Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with the next installment of A Movie A Day: Halloween 2010 edition!
[For the entirety of October I will be showcasing one horror film each day. Every film is pulled from my DVD shelf or streamed via Netflix Instant and will be one I haven’t seen. Unlike my A Movie A Day or A Movie A Week columns there won’t necessarily be connectors between each film, but you’ll more than likely see patterns emerge day to day.]
Today we look at Hammer’s reimagining of the classic Universal Monster movie THE MUMMY. Instead of Boris Karloff we get Christopher Lee. As per usual, Lee is the monster and Peter Cushing the hero.
This remake takes many plot elements of the original ‘30s film, but adds on a layer of… what’s the best way to phrase this? Classy exploitation. That’s what it is. It’s not cheesy, but it’s far more brutal, far more titillating.
Karloff in the original was a smart monster, only ever the classic “Mummy” upon his first appearance. He spends the rest of the movie as the wrinkled, but the majority of the film has him as the more human version of Imhotep.
Lee’s mummy is more like the classic version of a Zombie. He’s doing the bidding of an offended Egyptian after a sacred tomb is breached by British archeologists and all items of value removed, taken to London.
We see Lee in flashbacks as the high priest who fell in love with the woman promised to the God he worshipped. Having felt that his obligation to keeps his hands off the hot Princess was fulfilled in her living years, Lee invades the crypt soon after her burial and tries to bring her back to life so he can live happily ever after with her.
He’s caught and his punishment is to be buried alive in her tomb as protector.
All this is very much in keeping with the Karloff backstory, but the main difference is a big location change (to London, naturally), and how the Mummy is used.
While not quite brainless, the Mummy is essentially just a tool for revenge, wielded by George Pastell’s Mehemet Bey. You know he’s Egyptian because he wears a fez.
Christopher Lee brings so much to the role, deciding to go for a being of brute strength instead of the gentler version Karloff went for. This Mummy will mess you up. He’s not gonna look into a pretty pool of water and try to give you a heart attack, he’s going to break down your door, grab your head, bend you backwards and snap your fucking back.
Does that make much sense? Not really. The dude should be nothing but leathery flesh and powdered muscle, but when you bring in Egyptian curses and whatnot you can get away with a dude that looks like the lean and fit Christopher Lee wrapped in gauze.
The personality that Lee gives to the Mummy is quite impressive since he doesn’t have much chance to emote with his face mostly covered. It’s all in body language, a tortured walk that is, in some way, mirrored by the hero (Cushing) who has a bad leg thanks to a break that wasn’t set properly. Lee’s body language is theatrical without being too exaggerated.
The flick really sits well as a prime example of what a remake can be. They took the Universal story, embellished it, went a completely different way with the monster, gave us more skin (and what lovely skin it is, too… Yvonne Furneaux… grrrrrrowwwwlll), Technicolor blood and a different setting.
Kudos are due to the great Hammer writer/director duo of Jimmy Sangster and Terence Fisher for making a fresh addition to this sub-genre of horror. And, of course, to the great Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee who are two of the best co-stars to ever share the silver screen.
Watching that team play with this mythology was great fun.
Final Thoughts: If this review felt a little truncated rest assured that it’s only that way because I didn’t find much fault with this film. From the lighting, production design, photography, direction, acting, writing and score this picture is a success and didn’t feel at all like homework to sit through. Very happy with this one!
Currently in print on DVD: YES
Currently available on Netflix Instant: NO
Here are the next week’s worth of AMAD titles:
Friday, October 15th: THE GORGON (1964)
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Saturday, October 16th: MAD LOVE (1935)
Sunday, October 17th: REPULSION (1965)
Monday, October 18th: THE VIDEO DEAD (1987)
Tuesday, October 19th: THE BLACK CAT (1981)
Wednesday, October 20th: THE BLACK CAT (1934)
Thursday, October 21st: THE COMEDY OF TERRORS (1963)
More Hammer tomorrow with THE GORGON!
-Quint
quint@aintitcool.com
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