Halloween season
simply isn’t Halloween season without a regular dose of golden age Universal
horror (1923-1963). Every day this October, I’ll be giving you a steady IV drip
of it by counting down Psychobabble’s
31 Favorite Universal Horrors!
#10. The Mummy
(1932- dir. Karl Freund)
It’s a tried and true Hollywood formula: you score big once;
you attempt to carbon copy that success. It doesn’t always work, but it did
when Universal practically remade Dracula
as The Mummy. Once again you have a
long-in-the-tooth monster crossing an ocean to ensnare a specific women in its
thrall while contending with Edward Van Sloan and David “Mr. Personality”
Manners. The Mummy isn’t very
original, but it does make certain stylistic improvements over Dracula with its sumptuous sets,
elaborate monster make up, less static staging, and heightened air of romance. Karloff
makes the most of a monster without much pep, and between his naturally
mesmerizing gaze and some well-positioned pin lights, he’s also the center of
some of the creepiest shots in a golden age Universal monster movie. Zita Johann
and the flashback-pool sequence are similarly mesmerizing.
