Most of the reviews I have read concerning this movie trash it without reservations. I found it to be a lot better than those reviews indicated especially if you are familiar with the source material which is Bram Stoker’s 1903 novel THE JEWEL OF SEVEN STARS. I first saw the film before most of those reviews were written and have seen it most recently a few days ago as I revisited the other two film versions which are Hammer’s BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY’s TOMB (1971) and 1980’s THE AWAKENING with Charlton Heston.
Stoker’s novel is one of the first literary efforts to deal with Ancient Egyptian mummies and their curses which is fascinating when you realize that it predates the discovery of King Tut by almost 20 years. It also has an all powerful female character in Queen Tera while all the other mummies have been men until the Tom Cruise reboot of a few years ago. In keeping with the period in which it was written, the novel follows the Victorian/Edwardian template of the dangers of exploring the occult and tampering with the supernatural.
This version was made in 1997 as LEGEND OF THE MUMMY. It bypassed theaters and was first shown on television which probably accounts for its made-for-TV look although it had a bigger budget. I found the look of the film in keeping with the novel which is more of a mystery with supernatural overtones rather than outright horror.
When it first appeared on video in the early 2000s it became BRAM STOKER’S THE MUMMY to cash in on the author’s name and the Brendan Fraser THE MUMMY.
Although set in 1997, the filmmakers chose to remain true to Stoker (more than the other two versions) by following the novel more closely and retaining the characters’ original names. This means that plot and pacing are more important than special effects which, as pointed out by another reviewer, is bound to disappoint younger viewers who expect more action and gore. There are a few graphic scenes and one character’s death was ripped off for the Brendan Fraser version which is 2 years after this one.
The young leads (Amy Locane and Eric Lutes) are rather bland but are more than competent while the supporting players, as is usually the case, liven things up nicely. It was great to see TV veteran Lloyd Bochner as the father and Brit actor Aubrey Morris who was also in the 1971 Hammer film. However the movie really belongs to Louis Gossett Jr who gives it the kind of Gothic larger than life performance that the material deserves. LEGEND OF THE MUMMY is worth seeing for him alone.
The movie’s biggest drawback is that it can be hard to follow at times. It’s as if the filmmakers assumed the audience would be as familiar with the material as they would be with DRACULA which is definitely not the case. It builds slowly but there is a remarkable set piece towards the end which is worth waiting for. Too bad the movie doesn’t end there as the last scene seems tacked on and is definitely not in Stoker’s original. Of the 3 versions I place it second behind TOMB and ahead of THE AWAKENING.
The Capsule Critic 