The Mummy: 15 Versions from Movies

MummiesUniversal MonstersFlashbackComedyMovies
Written By Chris Well

“Death is only the beginning…”

Examples of the undead walking in from ancient times, mummies have become as important to lists of classic monsters as Frankenstein’s Monster or Dracula. Often presented in horror fiction as creatures wrapped in bandages, there are generally two ways to tell a mummy story—either the mummy unwraps and looks like a normal person, or the mummy stays wrapped up and stumbles around.

The legends of the mummy have inspired more than a few stories in different types of media. Pulled from our massive list that includes mummy stories from books, movies, and TV, scroll down for more info about mummy movies from Universal Studios, Hammer films, and lots more.

As Imhotep expresses in the 1999 classic The Mummy, death is only the beginning...

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The Mummy: 15 Alternate Movie Versions

1) Universal Monsters The Mummy starring Boris Karloff (1932)

With the 1931 successes of both FRANKENSTEIN and DRACULA, Universal Studios continued its popular string of horror films the following year with THE MUMMY. Directed by famed German cinematographer Karl Freund, the film featured Boris Karloff in the starring role.

Inspired by the opening of Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922, THE MUMMY follows an ancient Egyptian mummy named Imhotep who is accidentally brought back to life by archaeologists. Disguised as a modern Egyptian, Imhotep pursues a woman he believes is the reincarnation of his ancient love.

Despite the iconic look of the title character when he is introduced, Karloff only wore the bandages in one scene. For the bulk of the movie, he wore traditional Egyptian robes, subtle makeup, and a fez.

The box office success of THE MUMMY inspired a whole series of mummy movies. However, unlike other Universal series, the MUMMY sequels followed a completely different continuity than the first film.

Buy or rent The Mummy from Amazon. Take note that you can also purchase more Universal mummy movies as part of a Mummy box set and a Universal Monsters box set.

The video playlist below includes a couple of clips from the film, plus more observations about the movie from the people at the YouTube channels for Fear and Nerd Squish…

The Mummy (1932) clips and behind the scenes

2) Universal Monsters The Mummy series (1940)

While Universal revisited their Mummy brand for new movies, they actually created a second mummy for the sequels. As such, these four movies have no real connection to the original film. Not only does this series of films follow a different mummy, but also makes some changes to how it all works. It’s also significant that this mummy stays wrapped up…

  • The Mummy’s Hand (1940)—Archaeologists defile the tomb of mummified Kharis, who was buried alive for falling in love with an Egyptian princess. Buy or rent The Mummy’s Hand from Amazon

  • The Mummy’s Tomb (1942)—The ancient Egypt Mummy, Kharis, is transported from his homeland with the high priest Mehemet to wreak vengeance on the family who has defiled the sacred tomb of his beloved Princess Ananka. Buy or rent The Mummy’s Tomb from Amazon

  • The Mummy’s Ghost (1944)—Kharis the mummy is given a sacred potion that grants him eternal life to search for his lost love, Princess Ananka, despite the unending curse that haunts them. Buy or rent The Mummy’s Ghost from Amazon

  • The Mummy’s Curse (1944)—Shipped to Louisiana, the mummy Kharis from Egypt roams the bayou, tormented by his forbidden love for Princess Ananka. Buy or rent The Mummy’s Curse from Amazon

Take note that you can also purchase these movies as part of a Mummy box set and a Universal Monsters box set.

In the video below, the folks at the Dark Corners channel on YouTube offer info about the whole Universal Monsters film series devoted to mummies. (And yes, it’s the same video that’s also part of the playlist above—I just put it here in case you missed it.)

The Classic Universal Mummy Franchise // DC Classics

3) “The Mummy Strikes” from the Superman cartoons (1943)

The 1943 cartoon “The Mummy Strikes” is part of the theatrical animated short films based upon the DC Comics character Superman. When Clark Kent (Superman’s secret identity as a newspaper reporter) goes with fellow reporter Lois Lane to investigate a tomb where apparently a lady murdered a man, mystical ancient powers awaken several mummies that attack them.

As mummies smash heavy rocks on him, other huge mummies carry other investigators including Lois toward a dangerous fire... “this looks like” another job for Superman. Watch the short animated film in the video below…

Superman—The Mummy Strikes

About Superman

“Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive… The Man of Steel fights a never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way.” DC Comics superhero Superman, one of the most well-known characters in the world, was introduced in Action Comics #1 in 1938. He is a powerful character with super strength, flight, invulnerability, super speed, heat vision, freeze breath, x-ray vision, and more. The last survivor of the doomed planet Krypton, and raised in the quiet heartland of Smallville, Kansas, Superman strives to represent the inherent goodness of the human spirit, and the capacity of every living thing to do right by their neighbors.

About Fleischer Studios’ Superman cartoon series

The original set of Superman animated short films were a big deal back in the 1940s. Fleischer Studios, which also brought cartoon classics Betty Boop and Popeye to movie screens in the early years, played a major role in making Superman a pop culture icon. Rather than rough humor, these lavishly animated, massive budget short subjects were among the first cartoons that focused on drama and action. There were 17 short films in this series.

4) Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955)

Universal Studios had access to one of the world’s greatest comedy teams and several of the most stunning monsters. It made perfect sense to have them meet. There were two ghostly comedies from the duo that had gone over well—so, starting with 1948’s Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, the studio had the comedy duo meet up with the actual Universal Monsters.

The 28th—and last—Abbott and Costello film from Universal Pictures, 1955’s Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy follows two blundering Americans whose search for a mummy leads them to a sacred medallion that holds the key to buried treasure. The film was directed by Charles Lamont, and co-starred Marie Windsor, Michael Ansara, and Richard Deacon.

Yes, this is a Universal movie, but the mummy presented here is yet a third mummy from Universal. This was also the final Mummy film in Universal’s original films.

Buy or rent Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy from Amazon

The videos below include a playlist full of clips from Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy, plus a mini-documentary about the series of films where the comedy team meet the official Universal Monsters...

Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955) - Movie | Movieclips FILM

Abbott & Costello Meet the Monsters | A Docu-Mini | Hats Off Entertainment

5) Pharaoh’s Curse (1957)

A cursed Egyptian stalks the members of an archaeology expedition—killing them off one by one, in hopes of avoiding his own disintegration. The 1957 horror film Pharaoh’s Curse isn’t amazing, but it does the job and it holds some interesting angles.

As The EOFFTV Review posted, “It’s no masterpiece to be sure, but as a 66-minute time-waster it fits the bill well enough. It shouldn’t be high on anyone’s ‘must see’ list but in the unlikely event that a brisk, silly but occasionally inventive not-quite-mummy film is just what you’re looking for then this might just be what will scratch that particular itch.”

What I found particularly interesting is the fact that this monster needed to draw upon the living to survive. In this movie it was simply taking blood, but I wonder whether the similar deal in 1999’s The Mummy—where it had to take actual body parts to survive—was inspired by this film.

The Pharoah’s Curse is not easy to find. At the time of this writing, I found it on the Fawesome Horror channel on Roku. Whether it’s still there now will take some searching.

Buy the DVD from Amazon

Search for streaming options on Google here

Meanwhile, I also just found it on YouTube—whether it’s still there you’ll have to see for yourself. Scroll down to check it now…

Scott Lord Mystery: The Pharaoh’s Curse (1957)

6) The Aztec Mummy trilogy (1957)

This set of Mexican horror films revolved around Popoca the Aztec Mummy. Directed by Rafael Portillo, all three movies were shot in sequence in 1957. According to Wikipedia, the movies play fast and loose with cultural details, offering incorrect ideas about the Aztecs and the Incas. On the other hand, the trilogy features a mummy fighting a robot!

  • The Aztec Mummy (1957)—A doctor discovers that his fiancée is the reincarnation of an Aztec maiden who was put to death for loving an Aztec warrior, and her mummified lover was cursed to remain alive to guard a treasure.

  • The Curse of the Aztec Mummy (1957)—An evil doctor trying to steal jewels fights a wrestling superhero and the warrior mummy guarding the tomb.

  • The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy (1957)—A mad doctor builds a robot to steal a valuable Aztec treasure from a tomb guarded by a centuries-old living mummy. Granted, all that “action” takes place after a whole lot of, “Hey, remember the first movie? Let me tell you everything that happened. Oh, and I have to tell you all about the second movie, too…”

In 1964, a similar-sounding film that was not actually part of the series was released, The Wrestling Women vs. the Aztec Mummy. According to one review I found online, while this film sounds action-packed, it is actually pretty boring.

In 1989, more than 30 years after the trilogy was released, the TV program Mystery Science Theater 3000 heckled The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy.

If you want to watch the Aztec Mummy movies, you can find different options available on Amazon. In the video playlist below, we found two versions of The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy—the MST3K version, and the actual movie. You can watch either version (or both) below!

The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy—with and without heckling

7) Hammer mummy movies

Four mummy horror movies made by the British film studio Hammer

British film studio Hammer Film Productions is best known its monstrous “Hammer Horror” films made from the 1950s to 1970s. When they started making monster movies, Hammer worked out a financial partnership for official remakes of the Universal Monsters. The end results were a number of films that tread on similar ground, but also went in new directions. Part of this strategy led to a few Hammer mummy movies…

  • The Mummy (1959)—In 1895, British archaeologists find and open the tomb of Egyptian Princess Ananka with nefarious consequences. Buy Hammer’s The Mummy from Amazon.

  • The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb (1964)—British archaeologists and their American investor ship an Egyptian mummy's sarcophagus to London but someone has the amulet to revive the mummy that will then kill all those who disturbed its tomb. Buy Hammer’s Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb from Amazon.

  • The Mummy’s Shroud (1967)—In 1920 an archaeological expedition discovers the tomb of an ancient Egyptian child prince. Returning home with their discovery, the expedition members soon find themselves being killed... Buy Hammer’s The Mummy’s Shroud from Amazon.

  • Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb (1971)—An archaeological expedition brings back to London the coffin of an Egyptian queen known for her magical powers. Her spirit returns in the form of a young girl and strange things start to happen. Buy Hammer’s Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb from Amazon.

The Legend of Hammer Films Mummies | Peter Cushing Appreciation Society

8) Films based on The Jewel of Seven Stars by Bram Stoker

Three movies based on Bram Stoker’s mummy horror novel The Jewel of Seven Stars

Dracula author Bram Stoker wrote the 1903 mummy novel The Jewel of Seven Stars, which explored themes that were discussed at the end of the 19th century, including imperialism, the rise of the New Woman and feminism, and societal progress. The book also reflected what Westerners in the early 1900s believed about Eastern cultures. The novel was the basis for three films:

  • 1971 film Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb—This Hammer film (that we just talked about above) is about an archaeological expedition bringing back to London the coffin of an Egyptian queen known for her magical powers. Her spirit returns in the form of a young girl and strange things start to happen. Starring Valerie Leon, Andrew Keir, and Mark Edwards. Buy Hammer’s Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb from Amazon.

  • 1980 film The Awakening—An archeologist discovers his daughter is possessed by the spirit of an Egyptian queen. To save mankind he must destroy her. Starring Charlton Heston, Susannah York, and Jill Townsend. Buy The Awakening from Amazon.

  • 1997 direct-to-video film Bram Stoker’s Legend of the Mummy—An ages-old mummy is awakened and takes revenge on everyone in an old, gothic mansion. Starring Louis Gossett Jr., Amy Locane, and Eric Lutes. Buy Bram Stoker’s Legend of the Mummy from Amazon.

The video playlist below includes movie trailers for all three films…

9) Monster Squad (1987)

This cult classic from the 1980s is like across between a Spielbergian summer family movie and a Universal Monsters rally. A kids club obsessed with movie monsters discovers there are real monsters in town—including Count Dracula, the Frankenstein’s Monster, the mummy, the wolf man, and the gill man.

One day out of every century, the forces of good and evil reach a balance, and the kids have to save the world from Dracula. What’s remarkable is that the film is funny, charming—and takes the monsters completely seriously. This is such a good movie.

Buy Monster Squad from Amazon

Even more important for this list, my favorite scene from the movie—in fact, one of my favorite scenes from any movie ever—involves colliding with (and defeating) their version of the mummy. In fact, you can watch that scene in the video below…

The Monster Squad (1987) - Mummy Attack Scene | Movieclips

10) Under Wraps (1997) and (2021)

In Under Wraps, the 1997 Disney Channel movie created by Hallmark Entertainment, three twelve-year-olds find a mummy that hasn’t been discovered in three thousand years. When they accidentally revive him, he must be returned to his resting place by midnight on Halloween or he’ll lose his long lost love. The TV movie was written by Don Rhymer, directed by Greg Beeman, and starred Bill Fagerbakke, Adam Wylie, Mario Yedidia, and Clara Bryant.

The 2021 remake of Under Wraps stars Christian J. Simon, Malachi Barton, Sophia Hammons, and Phil Wright. This version of the TV movie was directed by Alex Zamm, who co-wrote the remake with William Robertson. Three 12-year-olds accidentally revive a stolen mummy they discover in a neighbor’s basement. They must rush him to his resting place before midnight on Halloween.

Under Wraps 2 is the 2022 sequel. While Amy is preparing for her father’s Halloween-themed wedding, she and her friends have to jump into action to save their mummy pal and his beloved from an evil mummy with a 1,000-year-old grudge.

Buy the Under Wraps movies from Amazon. As of this writing, the remake and its sequel are also available on Disney+.

The videos below include trailers for the two most recent Under Wraps movies, plus more…

11) The Mummy series (1999)

Universal returned to The Mummy with this comedic action adventure fantasy film series launched by director Stephen Sommers, whose work also involves the doesn’t-get-enough-attention horror comedy action movie Deep Rising (1998), as well as the monster rally movie Van Helsing (2004). The stars who appeared in (most of) the main films were Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, and Oded Fehr. Find Mummy series collections at Amazon.

Sommers’ 1999 action comedy horror movie The Mummy revisited the 1932 film of the same name, but also—following years of development that included several screenplays—borrowed elements from other sources. There have been discussions of the influence of the Indiana Jones movies. Also, I believe that the 1957 movie Pharoah’s Curse was involved.

It’s worth noting that during the making of this version of The Mummy, some wanted to include the part where the “mummy is kept alive with brewed tana leaves,” which was part of the Universal sequels. Sommers specifically excluded that. The mummy in his movie had to steal body parts to revive himself, which is why I’ve wondered whether that idea was inspired by Pharoah’s Curse (where the mummy keeps stealing blood).

The popularity of Sommers’ Mummy films led to direct sequels, a spinoff film series, and cartoon show. Here are the three main films:

  • The Mummy (1999)—At an archaeological dig in the ancient city of Hamunaptra, an American serving in the French Foreign Legion accidentally awakens a mummy who begins to wreak havoc as he searches for the reincarnation of his long-lost love. Find The Mummy at Amazon.

  • The Mummy Returns (2001)—The mummified body of Imhotep is shipped to a museum in London, where he once again wakes and begins his campaign of rage and terror. Guest-starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (in his film acting debut) as The Scorpion King. Find The Mummy Returns at Amazon.

  • The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)—In the Far East, Alex O’Connell, the son of famed mummy fighters Rick and Evy O'Connell, unearths the mummy of the first Emperor of Qin—a shape-shifting entity cursed by a witch centuries ago. Guest-starring Maria Bello (replacing Rachel Weisz), Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh, and Luke Ford. This entry was produced by Sommers, and directed by Rob Cohen. Find The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor at Amazon.

Although the films are considered to be a remake of the Boris Karloff film, the fact is that the 1932 film was a lot of talking—but the 1999 film and its sequels are full of big action sequences. For example, this mummy can repeat the epic curses that were pushed on Egypt in the Bible book of Exodus. (We have to ignore the fact that he wasn’t responsible for the original curses.) There’s also the mummy’s ability to control the sand dunes in the desert in a big way.

This Mummy series also led to a spin-off sword-and-sorcery film series about The Scorpion King (who had appeared in The Mummy Returns). I’ve never seen these films, but here’s a list if you want…

  • The Scorpion King (2002)

  • The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior (2008)

  • The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption (2012)

  • The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power (2015)

  • Scorpion King: Book of Souls (2018)

Find the Scorpion king movies at Amazon.

In the video playlist below, watch some behind-the-scenes videos about the first film The Mummy, plus stuff from the sequels.

Mummy series from Stephen Sommers

12) Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)

Based on the novella by Joe R. Lansdale, Bubba Ho-Tep revolves around a nursing home menaced by an ancient Egyptian mummy. The film’s stars, Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis, play two elderly residents who claim to be Elvis Presley and John F. Kennedy, respectively. The comedy horror film was written, co-produced, and directed by Don Coscarelli. During the closing credits, the announced sequel was intended as a joke—but over time there have been discussions about the possibility of a follow-up.

Buy Bubba Ho-Tep from Amazon

The video playlist below includes the Bubba Ho-Tep movie trailer, plus a mini-doc about the film, and a video that talks up why the movie stands out. As JoBlo says in the review description, “What makes Bubba Ho-Tep one of the best horror films is its bonkers premise, genuine pathos, and perfect execution.”

BUBBA HO TEP (2002) Bruce Campbell - Best Horror Movie You Never Saw

13) Hotel Transylvania (2012)

For our list of mummy movies, we want to include the Hotel Transylvania film series, a charming re-imagining of the Universal Monsters that showed Count Dracula as the owner of a monster’s-only hotel. Throughout the films, we also spend time with Dracula’s close-knit group of friends—which includes a mummy, Frankenstein’s monster, a werewolf, and an invisible man, among others.

Over the films and TV series the voice cast has included Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kevin James, Steve Buscemi, David Spade, CeeLo Green, Fran Drescher, Molly Shannon, Jon Lovitz, Chris Parnell, Kathryn Hahn, Jim Gaffigan, Keegan-Michael Key, Brian Hull, Brad Abrell, Asher Blinkoff, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, and Zoe Berria, Bryn McAuley, Evany Rosen, Gage Munroe, Joseph Motiki, and Dan Chameroy, among others.

Find Hotel Transylvania movies from Amazon

  • Hotel Transylvania (2012)—Dracula, who operates a high-end resort away from the human world, goes into overprotective mode when a boy discovers the resort and falls for the count’s teenaged daughter.

  • Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)—Dracula and his friends try to bring out the monster in his half human, half vampire grandson in order to keep Mavis from leaving the hotel.

  • Hotel Transylvania 3 (2018)—Count Dracula and company participate in a cruise for sea-loving monsters, unaware that their boat is being commandeered by the monster-hating Van Helsing family.

  • Hotel Transylvania 4 (2022)—After an experiment, Johnny turns into a monster and everyone else becomes human. Now the monsters have to find Johnny and reverse the experiment!

In the video playlist below, we’ve got movie trailers from all four films, plus behind the scenes videos that show voice acting and animation, a cast interview, and even an episode of the series.

Hotel Transylvania (Vampire Comedies)

We have more details about the Hotel Transylvania television series in the TV section here: 13 Monster Families from Charmed, Hotel Transylvania, The Munsters, more

14) Frankenstein vs. The Mummy (2015)

Dr. Victor Frankenstein and Egyptologist Naihla Khalil are both professors at a leading medical university. Victor’s latest grisly “experiment” is the re-animated corpse of a sadistic madman—and Naihla’s most recent find is the cursed mummy of an evil pharaoh. When the two monsters face-off in an epic showdown, no one is safe from the slaughter. Can the murderous rampage be stopped and the carnage contained before it’s too late?

It’s shocking when you think about it—indie movie Frankenstein vs. The Mummy shows the first on-screen confrontation between the Mummy and Frankenstein’s monster. The film’s writer and director, Damien Leone, grew up a a fan of the Universal Monsters.

When Leone was brought in to direct Frankenstein vs. The Mummy, he was unhappy with the script—so he read the original Frankenstein novel by Mary Shelley, and rewrote the screenplay himself. “I’m a huge Frankenstein fan,” the writer/director told HorrorNews.Net. “If you’ve read the original story then you’d know that it’s a very layered piece of work—it’s not even a horror story actually. It’s more of a drama than anything else. I wanted to capture as much of that feel as I could, especially with Frankenstein’s monster, because in the original story, he’s really quite intelligent and articulate—people don’t realize that. I tried to stay true to that as much as I could. I thought fans would appreciate that.”

As far as his interpretation of the Mummy, that came from a previous movie. “I worked on another found footage movie where I just did the special effects and it was called Day of the Mummy,” he told Horror Society. “I had designed the Mummy prior and I used the same makeup and the same actor. That was my take on a mummy. I wanted to make him really rotten; I didn’t really want him to have any human features left. I wanted him to be as close to a skeleton as possible.”

Leone said the hardest part was figuring out where the location was going to be and how are we going to have these two monsters meet up. “Once I figured out it was going to take place under one university,” he told Nerd Locker, “then it was a lot easier to roll with that idea and have them meet. I was surprised how quickly the story came together and gave me the treatment with a short amount of time to write the script. It started coming together very easily, once we found the location of the film.”

You can buy a copy of the movie Frankenstein vs. The Mummy from Amazon.

Below is the movie trailer—and also a video of the whole film. (V Movies claims their films are legally licensed.)

Frankenstein vs. The Mummy Official Trailer 1 (2015) - Horror Movie HD

FRANKENSTEIN VS THE MUMMY - FULL ACTION MOVIE IN ENGLISH

15) The Mummy starring Sofia Boutella (2017)

So, a few years ago, Universal had the idea to rebuild their idea of a Universal Monsters shared cinematic universe. After all, Marvel Comics’ MCU was doing pretty well, and Universal had done that kind of thing before in the 1940s. (As we talked about here: Universal Monsters Movies: The Original Shared Cinematic Universe.)

Unfortunately, instead of focusing on individual films and then connecting them sometime later—as Marvel did (and, originally, Universal had done)—the current staff working on this new “Dark Universe” started with a big picture outline that involved signing on a lot of stars and promising a lot of stuff that never happened (as DC Comics tried, and the modern staff at Universal also did wrong).

The attempt to create the Dark Universe started with 2017’s The Mummy, a supernatural action-adventure film starring Tom Cruise as a soldier of fortune who unearths the ancient tomb of an Egyptian princess played by Sofia Boutella. The Cruise character also learned about a secret society that fought supernatural threats (which was supposed to show up again in future movies).

This version of The Mummy also starred Annabelle Wallis, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance—with Russell Crowe as Jekyll and Hyde (also part of that “big picture” we talked about). The film was directed by Alex Kurtzman and written by David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie, and Dylan Kussman, with a story by Kurtzman, Jon Spaihts, and Jenny Lumet.

This The Mummy reboot got a lot of negative reviews and only did so-so at the box office. Instead of creating a modern cinematic universe with new versions of the classic Universal Monsters, the film’s poor results led to the cancellation of the Dark Universe.

That said, I liked the movie OK. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it. The video playlist below includes clips from the movie…

The Mummy (2017) | Movie Scenes | Movieclips

Chris Well

Chris Well been a writer pretty much his entire life. (Well, since his childhood.) Over the years, he has worked in newspapers, magazines, radio, and books. He now is the chief of the website Monster Complex, celebrating monster stories in lit and pop culture. He also writes horror comedy fiction that embraces Universal Monsters, 1960s sitcoms, 1980s action movies, and the X-Files.

https://chriswell.substack.com/
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