One of the pillars of Universal Studios' successes from 1930's, one of the founding fathers of cinematic monsters, and Boris Karloff's second iconic role... THE MUMMY. In 1922 the tomb of King Tutankhamun was discovered and with it... a curse. Whether the Curse of the Pharaohs is real or not, mankind has been fascinated with the mummies of Egypt. Since 1932 mummies have been a staple of horror movies and mummies continue to appear in new movies.
In 1940 Universal Studios released their second mummy film, THE MUMMY'S HAND, but it wasn't a sequel to the Boris Karloff film from 1932. Instead it was a reboot or an unrelated mummy film following a different cast of characters including a new mummy, Kharis. Karloff's IM-HO-TEP was out and a new mummy, less a sorcerer than Karloff and more of a super zombie (probably cinema's first super zombie), shambled his way to stardom. The Mummy's Hand would go on to spawn three sequels and a remake in 1959 directed by Terence Fisher and starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.
I prefer Kharis to Im-Ho-Tep for many reasons, first off being we see Kharis in his mummy shrouds far more than the scant few seconds we see Karloff in full mummy trappings. And second, Kharis is essentially a precursor to Jason Voorhees and similar characters: he walks after his victims, takes a barrage of bullets and battery and keeps coming, supernaturally powered, and more. Kharis set the standards for what popular culture imagines when thinking of mummies in a horror context. It wasn't until special effects went full CGI that Im-Ho-Tep made a comeback.
The Mummy's Hand re-imagined the Mummy for horror and set the standard for mummy horror films for nearly six decades after.
THE PLOT
The secret order of the Priests of Karnak have watched over the tomb of the Egyptian princess Ananka, guarding her resting place for all eternity to prevent desecration. A new member of the order, Andoheb, ascends to the role of high priest and soon thereafter learns of two American archeologists hellbent on unearthing and ravaging Ananka's tomb. At first Andoheb tries to stop them by subtle and non-violent means, but nothing Andoheb says or does dissuades the archeologists from their quest. The high priest is forced to employ the greatest weapon of the Priests of Karnak: re-animate the cursed mummy, Kharis, using the sacred Tana Leaves. As a last resort to stop the grave robbers Andoheb sends Kharis into the night to kill.
WHAT I LIKED
A Multi-Angled Story. Since mummies aren't based off of classic pieces of literature, such as Dracula, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, and so on, Universal Studios had to invent a story for the 1932 Mummy film. They combined Dracula and H. Rider Haggard's novel SHE. In The Mummy's Hand the story is less about a dark romance and more of an entertaining morality play. There's the Priests of Karnak point of view and the archeologists point of view. Both are doing what they feel is right. What I find the most intriguing is viewing the film from the Priests of Karnak side: their sole purpose is to ensure Ananka's grave remains intact and undisturbed. When the stupid Americans just won't stop the high priest is forced to used their greatest weapon: the Mummy. How far would you go to ensure your family's graves remained intact? And when those trying to grave rob your family's resting places just won't stop, what then would you do?
Kharis. I love mummies. I love the head to toe bandaged trappings, the withered desiccated facial features, the shambling form and ever-reaching hand. From a design aspect Kharis was far more intricate and visually stunning than Universal's vampire characters, their Invisible characters, and I daresay the Frankenstein Monster (at least once Boris Karloff stepped out of the role). It's just my opinion. And, like I stated above, Kharis is shown in full mummy garb for a large amount of screen time and displays many traits that would be passed down to modern horror icons such as Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers. Jack Pierce once again is responsible for the make-up and kills it. Tom Tyler plays Kharis to menacing effect and there's a cool visual effect employed in which they black out Kharis' eyes. The stark black eyes give Kharis a demonic esthetic which I just find so very cool.
Pure Entertainment. Where The Mummy from 1932 was a tragic love story, dark and malevolent at times, The Mummy's Hand opts for a purely enjoyable roller coaster ride like feature. Comedy and Horror mix together, not unlike the genre melding of the modern blockbuster films of today. You could search for more heady material here and find it, but superficially this movie is wonderful escapist entertainment.
NITPICKS
A Lazy Flashback. I'm not going to tear this movie down. It is what it is, a pure popcorn movie, delightful, exciting, and entertaining, nothing more. I'll admit that there is a massive gap between the power of the original mummy film and this one, sure. But this film doesn't need to be that heady. I will say though that the flashback sequence displaying Kharis' backstory is pretty lazy. They've taken footage from Karloff's film, edited Karloff out, and spliced in actor Tom Tyler. It's a great way to save your production budget but it would've been nicer to see something original. This feels like stealing. Overall it's small and doesn't detract from the film. And the money they saved by doing that ultimately goes to an epic finale featuring an incredible practical set. I'll give them points for that finale.
THE VERDICT
See The Mummy as you probably imagine him to be, wrapped in bandages, shambling, silent, with one hand reaching out to throttle you. The Mummy's Hand features the mummy as he'd come to be known for generations. Kharis is more the classic mummy than Im-Ho-Tep and more frightening as an unkillable murderer in the night. There's a balance of comedy and thrills that makes for a purely entertaining, if superficial, experience. Personally I find Kharis and his saga far more entertaining than Im-Ho-Tep and this is the film that started it all. I'll admit that the original Mummy from 1932 contains far more substance and acting caliber, and is a better film in all aspects. But I still enjoy this film more and will watch it more often.
Overall Ranking: 8 out of 10
Nude-O-Meter: 0 out of 10
For more classic horror and mummy movies check out these others below
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