1999’s "The Mummy" is a spooky season classic

I recently rewatched “The Mummy” on film at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles. The 1999 movie starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz delivers a satisfying action adventure involving shootouts, secret societies and of course, the titular Mummy.

I had a great time watching "The Mummy" at a sold out theater, but I didn’t notice much of a difference watching this on film vs digital. That was a surprise, because when I watched “Amélie” at the same theater (New Beverly Cinema shows are always on film), the difference between film and digital was definitely noticeable.

The film opens three thousand years in the past in Egypt and introduces the Pharaoh’s high priest Imhotep. Played by Arnold Vosloo, Imhotep is revealed to be having an affair with the Pharaoh's mistress Anck Su Namun (Patricia Velasquez). After the Pharaoh discovers them, the secret lovers take turns stabbing him to death in a memorable sequence framed so that the audience sees only the shadows of the brutal act.

In an attempt to distract the Pharaoh’s mediocre bodyguards, Anck Su Namun kills herself as Imhotep escapes, but not before he promises to resurrect her later. Later, Imhotep and his followers recover her body and race into the desert, heading toward the ancient city of Hamunaptra, the city of the dead. There, he attempts to resurrect his lover, but the Pharaoh’s guards find them and interrupt his ritual. For their role in aiding Imhotep, his followers are all mummified alive, but the worst is saved for the high priest himself. He is mummified alive with a vase-full of flesh-eating scarabs and put under a terrible curse: one that would also bring him untold power if he was ever released from his sarcophagus...

The movie then fast forwards to the early 1900s and finds Fraser’s character Rick O'Connell, an American fighting in a battle at the site of the city of the dead. After being overwhelmed by opposing forces, O’Connell finds himself cornered among the ruins. O’Connell winces, readying to take his last breath, but is surprised to find that the opposing soldiers have fearfully run off. He turns and sees a statue of a jackal behind him. The audience at this point is aware that buried beneath this spot is the cursed priest Imhotep.

Rachel Weisz plays Evelyn Carnahan, a librarian at a museum in Cairo. After her brother Jonathan Carnahan (John Hannah) brings her an old artifact (with the hopes of making a buck off of it), she seeks out O’Connell, now imprisoned, to help lead them to the legendary site of Hamunaptra. The trio set out to the city for different reasons: Evelyn wants “in the field” experience to bolster her research resume, Jonathan wants riches, and O’Connell wants to help Evelyn because she saved his neck.

Fraser’s casting as the charismatic swashbuckling lead is a stroke of genius. He is regarded as more of a comedic actor and effortlessly sells that part of the role, but he also, perhaps surprisingly, sells the part as a badass. Compare this to the 2017 “The Mummy” film, Universal’s most recent attempt to resurrect the franchise. That movie starred Tom Cruise as a brooding protagonist and while it had many problems, this is a crucial piece of why I think it didn’t work.

The casting of Arnold Vosloo as the villainous Mummy is also solid. Despite having few lines, he is menacing and convincing. An honorable mention must also go to Kevin J. O’Connor who brings plenty of comedic relief as Beni, O’Connell's unreliable sidekick.

Yes, the CGI is dated, but it’s still pretty good for 1999. The iconic imagery of the face in the sand is still memorable to this day.

Also dated, is the way that Weisz’ character is written. While she is portrayed as highly intelligent, she is also portrayed as comically clumsy and constantly in need of being rescued by O’Connell. If this same movie were written today, her character likely would be written as someone who could hold her own a bit more.

The screenplay was written by Stephen Sommers, who also directed the film. Sommers would go on to make “Van Helsing” and “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.” Sommers is also also credited for the screen story, along with Lloyd Fonvielle and Kevin Jarre (Tombstone). The script is also adapted from the 1932 screenplay from the original film that starred Boris Karloff.

1999’s “The Mummy” was a box office hit, making five times its production budget. It was followed by two direct sequels and a spinoff franchise, “The Scorpion King” which arguably set Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on his path to stardom.

In 2017, Universal Pictures attempted to reboot “The Mummy” franchise as part of a new interconnected cinematic universe (similar to the modern interconnected comic book movies of Marvel and DC) called the “Dark Universe.” It failed spectacularly at the box office and received dismal reviews from critics. Other projects meant to follow such as a new “Invisible Man” starring Johnny Depp and a “Frankenstein” film, starring Javier Bardem as the monster, were canceled. With the “Dark Universe” plan now completely scrapped and in the rearview, perhaps it is time to dust off unrealized plans for a 4th installment with the cast from the Brendan Fraser era.

Alexander S. Corey is a co-founder of Behemoth Comics Film Club. Some of his favorite films include Amélie and Hot Fuzz. You can follow him on Letterboxd: @whatapicture