible.
This one is really light on new and original ideas. We begin by rehashing the story of HAND, for new viewers, using recycled footage from the previous movie. Then George Zucco, as the elderly high priest, initiates his replacement into the order, introducing him to Kharis, the mummy, and explaining the tanna leaves that will keep him alive. This scene is, also, almost a shot for shot recreation of the same scene in HAND in which Zucco became the high priest. By this point, you are a quarter of the way through the run time and we're only just getting to anything new.
The decision to take the monster and thus the setting, to the United States is a bad decision for the movie. In HAND we were already worlds apart from the atmosphere and tone established in the Karloff original. By removing the series from Egypt and putting it into the states, we lose any sense of the fantastic, at all. Instead, it's just another shambling creature killing off people.
Lon Chaney Jr takes over the wraps of the Mummy this time around. I find his overall presence to be stronger than Tyler in the previous movie, as he brings a more physical, less cowering approach. It's nice to see more of the Mummy, as well. However, at this point in the series the monster is little more than a puppet to do the master's bidding and is in dire need of the some of the sinister look used in HAND when they blacked out the eyes and mouth. He's starting to look like an overweight guy wrapped in linen.
This may very well be the beginning of the "ramp up the body count" approach to horror sequels. Having seen my fair share of horror's history, this does seem to be the earliest example I can think of that used the approach of replacing the lost atmosphere of the original with more murder and violence, a trope that is all too common in today's horror sequels. Sadly, all of the murders amount to strangulation. This was all too common of movie's of this era. When I think of the dozens upon dozens of "golden age" horror films I've seen, I think every victim ever died of strangulation. No matter how terrifying the monster, they always resort to hands around the neck, which I can assume was necessary due to a mixture of censorship and low budgets.
If you're reading reviews of this movie, I can only assume you are either a fan of Universal monsters, or classic horror in general, and you will find something to enjoy in this movie. If you are a modern fan who has, somehow, stumbled upon this movie, there are far better Universal pics that you can choose from.