In 1999, the Stephen Sommers film The Mummy, that includes Brendan Fraser, killed it on the field workplace. Banking over $400M and entertaining audiences with its action-adventure story, the movie proved there was an urge for food for mummy-related tasks for arguably the primary time because the Nineteen Thirties. This curiosity was considerably stunning due to an enormous bomb launched the 12 months prior: Russell Mulcahy’s Story of the Mummy — sure, the director put his identify within the official title — starring a babyfaced Gerard Butler in his third ever characteristic. Regardless of their related subject, The Mummy and Story of the Mummy could not be extra completely different. So, why was one movie so profitable and the opposite so… not?
‘The Mummy’ Filmmakers Had been Higher Ready
Story of the Mummy
Fifty years in the past, Sir Richard Turkel (Christopher Lee) met catastrophe whereas exploring the supposedly cursed tomb of the traditional Egyptian tyrant Talos. Now his granddaughter, archaeologist Samantha Turkel (Louise Lombard), eagerly picks up the place he left off, delving into its depths to uncover Talos’ sarcophagus. However, shortly after the tomb’s artifacts are transferred to a London museum, an odd sequence of murders begins to plague town. Baffled native detectives enlist Samantha for assist.
- Launch Date
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March 19, 1998
- Director
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Russell Mulcahy
- Runtime
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88 minutes
- Forged
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Jason Scott Lee
, Louise Lombard
, Sean Pertwee
, Lysette Anthony
, Michael Lerner
, Jack Davenport
, Honor Blackman
, Shelley Duvall
, Christopher Lee
, Gerard Butler
, Jon Polito
, Ronan Vibert
, Invoice Treacher - Writers
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John Esposito
The Mummy leans right into a enjoyable, adventurous narrative a couple of resurrected mummy and a treasure hunter. Rated PG-13 and appropriate for the entire household, it was deemed simply watchable by critics. In the meantime, Story of the Mummy comes off as extra of a B-movie horror flick — and fails, even at that — attempting to inform the story of archaeologists and an historical tomb by three completely different time intervals. With poor pacing, a discombobulated narrative, and a definite lack of gore or scares regardless of touting itself as a horror film, the movie left viewers confused and disillusioned. Story of the Mummy offers little suspense, eliminating it as a profitable thriller, and it was too tacky to be taken severely.
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It is attainable that the discrepancy in pre-production efforts contributed to the stark variations between the 2 films. The Mummy‘s producers labored on their adaptation of the 1932 movie of the identical identify for practically a decade, swapping out writers and administrators till their imaginative and prescient was excellent. In the event that they hadn’t, The Mummy might have turned out very in another way. In the meantime, Russell Mulcahy and his collaborator Keith Williams dreamed up Story of the Mummy in late 1995, and it started filming lower than two years later.
Mulcahy and Sommers Had Related Inspirations
Apparently, each films have been impressed by earlier works, although all of them lead again to Karl Freund’s 1932 basic The Mummy. Mulcahy credited his love of Hammer Movie Productions’ The Mummy (1959) — which in flip was impressed by The Mummy’s Hand (1940) and its sequel, The Mummy’s Tomb (1942) — for prompting his concept; each of those reuse footage from the 1932 challenge. In the meantime, Sommers’ movie was a direct adaptation of Freund’s. It appears Mulcahy was attempting to place his personal spin on the classics, which deserves recognition, however clearly, Sommer’s recycling of a successful concept proved extra fruitful.
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Story of the Mummy Had Embarrassing Particular Results
One of many greatest criticisms of Story of the Mummy was its abysmal particular results and cringe-inducing CGI. A few of it was so dangerous that it really incited unintentional laughter in audiences, particularly with the poor animatronics, which did not even enable characters’ mouths to maneuver correctly. For a borderline monster story — the reincarnated mummy goes on a homicide spree to steal individuals’s organs, which seems to be quite a bit much less fascinating than it sounds — it is apparent that the filmmakers did not absolutely assume by how they have been going to make that monster plausible. Some viewers discovered the film entertaining, however extra so as a result of they have been laughing at it, definitely not with it.
Alternatively, The Mummy employed a number of well-respected particular results corporations to work on the film from the start levels of improvement by its launch. With mixed high quality CGI, make-up, prosthetics, and live-action, the movie created a plausible ambiance that did not pull viewers out of the story. To be truthful, Story of the Mummy was working with a funds of $10M, which is far more than a typical horror film on the time however far lower than the $80M The Mummy had at their disposal. In reality, more cash was spent on The Mummy‘s particular results than Story of the Mummy‘s total funds.
Casting Selections Can Make or Break a Mission
One other factor that separates The Story of the Mummy from The Mummy is its casting. The previous, although that includes some respectable names, did not do proper by its actors. For instance, legendary horror movie veteran Sir Christopher Lee is briefly seen through the movie’s opening scenes earlier than his character promptly dies in a cloud of historical mud and his personal stupidity. Different stars embody martial artist Jason Scott Lee, Louise Lombard, who would finally turn into recognizable for her tenure on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and common live-action and voice actor Sean Pertwee, who went on to star as Alfred Pennyworth in Gotham. Sadly, not one of the above individuals have been used to their full potential.
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And eventually, a pre-fame Gerard Butler seems — earlier than he grew to become a Hollywood star with rom-coms like P.S. I Love You and The Ugly Reality or motion flicks like 300 and Den of Thieves (which grew to become a franchise with the much-anticipated 2024 Den of Thieves 2: Pantera). He performs a member of an archaeological group who falls to his dying earlier than the midway level of the film — additionally an idiotic destiny of his personal making. Even when Butler had been additional alongside in his profession with extra ability or notoriety, it is unlikely this function would have gone higher for him. In reality, as of 2024, it seems he has by no means spoken publicly about being part of Story of the Mummy, suggesting he is likely to be glad to let the film fade into oblivion, a forgotten smudge on an in any other case pretty profitable resume.
Fraser Linked with Audiences
Alternatively, The Mummy stars Brendan Fraser as its lead, treasure hunter Rick O’Connell, reverse Rachel Weisz. His function was thought of by heavy hitters like Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck, showcasing how a lot bigger scale this manufacturing was compared to Mulcahy’s. By this time, Fraser had already damaged into the trade and had practically 10 years of expertise beneath his belt.
Fraser did all of his personal stunts — which rumors counsel virtually led to his dying throughout a couple of significantly harmful scenes — and was dedicated to creating his function plausible. As he advised the Los Angeles Occasions in 2023, “Rick is somebody who has a substantial amount of irascible vitality. He is not taking something too severely. However in the event you’re taking part in Rick and you do not imagine within the circumstances of the fact of that film, then your viewers will not both.”
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Leaving a Legacy (or Not)
Fortunately, the viewers did join with Fraser, and he earned reprisal performances within the franchise’s two sequels: The Mummy Returns (2001) and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008), which are actually streaming on Peacock. Celebrating its twenty fifth anniversary in 2024, The Mummy has proved its longevity by nonetheless remaining related, and even Fraser is on board for an additional potential sequel. In the meantime, Mulcahy’s failed mummy try has turn into a relic locked away in its personal tomb, with a lot of its forged distancing themselves from the challenge.
Mulcahy has since turned his consideration to TV directing, most notably engaged on Teen Wolf all through its six seasons, which has confirmed to be a way more profitable enterprise. Sarcastically, Mulcahy would come to direct one of many tacky, straight-to-video sequels of The Scorpion King, a by-product from the Brendan Fraser mummy films. There’s an argument to be made that The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior is healthier than poor Russell Mulcahy’s Story of the Mummy, although it is a low bar. You’ll be able to watch Mulcahy’s movie beneath:
Watch Story of the Mummy