Back to vintage horror this week, with a classic from the Universal vaults… although "The Mummy's Hand" is more of a remake (or re-imagining!) of the 1932 classic "The Mummy" starring Boris Karloff. Not quite a sequel but definitely not a whole new movie, it's sort of a hybrid in the vein of "Evil Dead 2" or, perhaps more accurately, "Superman Returns."

The original film stars Karloff as Im-ho-tep, an ancient Egyptian priest who is so heartbroken by the death of his true love, Ankh-es-en-amon, that he commits sacrilege in an attempt to revive her; when he is caught, he is forcibly wrapped in bandages and buried alive. A 1930s archaeological team accidentally revives him, and he goes prowling off after a fetching modern lass whom he hopes to sacrifice in order to reincarnate Ankh-etc., but he is defeated by the goddess Isis or something. It's brooding, gorgeous, romantic horror, with some amazingly beautiful sets and genuinely creepy moments, and a powerful central performance from Karloff.

"The Mummy's Hand" brings back the same mummy (now played by Tom Tyler) and girlfriend, but relegates them to much less central roles — the poor mummy himself gets eighth billing in the opening credits (that's not quite halfway down). Given the snappier new names of Kharis and Ananka, they spend most of the movie in their crypts — Ananka actually never gets out of hers at all. The movie opens with the same back story as the original "Mummy," using a lot of the same footage, although new mummy Tyler is featured in the close-ups instead of Karloff. But this film goes to some very different places.

Mostly "The Mummy's Hand" is an action-adventure film, not horror; the mummy really is just here for decoration, like the cobwebs that adorn a vampire's castle. Most of it scans like a Saturday morning cartoon — which means it's a blast to watch. (At 67 minutes, it's also over in about the same amount of time, except without commercials.)

Continue reading →