251: The Mummy (1932)

SPEAKER_00 0:04

You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch.

SPEAKER_06 0:11

Greetings and salutations, and welcome to Hackerslash. If you're joining us again, welcome back. It was through you this horror came into existence. If this is your first time listening, welcome to the party. We are a horror movie review podcast dedicated to telling you whether a movie is a hack, a total joke, a waste of time, or a slash.

SPEAKER_02 0:29

Totally killer, pun intended.

SPEAKER_06 0:31

We believe horror is for everyone, and as such, we're rating these movies with the perspective we've gained from our varying walks of life and the flavors of fear we fancy most. My name is Chris, I'm your friendly neighborhood slasher enthusiast. This week I'm joined by the Superfly Space Guy Mac.

SPEAKER_01 0:45

Maybe he got too gay with the Vestal Virgins in the Temple.

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The classic horror connoisseur Sean.

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Come to the altar of Anubis, the guide of the dead.

SPEAKER_06 0:53

And the paranormal paramour Binks. Do you have to open graves to find girls to fall in love with? This week we're looking 90 years into the past to commemorate the anniversary of an iconic universal film. Before we excavate this tomb, though, we have some follow-up.

SPEAKER_01 1:07

Let's follow up on a movie. Recently, we watched Darkness Falls from 2003. We went back to the early 2000s. And we wanted to know what y'all thought about it because I think I know I hacked it. I think a couple of us actually liked it, but 67% of you gave this a hack, and then 33% slashed it. I think it should be more hack. Let's get in the 70s.

SPEAKER_06 1:27

Listen, lay off for nostalgia. Banks, have you seen this movie before?

SPEAKER_03 1:31

I don't really remember it, I'll be honest. But based on these this hack percentage, I almost feel like being a part of the slash committee just to spite you all.

SPEAKER_06 1:40

Yeah, hey, I always slashed this movie. I think I was the only one on the show who did. Yeah. Oh, did you? Yikes. All right. It was all fun and games. And do you find out I was also on the slash committee and you're like, oh, fuck that. And you're like, ah, all right, someone already did that. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:53

Listen, listen to your Avril, throw in some blinquinity too, listen to a little, you know, early 2000s music, and then go watch this. Maybe wear a beanie while you're doing it. Maybe you'll get into it.

SPEAKER_03 2:03

And that's what I'm thinking, right? I'm pretty sure that's exactly the outfit I was wearing when I did see this movie back in the day, anyways. So that's great. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 2:10

Well, we've got some comments. Uh Tristan says, This is a childhood favorite of mine. It's everything I want out of an early 2000s horror flick.

SPEAKER_06 2:17

I don't know that it's everything that I want, but I'm right there with you, Tristan.

SPEAKER_02 2:21

It definitely has 2000s vibes. I don't know if it's everything I want either, but definitely has two thousands vibes.

SPEAKER_06 2:27

I think it's more in the direction of what I want because it was a little less green than most of the trash back then, you know?

SPEAKER_02 2:34

Fair.

SPEAKER_01 2:34

Well, Alan says, I enjoyed the movie and the different take on the monster for the movie.

SPEAKER_06 2:38

Yeah, you know what? Why be another early 2000s horror film when you can be the Tooth Fairy?

SPEAKER_03 2:43

Oh, I ha I remember now.

SPEAKER_01 2:45

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_03 2:46

That's what it was. Yes. Oh, wow. Yeah, this movie is uh TBT.

SPEAKER_01 2:52

Well, Don says this film had a good concept, but was standing on weak chicken legs, and I think I could not agree more.

SPEAKER_02 2:58

Yes, there it is. All right. That is a big fact.

SPEAKER_03 3:01

Now that you remember it, Binks. Yeah, now I'm trying to think. I need to listen to that episode where you slashed this. It's nostalgia. This is a good movie. Alright. Okay. Alright. Alright. You know what? We all have a guilty pleasure. And I guess maybe this has gotta be one of those.

SPEAKER_06 3:15

This was a good movie in 2003. It's not a great movie now, but it was still a little bit more fun than not fun. Fair enough.

SPEAKER_01 3:21

And Amber said, I honestly thought I had watched this movie before, but after turning it on, I realized I had not. I think I had this movie confused with the Boogeyman. I had to restart this three times because I kept falling asleep. For that reason alone, I have to hack this. To wrap up, let's thank one of our new patrons, Alex. Alex, welcome to the family. We're pleased to have you. Join in, you know, get in that conversation, hop on the Discord, let us know what's up. And that's our follow-up.

SPEAKER_06 3:44

Well, speaking of us, digging up at the past with that patron pick, at 1922, archaeologist Howard Carter and a team of excavators discovered a nearly intact tomb of one of ancient Egypt's last pharaohs, King Tutankhamun. The discovery sparked a media frenzy, and when the sarcophagus was eventually opened in 1925, a reporter for the New York World by the name of John L. Balderston was present. After leaving the New York World in 1931, Balderston embarked on his career as a playwright and screenwriter, eventually being hired by Universal to adapt a story on Cagliostro that was, in part, inspired by King Tut's discovery and the alleged curse of the pharaohs. That story would eventually turn into a 1932 Boris Carloff film, which became a cornerstone of Universal's monster films. This week we're talking about The Mummy. Who's seen this one before?

SPEAKER_01 4:32

I've only seen the Brendan Fraser remakes. I've never seen this one.

SPEAKER_03 4:37

Well, that makes me feel a lot better, Mac, because I was kind of about to say, I don't know if I'm gonna disappoint more. The listeners are honestly Sean. So yeah, this is my first time as well.

SPEAKER_02 4:46

Uh hey, that's alright. You know, not not many people that I know have seen this one before, so I didn't expect anything like that. So don't worry, you're all safe. But I will say I have probably watched this film at least 30 times, maybe more. Uh I owned this on VHS, I owned it on DVD, I now own it digitally. So I did speak about this in my introduction episode um when we reviewed Rob Zombies The Munsters. Um, this is one of my favorite horror movies of all time, next to Frankenstein 1931. Uh, it's no secret that I'm a lover of classics, right? Uh, Chris, you introduced me as the classic horror connoisseur every episode. I grew up watching this film with my grandmother. She absolutely loved history and specifically ancient Egypt. Um, that's probably where I got this infatuation from. It just hits home for me. It's one of my comfort movies. I can watch this in the background while I'm going to sleep. It reminds me of my grandmother and just makes me feel really good.

SPEAKER_06 5:46

I love that so much, Sean. And he, and you know, there have been so many opportunities for us to work in some of these classics up until this point. But up until now, the oldest we've ever gotten is the original House of Wax with Vincent Price. And I'm just so glad to have you here now and know that we waited for the right time. Because I don't know that it would it would have been the same experience missing out on your passion and love for these movies. I actually have never seen this one before. I've heard of it, obviously, and I've seen some shots when I was in school, but it's not something that I ever sat down and watched from beginning to end. I did, though, based on your recommendations, instantly buy the entire digital bundle that's available on Apple TV. And I've always had the simmering desire to watch this movie, particularly because its 1999 remake, if you can even call it that, really set me on a spiral of one, loving Rachel Weiss, and two, wanting to be an Egyptologist after Indiana Jones really made me want to be an archaeologist. And I had only seen the Brendan Fraser trilogy of mummies, uh, not that Tom Cruise film, and none of the other films that came uh after the one that we're checking out this week. Now, since the 1999 mummy film was considered more of an action adventure remake, I walked into this expecting there to be a few key ties that it probably had to the original, like names of characters, maybe a general plot, but I expected this to feel far less sinister and feel more like a straightforward story.

SPEAKER_02 7:09

It's totally fair given you're looking at a movie that was made in 1999 with different effects to a 1930s film where this was kind of the original conception of this story. That being said, I should have pretty high expectations for this one, seeing as it isn't in my top two horror movies of all time. Uh, having watched this film many, many times before, I know what I was getting into. I'm going to get a great story with a great performance by now, you know, of one of the all-time greatest actors in horror cinema, Boris Karloff.

SPEAKER_03 7:42

I was gonna say, going into this movie, the only thing that I did know about it was Boris Karloff, because of course the way I know that he's naturally a horror icon, especially with Frankenstein, but I definitely know him as our OG Grinch.

SPEAKER_00 7:56

You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch.

SPEAKER_03 7:59

So I was really looking forward to seeing this movie finally. And so going into it, I just had a lot of excitement, but truthfully, I more so because I was excited to continue to learn more about this movie and have this conversation with you, Sean, because I know it is your favorite. So I was just like, all right, let's dive into it. I don't have a lot of exposure to some classic black and white films like this, and especially not in in horror. So uh yeah, I I think I was just more pumped than anything and open and willing to see what this is all about.

SPEAKER_01 8:27

I think with an hour and 15-minute runtime, aside from the story being similar, of course, to later films, which I kind of assumed, you know, if you're gonna do a remake, there's gonna be ties as well, just like Chris mentioned. But I'm expecting things to just feel very simple in that amount of time, like a very quick story. I expected for the 30s, of course, to have a very like stage-style acting performance setup, and of course, 1930s special effects.

SPEAKER_06 8:52

Simple is such a great way to put it, Mac. I found myself really enjoying the simplicity of this movie when I was watching it. I'm a sucker for older films, period. You know, I wouldn't say I'm I'm a lover of classics as intensely as Sean by any means, but you know, throw me back to some Doris Day, Cary Grant, Rock Hudson, bring me no flowers, uh, bringing up baby with Catherine Hepburn. You give me some of that era of film, and I'm just like curled up in a blanket on a rainy day with some with a nice hot beverage, and I'm just watching like old school rom-coms, right? And there's a sense of comfort that completely envelops me when I'm watching these movies, and that's a similar comfort that I had here because of that simplicity. It's entirely performance-driven, it's entirely, you know, thinking about like the the effects in particular, it's nothing that's so overwhelming or overpowering. This is just people telling a story, and there aren't a lot of gimmicks in there, so it really makes for a fun time.

SPEAKER_02 9:54

It's pretty amazing. Something about the way people acted, right, in these films back in the day, the way people spoke, it just hits different. There's uh like you said, it's it's more about it's not captivating in the way that we get now with special effects and all these different visuals and and things that really um that really stimulate you, right? But what this does is it really captivates you with the story and the dialogue and the performances and the lighting and the way they manipulated the lighting in these films and what they did with what they had. Uh it's just a it's just a different it's just a different vibe, it's a different feel. I absolutely love the story in this film. Uh this came, I think you kind of alluded to it in the introduction, right? It came shortly after the actual discovery of King Tut's tomb, which is what inspired the film uh, in a sense, to be made, or it's what inspired the story of the film. Just a really cool story that really captivates you.

SPEAKER_01 10:52

I'm I'm down for for a simple, or not even simple, but like a straightforward story with with a lot of good acting, you know. I I really enjoy like older detective and mystery films as well. There's something about, you know, the like classic detective showing up, a room full of everyone, lock the doors, I'm gonna figure out who did it, right? And I just watched See How They Run. That was brilliant. That was a was a great modern movie, just really a lot of fun. But I think when you keep things kind of straightforward, you can embellish where it counts. Um the trouble I ran into though when I'll when I was watching this is there's there's there's some differences obviously in age. It's been 90 years, so it felt really slow to me a lot of times. There's just a lot of silence, a lot of lingering shots, and usually, usually that's me. That's what I love. But I did feel while watching this pretty much every bit of that 75 minutes.

SPEAKER_03 11:42

Wow, interesting. I actually felt the opposite, the silence and those gaps in between, where I usually would be like, all right, what's happening? I've I've wanna grab the phone, or I'm like, I'm starting to get disengaged. I actually was like really like relishing it at the in this time. And I think it goes back to what you were saying, Sean and Chris, actually, in terms of like the quality of the film and considering its time was so captivating in and of itself that I was just eyes to the screen, even in the silent moments, just really trying to grasp whatever they were trying to tell us in that silence. But yeah, interesting. I I I feel like now that you say that out loud, I'm like, yeah, I guess I you typically would have been like, all right, I I need more, I need something. I can't take the silence, but this time around I didn't feel that way at all.

SPEAKER_06 12:25

You know, I think though, when you think about like, okay, how do we linger in the silence? How does the mummy, how does the movie keep us captivated throughout? I thought maybe for me, it was because I was a per such a particular fan of trying to figure out how this is or how it was connected to the 1999 mummy, right? Kind of like in retrospect, having seen the remake and now watching the original for the first time, I found myself just being completely tickled by little moments. Like there was a quote about uh not liking to be touched because of an Eastern tradition, right? Or an Eastern prejudice. And there's these tiny little moments that get called back, even looking at, you know, one of the stars of this film and thinking about Rachel Weiss and her character in the mummy and how she was designed to look physically. So I found myself really surprised just how much in retrospect the 1999 mummy does connect to this, even though it's it feels like a very different story. But I also found myself surprised by how different Emtep is in this movie. When we think about the mummy himself, when we think about the plot itself, it's giving love story in a way that feels both compelling and toxic.

SPEAKER_03 13:38

Yeah, I've found myself like really surprised by how entranced I was with Emotep, and honestly, like really sympathizing with this character. And I don't know what that says about me, and I'm sure we'll unpack that in the spoiler zone. But I just I was his biggest fan, his motivations, everything, and it was just really like such a beautiful love story at the end of it, right? Like the the whole point of the plot to me was just like this incredible love story, and Imotep sold it for sure.

SPEAKER_06 14:05

And I think it's all good and it's all fun and games up until a certain point. So I don't think it says a whole lot more. I think you're a little too worried about what it says about you, because I think it's real fine for the majority of the film. I feel justified. Thank you, Chris.

SPEAKER_01 14:19

I found myself surprised uh thinking about the fact that this is 90 years old, which is just mind-blowing, right? But like the effects that they that they chose to use because they they choose them sparingly, I just found that even if like even if the makeup that they used was obvious that they had it, it wasn't necessarily bad. I think if they used supernatural effects, they were subtle or they were implied, which worked so much better than the modern light shows we get. I think we spend so much money on CGI and lasers and really ridiculous-looking explosions and all sorts of crazy stuff. And it's like you just don't have to go that hard, man. Like you can just imply that something's happening or show a little bit on screen, and it just works for the story and the character so much better.

SPEAKER_06 15:01

Hmm. We love a good subtext.

SPEAKER_02 15:03

Yeah, definitely. I think uh I think that is sub that is one big surprise, right? When you just think about it 90 years or 90 something years old, to think about that now is is pretty wild. Uh I was thinking about that the other day, and I was like, geez, man, that's all that's we're almost a it's almost a century old. That's insane to think about.

SPEAKER_06 15:23

What's also insane to think about is that when my grandmother was born, this movie was still very relatively new.

SPEAKER_03 15:29

I was just thinking the same thing. My grandmother was definitely a teenager when this came out. Incredible.

SPEAKER_02 15:36

It is wild. We're talking about like the dialogue, right? Like it's just kind of slow and it's just and it's just more. Somebody was mentioning it was just a lot more dialogue than you were expecting, or or whatever that comment was. And and you know, I think to that point, yes, there's just a lot more story to tell here, right? This isn't based off of novels per se, like some of the other Universal Monsters were based off of. Boris Karloff really does such a phenomenal job in this film. He really did a lot for this film. When you think about it, he wasn't really known at all when he did Frankenstein or played Frankenstein's monster, um, but it did so well when it came out that when they had to promote this film, all they really had to say was like Karloff's mummy, and it was just enough to get people excited about the film. Um, you know, there were there were some parts throughout the film that were a little bit surprising, and it and it hits me every time, and those are those abrupt like cutout uh those scenes where the sound just cuts out completely, and I can't tell where that came from, if that was a mistake, why there wasn't any background noise or white noise, because there were there's only a a couple of those moments throughout the film. Um, and then the rest of the film, when there is those silent parts, you still hear some background noise and some shuffling, but there are some abrupt points where you see you hear nothing, and you can tell that there should be sound because there's people moving around, and you can you should be able to hear somebody shuffling something off the table or whatever it is. So that was something that was pretty surprising, uh, and it hits me every time I watch it. It does throw you off a bit. Obviously, this didn't surprise me on this last watch, but it was super surprising to find that the um the music in the opening credits of the film is actually the same movement from Swan Lake that they used to open Bella Legosi's Dracula in 1931. That surprised me uh early, early on when I started really getting into these films. I thought that was interesting.

SPEAKER_03 17:32

Yeah, I actually just finished reading Dracula, and so I ended up watching that Dracula afterwards. And so when I started watching The Mummy this morning and I heard Swan Lake, I was like, oh, this is a sure sign that I'm going to eat this movie up. I loved it already.

SPEAKER_02 17:50

Yeah, it's so awesome. I mean, the score in in these movies or just the the sound and the music that they used in these movies is just really uh it's really awesome. I don't know why this surprised me so much, but this this was actually filmed in the deserts of California. Want wah wah. And I think it's like Red Rock Canyon. Uh it was slightly disappointing, I guess, right? Uh I watched the I don't know why. I mean, obviously it's you know, it's Hollywood, so I don't know what probably back then they're like, yeah, let's just ship everything over to Egypt and we'll, you know, it probably didn't make a whole lot of sense, but you know, I I did end up watching a video a while back of a guy that went to the Red Rock Canyons and actually found some of the sites that they used to shoot the film. It looked surprisingly the same now than it did 90 years ago.

SPEAKER_06 18:38

I think we should go. That's my vote.

SPEAKER_02 18:40

Right? It would be so cool.

SPEAKER_01 18:42

So I wasn't surprised, and I'll tell you why. I just one assumed like they they wouldn't spare that expense. But two, right, when I'm looking at it, all I'm thinking to myself is like this looks like Power Rangers. This has to be West Coast right here.

SPEAKER_02 18:54

I did not connect those two at all, but that is hilarious.

SPEAKER_06 18:58

Yeah, something else that surprised me and also disappointed me was a bit of the romance in this movie. I know I talked a moment ago about, you know, the love story that we get here and how compelling it can be in some ways, and you know, Binks telling you not to beat yourself up so much about it, but there's an alternative elements of love in this movie that I find problematic just too much. It disrupted my suspension of disbelief, and I thought to hell with you. I don't care if you make it to the end at one point. Uh I will say that was a bit of a disappointment, and I think my disruption for caring about the characters in that moment only further added to how not frightening this movie was, because then at that point I was actively rooting for the villain in this movie.

SPEAKER_03 19:43

At first I was worried about where you were going with this, but then I realized what you were saying, and I could not agree more. Wow. Yeah, that I think that also was the point where I was like, yeah, no, emotep forever. Take him out, team emotep, team mummy, team emotep team.

SPEAKER_02 20:00

Right? So listen, this is a love story. It is a love story, it is a story of eternal love through death, right? And and just reincarnation and all that stuff. But when you really think about it, all of these films that came around this time, it is at least from the universal classics, a lot of them, most of them are love stories deep down. Dracula is a love story. The creature from the Black Lagoon is a love story. Even Frankenstein can be a love story because afterward he's just seeking a bride. It's all just love. It's all just love. It's gothic romance, but it is a love story. I agree.

SPEAKER_06 20:37

What the world needs, Lao, is love, sweet love.

SPEAKER_01 20:40

But the love in the 1930s was very forceful, apparently. That's kind of the vibe that I picked up. And I do admit that like you can have, I think, a good horror film that has a good love story to it. That is absolutely possible. But I don't think this one comes across as too scary. I mean, obviously it's been 90 years, the effects aren't going to scare us, it's gotta be about suspense. And I think we have some good moments where you get a little bit of that. I think we have some good moments where you get some some acting that would be like absolutely frightening if if this was, you know, released today, if this was like a modern film and we saw it, we might be like, ooh, that guy's face, it's killing me, right? Um but I think like I I was into this too much with the context of the 1999 mummy. Because simply knowing who some of the characters are and knowing what their what their motivations might be, I I wasn't like perceiving this as scary. It's still that doesn't rem remove any enjoyment you can get from it. But like I didn't see this as like the exorcist, you know?

SPEAKER_06 21:34

Yeah, I mean I think at the at the bottom line, right? This is just a movie that you can watch without fear of nightmares, right? It's horror, it's comfort horror, it's it's safe for the whole family.

SPEAKER_02 21:46

Yeah, absolutely. And I agree with all of you, right? It's not a scary movie. What I would say is that maybe you might have a different perspective, having watched this film prior to watching the 1999 movie. Mummy. However, I do agree it's not a scary movie. It very well could have been back in the 30s. I'm not sure. I don't doubt it. No one had ever seen anything like that before. There were some pretty frightening films for their time that I would probably consider scarier than this film. Films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari or Nasferatu, I think those two films hit a little bit different and are a little bit darker and a little bit more demented and twisted that are definitely more frightening. But the thought of a mummy coming back to life trying to take your soul for any reason at all, whether it's love or not, that's kind of scary to think about.

SPEAKER_03 22:39

I mean, Boris Karloff's stare, Dead Pan stare, is it's a bit creepy to me. I found it a little bit creepy, but obviously I've seen creepier. But imagine 1930s me not doing well.

SPEAKER_06 22:51

Yeah. It's his prominent brow and his weathered leather face.

SPEAKER_02 22:56

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Those eyes, those eyes.

SPEAKER_06 22:58

It's when you have texture on your face and it becomes a problem.

SPEAKER_01 23:00

I think if if we consider the context of that, like this was like a recent thing, dragging up King Tut's tomb and opening it up. So like there's there's that I had a thing of like this this thing was actually found in the world, then like what if this were to happen with that, right? And so I don't think we have anything really like that these days to compare it to. But if we made a discovery on the moon tomorrow that there was some sort of like bacteria or virus living there, and then we made a movie about how that would kill us, I think we would get it more, perhaps, because it is it's like directly linked to the time in which the film is is being released.

SPEAKER_06 23:30

Uh I don't know. I feel like I just point you to Netflix's entire catalog of shitty sci-fi films of us finding shit on other planets.

SPEAKER_01 23:37

That's true. You mentioned something a little bit ago, Sean, um talking about Dracula, and I can't keep away from this, but is this just not Dracula in Egypt?

SPEAKER_02 23:46

That's it's a super good point. Uh there are a ton of similarities, a lot of parallels between the mummy and Dracula. Uh so yes, that that is a point that has been brought up. Uh, there are a lot of things that are very similar in in just the the the way that the story unfolds and things like that, for sure. I I agree with you a hundred percent.

SPEAKER_06 24:11

Okay, but let the record show Halloween Horror Knights did this Dracula versus the mummy versus Wolfman haunted house, and while the whole shit was set in like an Egyptian tomb, Dracula fucking won. So, I mean, if this is Dracula in Egypt, he's a little bit weaker for the experience.

SPEAKER_02 24:26

And you know, we discussed this in one of the uh B sides too. I do think overall Dracula's winning that battle no matter what, no matter where he's at. But um, you know, aside from the parallels of the movies, the story itself, I think the film gets the originality points here. Uh, there was nothing like this before it came out, as far as the story goes, not that I'm aware of. Uh, it was inspired by the discovery and opening of King Tut's tomb in 1922 and the lore around the curse of the pharaohs. Uh, it's just such a brilliant idea to make this film after the world had become infatuated with ancient Egypt. It was it was just such a great idea. Um, and you know, fun fact, the film was originally going to be called, I think you mentioned it uh earlier, Chris, uh uh Cagliostro, right? Which is based on the the famous Italian prophet, if you will, who claimed that uh he had lived for several centuries. Uh they changed it, knowing that there was a market for the love of all things Egypt after this, due to the discovery of King Tut's tomb, and changed it uh, I think to Imhotep, uh, then decided on the mummy just before its release.

SPEAKER_01 25:37

You have to give it credit though, because if you've seen the more recent mummy movies, like how many of those are there? And then those spawned their own spin-offs as well, right? And so how many movies now exist? How many ideas of what a what a living mummy would look like exist because of this film? But even a couple years afterwards, they started to make movies based on this. And so, like, it definitely created I don't know if if if it's a genre, but like an interpretation of living mummies.

SPEAKER_02 26:04

Yeah, there is a ton of mummy films. Curse of the mummy, the mummy's hand, the mummy's revenge.

SPEAKER_06 26:10

And you can't forget that time fucking Scooby-Doo threw down with the mummy, like culture, influential.

SPEAKER_02 26:16

Yeah, a bunch of kids wrapping themselves in toilet paper.

SPEAKER_03 26:18

Here I am thinking of the first Disney Channel original movie under wraps. A great one.

SPEAKER_02 26:24

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_03 26:25

Just me, just me. Okay. I would have to agree that, of course, there's gonna be immense originality points for this movie. I mean, I I agree that it sets the blueprint, right, for future mummy movies, but something that I was talking to my best friend about earlier today that I'm curious to get y'all's thoughts on. Considering that it is the blueprint, right, for mummy movies. There is that line where you start to think about what has happened to mummy movies after the fact in terms of maybe glamorizing the lore and I don't even know if this is a word, but sexifying it, you know, like kind of borderline being disrespectful to like the women, like the female gods and of and pharaohs, right? And then on top of the fact that let's just call it for what it is, we're like essentially monsterfying a sacred mortuary ritual that is in Egyptian culture. And so going into this movie, I was excited. But when I was talking to my best friend about how we were reviewing it, and she actually just went to the King Tut Museum today, so that's kind of how this conversation started. I was telling her that I was actually pretty impressed by how this movie didn't really, in my opinion, obviously I'm not Egyptian, so I can't say, but didn't really disrespect from what I could have expected. It didn't just disrespect that lore. Sure, it started it, but if we think about other movies at mummy movies after the fact, I can kind of see where maybe we're just taking this a little too far, but I don't know. What are y'all's thoughts?

SPEAKER_06 27:51

Man, okay, so the fetishization of an ancient ritual, the glamorization of it, uh, the appropriation of another culture's uh practices and putting it into mainstream cinema. I mean, these are all excellent points. It's tough to say because this is definitely made at a time when there's such little care for things like that. And you know, you think about there's even a quote in here about the British not doing things for loot, but doing it for science. It's kind of laughable now, like when you think of all things considered, but man. I think this movie could have been a lot worse for sure. I think there are a lot of things that were held back. But I think, you know, considering the mummy, even, uh considering the films I came after, there are points where things were absolutely made a caricature of Egyptians or you know, of these practices, and give me a lot to to chew on here.

SPEAKER_02 28:42

Yeah, that's a that's a heavy, a heavy topic or a heavy subject for sure. Uh but I I'm I'm here for it. I like it. I I do think that that wasn't the intent of the film for sure. I don't think they tried to do anything disrespectful. I do think that the thought of this story and the thought of putting this together, they really tried to to stay as close as they could to the actual um facts, if you will. I could be wrong, but I do think that they tried their best to do so. Um but I do agree there has been films that came after this film that probably, whether or not intentionally did kind of disrespect that um that nationality and that religion and all of that.

SPEAKER_06 29:23

Yeah, I know there's also been a lot of talk about Moon Knight being seen as like practicing cultural appropriation and things like that. And we'll drop some links into the show notes, right? Because I think this is obviously something that, you know, the conversation is starting here now on the show, but I know as this is gonna be something that we probably revisit very, very frequently.

SPEAKER_03 29:40

Yeah, I just thought it was pretty interesting because going into it, you're expecting that there are going to be lines crossed considering the time period, so I couldn't agree more. But I was really just, you know, props to even down to the casting, right? I mean, of course, casting to some extent was gonna be problematic, but I don't know. I think Boris Karloff to some extent didn't even really disrespect, in my opinion, in a way that he could have. There was no characters being played, like you said, Chris. So I just thought it was very interesting. And it's kind of makes you think like if this was the blueprint for mummy movies, what has happened as the years have gone on, right? But that's society and culture for you. The 90s. That'll do it. The 90s will do it to you.

SPEAKER_01 30:22

They did try to live, I think, in that in that place where they're, I don't know about respecting or not respecting, but they're at least bringing up kind of like the religion and the background of the characters inside this universe. We'll say that at least, all the way to the very end. And I think we leave it for a little bit um when we're when we're getting into our story, and then right at the very end, we get back to it. And we have to bring up some motifs and and some characters, if you will, uh, that kind of lend some timely, some timely assistance. Um I I'm not unhappy with the way that they wrapped wrapped it up that way. You know, that we have a little Deus Ex Machina going on, but that's okay. I think it it has to happen. But it just felt it just felt really abrupt at the very end. Not that, like, hey, give me more, I need 10 episodes necessarily, but I think it was just like the style of the day. It's like, all right, the story's told, done. Like, you know, check out, leave, get in your car.

SPEAKER_02 31:10

Yeah, I gotcha. You think it felt like a little bit rushed?

SPEAKER_01 31:13

Not necessarily rushed, but I think we get to our ending. And you know, you usually have like a little bit, you come down off the hill for a couple minutes, and they were just like, story's over, folks. Like it's cut to black.

SPEAKER_02 31:24

Gotcha, gotcha.

SPEAKER_06 31:24

It was giving you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here.

SPEAKER_03 31:27

I can't agree more. All of a sudden, I I heard nothing and I was like, oh, it's back to the silence a little bit. I can do this, but then I was like, oh wait, no, that's that's the end. It's literally written on the screen.

SPEAKER_06 31:39

There are the credits.

SPEAKER_03 31:40

But I will say, I I I agree with you, Mac, that the ending was really great. I mean, I I think it wrapped up nicely. I almost think that the ending is probably my favorite part of the movie, but it's those last two seconds. Literally the come off. They didn't even have me slide down the hill, they just pushed me off, and that's it. Hope I made it to the ground. Didn't even care to see if you go splat. They're just deuces.

SPEAKER_06 32:01

There's no way to tell. What a mince amar moment for you, huh? Oh no.

SPEAKER_02 32:04

I I could I could see that for sure. I agree. I think the ending uh to the film was great. It really wraps everything up, like you said. But I'm just no pun intended.

SPEAKER_06 32:15

Motherfucker.

SPEAKER_02 32:16

You know, you do get to see the climax of the film. It leads to, you know, a happy ending. Um overall, I would say it is satisfying. Um, so but yeah, I I can see the points of like you just it just kind of, you know, I guess fell off, but I I think overall the the ending was successful.

SPEAKER_06 32:35

It's what's to be expected. When we think about how simple this story is, I don't know that it could have gone any other way. I didn't find it in any way dissatisfying, but I think it was just one of those that puts a neat little bow on the end of a journey that we've been on with these characters since the beginning, and it doesn't try to do much more than that. And perhaps that was a very wise decision. Now, obviously, we've talked about a lot here, and we have to start getting into our ratings, so we'll consider these things carefully. But before we actually score this film, Sean, how would you describe the gore score?

SPEAKER_02 33:08

Well, this is 1932, so you gotta keep that in mind. There really isn't any gore here unless you count the effects they did to make Karloff uh look like the dead mummy. Uh overall, this is safe for the whole family to enjoy. There's nothing to really worry about here, like this isn't causing any nightmares, most likely. This film gets a low to no gore score.

SPEAKER_03 33:30

And what about the animal report? Friends, I wish I could say we were squeaky clean here, but uh we unfortunately are not. Uh nothing that we see, but something we definitely hear.

SPEAKER_06 33:40

Let's go ahead and get into our ratings then. The mummy from 1932. Was it a hack or a slash?

SPEAKER_02 33:45

We all know that this is one of my favorite horror movies of all time. It's one of my comfort films. Uh I I love the story behind it. Uh, it's dark, but you can relate in a way. It really touches you because the love is so strong that this guy came back from the dead for the princess. This film has great acting, great effects and makeup for its time, a great story to back it all up, and it has lasted the test of time. Uh, it inspired the 1999 remake of The Mummy with Brendan Fraser, which was also a box office success and has probably only grown in popularity as the years have gone on. Uh, there have been countless mummy films, as we've kind of talked about earlier. Uh, this is an absolute slash for me.

SPEAKER_03 34:31

All right, I'm gonna give this a slash uh for the simple reasons that it's simple, it's a fast movie, and it's Boris Karloff. I mean, how could you not, right? So for a 1930s film, it keeps you engaged from start to finish. And it's that love story, like you were saying, Sean, that it's just it's so captivating. It's a love story that's gone maybe a little bit wrong, but it just hits the spot. Ugh. And and it's a classic ultimately, right? And so I would say that it's a horror movie that you don't even realize it's a horror movie. And so you mentioned it a little bit earlier, Chris, but it's just one of those that, you know, is the example to give to people that maybe are wanting to get into horror or are a little skeptical of what to dive into first. This is a great and of course a classic to that, right? And like I mentioned earlier, it's a phenomenal blueprint for uh mummy movies that we now see in today's age, and even a more respectful one at that, in my opinion. But I'll say a fair warning. By the end of the movie, you'll be left wondering two things. One, who is the real antagonist here? And then two, you're gonna want to confront your partner or your future partner and wonder to what lengths are you willing to go to for me. Oof. And what lengths should you be willing to go? I said what I said.

SPEAKER_02 35:47

It's up for you to decide.

SPEAKER_01 35:48

All right. Well, here's what I'll say. If you're gonna make a movie in black and white, you better know what you're doing with light and shadow. If you're gonna make a movie that's character driven, you better have some people that can show up with some acting chops. And if you're gonna make a movie that has very few like effects, but it's supernatural, you better deliver with those effects. And I think this movie is able to do all of that. Even though it it felt a bit slow in its pace to me, just with some of its like silent scenes or some of its kind of like slow-moving things, I didn't look away. I didn't check my phone, I didn't sit there reading the news. We just sat there and watched this and commented on what was happening and how they chose to do things. And honestly, how Boris Karloff's face just draws you right into those eyes. But I think Boris Karloff 1 made this movie. That's just like absolutely a thing. Because without that face, without that in intense immotep, it wouldn't be the same. The emotep we got in 1999, sure, entertaining or whatever, and there's like lots of cool CGI things happening, I guess. But this emotep doesn't need a single effect, doesn't need a single power to draw you in and have and have have control over you. So yeah, I think it was it's just a really impressive film, especially considering that it's 90 years old. And I think if you're gonna make a movie like this, you just you just gotta know what you're doing, and they did. They really did. So it's a slash.

SPEAKER_06 37:04

So when I consider the mummy, obviously we have this like really rich, deep tie to this nostalgia of my childhood, you know, the dreams of what could be. And looking back on that story and looking at the power of that love story, but also how sinister that story was, I was so excited to look back to the origins of that and to really see where it all began. We talk so much on this show about slashers, or when I look back to some of the early slashers and find little bits of that DNA in even modern horror films now, and dating everything back to the ancestors within their films, and think, man, this is where this shit started, and it is timeless. And there's a quote in this movie that says, you know, my love has lasted in the temple of our gods, or you know, her love for you may bridge the centuries. And we think about the quality of this film, as you all have have shared in your ratings, this movie is about to be a century years old. Right, you know what I mean? Like that's that's a lot. This is a different era. And yet it's still very serviceable. There are even some older films like from the 50s that are getting a little bit weak to watch nowadays. But when we think about the simplicity of the story, which is where it shines, we think about the effects in this film again where it shines, and we think about just the power of the cast, even though Mac, as you alluded to earlier, it's very much like a stage, it's very much like a play. This feels more like theatrical acting than anything else, but it still works, it's compelling. And I think if you're someone who has enjoyed mummy adjacent content throughout your life, I think it is absolutely worthwhile to go back to the beginning and see where it all started. This one is absolutely a slash. And with that, the mummy from 1932 has earned a universal slash. Now you can't find this movie available for rent or purchase online, so go check it out. Then join us in the second half so we can get this unwrapped together. See you in a bit.

SPEAKER_01 39:23

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SPEAKER_06 40:33

Welcome back, folks. You are now entering the spoiler zone for the mummy, which has earned a universal slash. Now we have a lot to unwrap here, but before we get into the specifics of our ratings, let's go through the kills.

SPEAKER_02 40:44

Alright, so there's not a lot of kills in this film. It's actually going to be very hard to have like a diverse amount of favorite kills for this one. Uh, there's a total of four kills, I believe, in this film, including Imhotep during the flashback sequence. And then you've got Ralph Norton who died in the asylum, which I was on the fence about. But I'm curious, you know, for the sake of uh just having four to choose from, what were your all favorite kills?

SPEAKER_06 41:14

I'm gonna go with the figurative death of Imhotep's beloved. Because not only did she actually die thousands of years ago, she died again by way of him not being successful. And I think the death of their love is really the most tragic one of the whole movie. It is quite sad.

SPEAKER_01 41:31

I also did love the fact that in the remakes, she's like down to come back, but in this one she was like, How dare you?

SPEAKER_06 41:38

Yeah, it was all fun in games until she realized what she would have to go through and what she'd be giving up, right? It's like this idea of like reincarnation, but when you look at the 1999 mummy, it's very Bonnie and Clyde. It's very like two villains on the same side, manly madly in love. So I don't think you can ever really align with their love story as much as you can here.

SPEAKER_02 41:59

Yeah, that's an interesting fact. It isn't in this film, uh, it's it's almost like he tries to awaken with the same, you know, incantation or whatever it is that brought him back to life or reincarnated him, but it kind of actually backfired and just awoke the soul, the essence of that within her. And so it kind of it almost it almost felt like it backfired on him a little bit, not not didn't go to as planned.

SPEAKER_06 42:26

Here's why I'm slightly okay with it. I fell down a rabbit hole, a very deep rabbit hole, of fan fiction and Star Wars Expanded Universe and thinking about the comics, where Anakin, as Darth Vader, is hunting the world over and the galaxy over, trying to find ways to reincarnate Padme, and he goes on this quest. He visits her tomb where she's allegedly buried, and he's trying to discover all these ways to manipulate the force to bring her back to life, and some of the ways he's almost successful in that, and some of the ways he's haunted by that, and then thinking about the confrontation of the two of them together, it honestly I think was playing this whole idea up in my head. So I found the inability to resurrect her was very tragic.

SPEAKER_01 43:14

I I think I actually uh said something about Darth Vader when he was trying to bring her back because I I I felt that same vibe of like if you didn't go to this length, you wouldn't be the bad guy here. If you were just like coming to terms with with what you've lost, you would probably just be this tragic character. But because you're willing to do all this stuff just to bring her back, you're now the bad guy. And that said, I did appreciate though the Sith remote choke that that he was able to use on Sir Joseph Wemple. So I I I did like that because like the death itself, you know, was a bit hammy and that's okay. The clutching that at the chest, the clutching at the throat. We're trying to show what this could look like, but it definitely gave me vibes of like You know, the the the remote Jedi powers that we know exist in in in later Star Wars films, and and that's what I was thinking about was like, man, if a Sith could just choke you out from a distance, they would they would do that to everybody.

SPEAKER_05 44:13

That's happened in Star Wars.

SPEAKER_01 44:15

I I mean I don't know that much about it because Star Trek's better, but like I I believe you.

SPEAKER_06 44:19

Wow. Yeah, so the remote desktop access of the force, yeah, that's definitely a thing. It's happened.

SPEAKER_01 44:26

Your life is being remotely managed by an administrator.

SPEAKER_06 44:28

And I think, you know, Immatep really just reaching on over to help turn it all off and try again.

SPEAKER_03 44:33

I definitely know that Ralph Norton was confirmed deaf because in some ways it was kind of my favorite and kind of my least favorite because we didn't actually see it. And all because that manic laughter right at the beginning was already so unnerving. I know that that would a hundred percent be me if I ran into that kind of situation where I just see a mummy just get up and leave. But quite frankly, that's what you get, Ralph Norton, for messing with some artifacts, truthfully. I almost wish that we saw him actually go crazy in the hospital.

SPEAKER_06 45:06

Yeah. For them to say what a terrible curse and him to so eagerly say, Well, let's see what's inside. He had it coming. He had it coming. He only had himself to blame. And actually, to hear his manic laughter and then to hear how he died with you know laughing still in the straitjacket, it reminded me of a very specific song. And I always thought if I ever did get into Drag King, I would do this song by a group called Napoleon Something or Other, but it's called They're Coming to Take Me Away. Well, I'll drop a link in the show notes, and it has a manic giggling laughter. It's problematic, but it'll keep you up at night. Ooh, exciting.

SPEAKER_02 45:44

That uh that laughter was was crazy for sure. My favorite kill actually has to be Imhotep's kill itself. That that to me is the best kill in the film. Just uh watching him being mummified and buried alive, that must be that must have just been so horrific. Can you even imagine being like wrapped up like a mummy, still alive, and just put into the sarcophagus or whatever, and just being and just just dying in there. That that's just to me, just seems so horrific.

SPEAKER_01 46:20

That's one of the the true moments of horror in this film is is Imotep being wrapped up alive and then buried. And from what I've read, it's like not a common thing to do to people back then, but it happened.

SPEAKER_02 46:33

Yeah, it did happen. I just can't even imagine.

SPEAKER_03 46:36

You bring up that kill, and that's actually my favorite visual element as well. The phasing of him, you know, disintegrating little by little. I was really surprised by how well that was shot, and I just stayed transfixed again. He was so captivating, transfixed on his face, how it's subtly going from worse to worse, and even the faintest like bit of bones and skeleton or like the skeletal figure, and then reading up on the fact that and correct me if I'm wrong, Sean, because you're the expert, right? Did they end up using that makeup all over his body in that particular scene, even though it was just filmed from like bust up?

SPEAKER_02 47:13

They so I don't know if they actually, to be honest, if they use that makeup for his entire body.

SPEAKER_03 47:18

It was so interesting how they again captivating from like shoulders up and how that process must have been to like do all of that and then phase, cut, do it again, and then again, and then what were the effects to go into obviously superimpose like a skull? I don't know. I just thought it was super interesting.

SPEAKER_02 47:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 47:36

And what was wild to me was to know a not only the long the lengths that they're going to for such immaculate effects, really. Like I just picked up the NECA figure of the mummy, and like even just looking at the detail on that, I'm like, man, can I imagine having all those crusty bits on me? Absolutely not. But to then know there was a doll, a wooden doll used for so many of the shots. Yeah. Boris Karloff, you we didn't deserve you. You know what I mean? You really just were out here doing shit uh for like seconds of screen time.

SPEAKER_02 48:06

Yeah, they used uh they used the wooden doll for a lot of those shots. I I do know he purposely did want to be um in the shot in that opening scene where he's coming back to life because it was his like he fought for like the eyes. He wanted to he wanted to bring the eyes opening to life, which I think was brilliant, right? Like I think that had to happen to have the intensity of that scene or just to have that that iconic moment.

SPEAKER_01 48:31

It's good to know that they practiced safe mummification, you know. Made sure to wrap it up.

SPEAKER_06 48:36

No glove, no love.

SPEAKER_01 48:37

My favorite visual was also of Boris Kralov, but it was just the shots we get of his of his face with his eyes glowing when he is not a mummy, when he is a human being with leather skin, and we we zoom in and there's like the subtle glow behind him, and there's a glow coming from his face, but his eyes aren't necessarily like lit up, but somehow they're glowing. I don't know how they did it, but it was just so subtle that it was super effective and incredibly creepy.

SPEAKER_06 49:06

Oh man, the way that his face feels like it's it's lighting up on the inside, it felt like me anytime I see a spreadsheet. What I couldn't get into very much though was how weathered his face was. I just, you know, for for so many years that have passed between the opening moment of this movie then to when we see him really just show up and tell a bunch of guys where they can dig up his beloved. I thought, surely you've drank a little bit more water than the wrinkles in your face. You know what I mean? Because it wasn't even like aged wrinkles, it was just it was straight up tight dehydration. He needed a moisturizer, is that what you're saying?

SPEAKER_02 49:41

Maybe, maybe he needs some moisturizer. Maybe we can agree on that. My favorite visual element in this film is really tough. Uh, I think the set design is really amazing for its time in this film. Uh, I do think the makeup for Karloff is really awesome. Um, the makeup for Karloff took like about eight hours to put on and apply every day, which they actually had to have melted off at the end of each day of shooting, which has got to be so uncomfortable. Uh, I believe he even said that it's more it was more uncomfortable than the makeup for Frankenstein's monster, which is crazy to think about. Um, but if I had to pick, my favorite visual element has to be the end where the great and powerful Osiris, right, stops the curse of the mummy and you see Karloff decomposing, just like you said. It's just such a good scene, um, turning back into like the decrepit mummified form, and it it was just a really, really cool visual element, but there's so many pieces to this film, whether it's the set design, the lighting, uh, the makeup, and the effects, it's really, really, really tough to pick one.

SPEAKER_06 50:53

Man, it is tough to pick one. I think, though, that's a perfect bookend to what my favorite scene was. Because while there's so much power in that ending with Osiris ending the curse of the mummy, my favorite scene in moment was when the mummy comes to life, cracks open his eyes for the first time, but then we get this comical hand just reaching into the corner of the frame to grab the scroll. I don't know why that shit just absolutely tickled me and I died laughing watching it. But I loved it because it was the perfect amount of we've seen the mummy, we're not seeing too much of the mummy, we've seen the eyes open. It felt like restraint, it felt like self-control, it felt like we're not gonna ruin a good thing here. And I know that obviously realizing, you know, he sat through all this makeup application, he was only it was only used for a few seconds, and then to know that in fact there is that stiff wooden doll that's used for so much of it, this is more than likely an outcome of circumstance and necessity, right? They probably couldn't actually make this whole thing happen. But I love how little we see of him there because it makes him feel and sound more frightening. And look, I don't I don't know what the experience was like for anyone who watched this film in 1932. Did anyone think that the mummy was not Artis Bay? You know what I mean? Was there the plausible there? Did they think this was just a guy who was showing up, maybe doing the mummy's dirty work, kind of like the mummy's familiar? Uh that's I think an interesting question that I, you know, if I could travel back in time to pull some audiences, I'd want to I want to know what that was. Because the absolute monstrosity in that moment to the regular human guy a few uh you know a few moments later, absolutely stunning.

SPEAKER_01 52:43

What would have been really cool is like if we had a mummy stalking people, so not just a mummy that's trying to bring back his beloved, but a mummy stalking someone in the shadows, that correct amount that they gave us would have been so effective.

SPEAKER_02 52:58

That that scene, though, that you're talking about, Chris, the scene early on where we see the mummy coming back to life with the eyes slowly opening, the hand slowly moving off his chest, and then you see that hand creeping over to take the scroll. That is such a great scene for sure. I I don't know if I got the comical value out of it, but I do think it was just such an iconic scene in the film for sure.

SPEAKER_01 53:27

Can you imagine the yawn you would have after waking up thousands of years later? Just like your jaw would just crack.

SPEAKER_02 53:32

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_03 53:33

Such satisfaction.

SPEAKER_01 53:34

My favorite scene though was Imotep as Artith Bay meeting Helen for the first time in person, because his creepiness is just so over the top, and she is not reacting in a way that matches that, like whatsoever. And so I don't know if he did like a little mummy glamour on her or something, but she's just kind of like, here's this, you know. Apparently, every man in her life comes onto her in a really creepy way, but here's this other creeper now trying to talk to me, and he is just going just full mummy powers on her, and she has like no idea that that she should she should really be terrified for her soul. That scene is great because he shows up and he doesn't try to dress it up, he doesn't try to like hide it and be like, Oh, I'm just an admirer, uh, it's so nice to meet you. He's just like full on like, what's up, dude? I'm gonna eat that soul.

SPEAKER_03 54:19

Yeah, and speaking of Ardith Bay, actually, my favorite scene also has to do with Emotep being Ardith Bay. Um, but actually when he is being confronted about being Emotep by uh Dr. Muller, it's a super small moment, but um Dr. Muller makes this comment about how he would just like break his dry flesh into pieces, um, but his power is too strong. And I literally rewind rewinded this part because I was like, no, did my eyes fool me? Um Ardith Bay like has this small smirk that he put, like he just kind of like there's the smallest smirk right when he says that. And I was like, oh boy, this is where this is where shit's gonna hit the fan. Now he ain't playing because it's true. Like his power is too strong, and he knows it. And oh, it was the swagger leaving that scene. I was like, All right, emotep, let's go start messing with people. I'm ready. Team Emotep.

SPEAKER_02 55:18

Yeah, that was a great scene, especially as he like tried to deny it at first and then was just like, Yep, you got me, and here's what, you know. Um, you know, there's there's there's a lot of really great scenes. Uh, the short scene of Karloff's face, um, you know, close up, and I think this might be the one that you were talking about earlier, Mac, with the eye with the eyes glowing. Um, but this one, and if this is the one you're talking about, it slowly transitions to the next scene, but the face is kind of like translucent and fading away. It was just it was such a cool effect, and really thinking about the time in 1932, and to kind of see that transition was just really awesome. That's one of my favorite um scenes for sure. And uh another one that I have to mention is this scene where where uh Im Imhotep was showing Helen the the past, right? Um, and their story and the silent film vibes of that um of that cut scene and the score during that scene, the set design, like all of it, it was just all amazing. The narration by Karloff, his voice is just like so soothing. It just it was such that scene was so cool for me. Um that's gotta be on my in my top for sure.

SPEAKER_06 56:34

Well, let's talk about the logistics of how quickly Frank fell in love with her because that was out fucking rageous.

SPEAKER_01 56:41

Okay, not only did he fall in love with her upon meeting her, like he actually I think fell in love with her just upon seeing her. Like that was all it took in his mind. But then they carry her home, she's passed out, she's vulnerable, and he's like, What's up, girl? Do you know why I brought you to my house? Because I love you.

SPEAKER_03 56:58

She was not really having it. But until she was, though, and that's when I was like, Alright, who is the real antagonist here? A. B, is he some other pharaoh or something? What's going on there? Because what's the pool? Like, it's it's a bit disturbing.

SPEAKER_02 57:14

I think that's a that's a it it's an interesting point that that you brought up, right? I think that it would have been better explained if there was more that they chose to put in this movie that I think I'll talk about in just a minute, but but that is it was interesting and and the point that you brought up.

SPEAKER_06 57:33

I think what kills me is that I have a few times now in my life explained the concepts or like the meme or the joke of lesbian you-hauling, and that's what this motherfucker did. He just really met this girl one night and was like, I'm bound to you forever. Like, that's fucking no, no. And I think you know, we try to play on these like ideas of this romanticized notion of like love at first sight, but no, Frank, you are just a predator. No thanks, man. It's fucking weird. I think now my grumpy old age, I'm just seeing through it and thinking, I'm good, thanks.

SPEAKER_01 58:04

Let's be honest, he had an Egyptian fetish. Because even though he knew she was half Egyptian, he brought it up to her and pretended like he didn't know it.

unknown 58:11

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 58:12

Because she was like, How did you how did you like how did you know? And he's like, I just you know, I just figured. When somebody clearly told him earlier that she was half Egyptian.

SPEAKER_03 58:21

So basically, we've come to the conclusion that Frank is like the 1930s fuck boy.

SPEAKER_01 58:27

Yep, yep.

SPEAKER_03 58:28

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_06 58:29

All right, 100%. And then when he's pandered to, when he's enabled, when he's encouraged, her love for you may bridge the centuries. No. Her love for Emotep, let I mean, okay, up until the point he was gonna kill her, I was like, let's fucking reunite these lovers. Yeah. I was like, let's get them back together. They're having a great time. Now, at the point where he reveals he needs to kill her for that to happen, and then she was all like, fuck no, I'm not down for that. I'm not a consenting adult. I was like, all right, maybe we'd pause here, sir. Right. But up until that point, there's no real love there. What is it? Um, that one time she kissed you may bridge the centuries? What the fuck?

SPEAKER_03 59:07

Yeah, I didn't buy into their chemistry whatsoever. Not a single moment. Not any of the times where he said, I'm going to make you love me, or something to that effect. It was very rough.

SPEAKER_06 59:18

I'm gonna make you love me. Toxic.

SPEAKER_02 59:21

Yeah, no one was rooting for those two. Nobody was rooting for those two.

SPEAKER_06 59:25

Here's the thing. Now I'm I think we need worse love story next year for our end of your episode. Ooh, I love that. I love that.

SPEAKER_03 59:32

But you know, one person I was rooting for is Helen, really. Um, I just I loved her because for the majority of the time, though, until she really fell for that whatever trap Frank was giving, was pretty like savage with the clapbacks, you know. She was very like aware of what he was saying and what what he was trying to do for the most part. And when it comes to the ending where she is coming to and trying to be like, all right, nothing is okay, or even as Emotep's beloved, like both of those characters in and of themselves have a lot of agency of what they want and what they're okay with towards the end. Even when she was like begging the god that she was praying for help, really was like, all right, I need to get out of this situation and I need to get out of this real fast. I was like, good for you.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:20

I need an extra strategy for my crazy ex.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:23

Yeah, that's what that was giving. That's what that was giving. Meanwhile, I'm here like take me.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:29

Emotep should have watched the skeleton key and and used a little hoodoo because trying to like mummify someone and then bring them back as a living mummy, what's the point? Just get a new body, like there's a better way to do this.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:42

I wonder if there was something in the uh Book of the Dead that could have uh that could have done just that.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:47

I can appreciate though that he said it wasn't just your body I loved.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:53

See, again, this is the danger of the this toxic and problematic portrayal of romance. Oh, I don't love you for your body, I love you for your mind. Let me fucking kill your ass and bring you back. The things we're conditioned for.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:05

He's like, I didn't love you for your body, therefore let me have control over it. Quick logistical question though. Dr. Muller, who we all read, if you have the captions on, it clearly states Dr. Muller, yet like every dude in this movie says Dr. Miller.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:19

Yeah, I noticed that. I I didn't pick up on it for a while, but yes, they do they do refer to I and and sometimes I had to play it back. Yeah, a lot of them do refer to him as Miller.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:30

Oh, I don't know if you know this, but in the 1930s when education was at its worst, we often just swapped vowels and their pronunciation.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:38

Oh, sweet. Sweet.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:40

Lies with Chris.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:41

You couldn't uh no no one's winning Wheel of Fortune back then.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:45

There was a great vowel shift a while ago, but this is this was apparently just the a little vowel shift.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:50

Overall, Boris Karloff and Zita Johan, they just both did a a really great job. Boris Karloff obviously um really steals the show. Um he's just so good, he brings a certain energy to the role. Zita just did a phenomenal job as well as the lead actress. She's a theater actress for sure. A lot of these people had kind of theater vibes, but I think she started on Broadway. She just brought a certain a certain aspect to the to the role that I thought was really successful, and I thought they they had a really good chemistry throughout the film between her and Boris. I I do think she also really enjoyed working with Boris from what I've read. Oddly enough, her last film was actually a horror movie. Her last film was actually a horror movie called uh Raiders of the Living Dead from 1986, uh, which was about a mad scientist making zombies on a remote island.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:45

Mmm. It's giving sci-fi.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:47

I've never seen it.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:48

I thought you were gonna say it was a zombie crossover of Indiana Jones.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:51

I know, with that kind of title.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:53

Yeah, with Raiders of, that's what I was racing myself for.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:56

14 years later, they would have made Raiders, and they would you would have raided somebody on MTV. That's what it would be. That zombies of seven.

SPEAKER_06 1:03:03

I'm here for that. Oh, jeez. I do have to agree completely, the chemistry between them was palpable the entire film. And I really think that was more so not even just because of how great he was, but but how but because of how effective she was in her role. She, in these moments when neither of them are on screen, I did find moments of this movie a little bit of a labor to get through, a little bit taxing. It was still fun overall, but it was nothing like these uh men in cahoots with each other where I was like, all right, let's just change things up. I want to hear I want her or I want the mummy. I don't want to I don't want to see any of you clowns just out here uh making secret deals in the back rooms. And in the moments when either one of them is on screen, it's almost like they're like this grounding presence that really brings every everything together in terms of like the magic of the movie. And again, you know, talking about how even Rachel Wise's character looks in the 1999 remake, she's modeled very similarly after Helen, which was completely mind-blowing to obviously see now. But I I absolutely loved the sassiness of her and the power and the creepiness of Boris Carloff as Ardith Bay. They're like just com two complete powerhouses in this movie. And I think everyone else played their parts. They were supporting actors, it was fine, but I think there was absolutely no comparing to the two of them.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:26

Let's be honest, if this was a if if they made a version of this, like if Blumhouse made it today, the movie would be about Helen. And that's what should have happened. Like it really should have centered, I think, even more on Helen, because really those are the two central characters of the story, and everyone else is kind of filler, even though they're doing most of the talking and most of the moving. It's really about her and it's really about him. And it goes back, you know, into ancient times, of course. Um, but I I totally agree that like when they're on screen, they're they're leading the rest of the cast.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:00

I think we can all agree that the acting was one of the best parts of this film, really. I mean, Boris Karloff, of course, is very notable for that. But I think having to pick a worst part is kind of tough here. Um I've I've mentioned some things earlier that I wasn't a huge fan of, so I'll I'll I'll go easy. I'll say the pacing was probably my least favorite part in parts. Um I'll I have to call it the worst part, but it's really not that bad. But like there were some parts here that if I were watching this at like nine o'clock at night, I probably would have fallen asleep. And maybe that's a me thing, it's not a movie thing, but like some of that silence, some of the still shots we get, even though they're not actual stills, there's stuff moving in the background. Um, it does give me a little only God forgives, um, which is a movie that has some very, very slow still shots.

SPEAKER_06 1:05:51

So I was watching this for the first time at like 10 a.m. on a day when I was completely exhausted. This was actually on Saturday, and I I really knew that I needed a nap and I I dozed off a little bit. Uh, but that was for sure a me thing because I found the pacing in this when I was like awake and alert completely fine. I didn't find myself particularly bored for very long throughout most of it. Worst part of this movie is absolutely Frank and everything he stands for. Fuck that guy. That's it. Like easiest thing. Uh we talk about pacing. If we want to trim something out, trim their kiss. Trim them fucking canoodling, right? Can trim anything with Frank ride the hell out of there. Because you know what? Who who saved Helen? Helen saved Helen.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:35

Absolutely. I think that ultimately I understand why Frank's character needs to exist to some extent, but I could definitely do without. Aside from that, I agree. Like if I really had to think of a worse part aside from him, maybe it's just of course that this is a 1930s film. I expect this going into it, um, where there's gonna be a couple delays in between things, and there's certainly moments of that. Uh one that stands out to me right off the top of my head is actually when I believe it's the Nubian that shows the the sword or the knife, sorry, is going to clearly go after Helen to kill her. There is like a very, very clear delay between the showing of the knife and then her screaming and running away. It definitely had me like it broke me for a little bit. I was like, all right, here we go. Like that's you know, that's telling of the times and and filmmaking in that era. But even then, i there's not many moments of it, at least not that I noticed, because I was so captivated. So, I mean, that's the only thing I could think of that's like, alright, yeah, a little bit of a of a giggle here and there.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:47

Maybe I'll change my answer not to the pacing, but to the phrase the Nubian. I think maybe that should be listed as the worst part of this movie.

SPEAKER_05 1:07:54

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:55

I can definitely align with that. I I agree, though, overall, it is hard to find a worse part of the film, and that's what brings me to my worst part of the movie, and that was actually what they chose to cut out of the film. Because they actually chose to cut out of a uh to cut out a scene depicting the various forms of Anksunamen reincarnated over the centuries, which would have been really cool and really and really important to the plot of the film, and that's why I was alluding to earlier is you know, we touched on Frank falling for her right away. We touched on, you know, men gravitating to her right away, and through this scene, you get to see her in different reincarnated forms in different eras of history, and there's always somebody that's that's longing for her or falling for her, um, and she's always just kind of like pushing that person away. And I just thought that that was uh that was just such an interesting scene that I just felt like should have been in the film and could have been in the film, and I felt like it was really important to the story.

SPEAKER_06 1:09:02

Man, you say that, and I immediately think, and maybe it's because Binx was talking about Dracula earlier, but I think of the quote, I've crossed oceans of time to find you. That would have just made that shit even more romantic.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:13

Absolutely. And I mean, I think at the same time it goes to show you that like Frank, you stood no chance, bro.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:19

No chance.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:19

Until I guess you did. Oh gosh, why, Frank? Why? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:24

There's just something attractive about big red flags.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:27

I'm bringing that up at therapy.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:29

I will credit Sean getting us to really finally get this on the docket because I don't know that we would have actually gotten to it for a while had you not been joining us. I think it was one that came to front of mind. I'm glad I watched it. You know, I think watching this made me wish I had a projector set up at home with like a popcorn maker in the corner and could settle into an actual like night of theater.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:52

Yeah, definitely the vibe for the movie. Absolutely. And I agree. I've I've been wanting to finally do this, especially after I'd seen the original Dracula. I was like, all right, well, I already took that one step, gotta like, you know, continue on. So it was really great. I I actually think I might see myself rewatching this again. I don't see why not. It's it's quick, it's fun, it's simple. Like, I don't know, why not? I enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_06 1:10:17

I'm actually really excited because in this bundle I got this movie, Dracula, The Brighter Frankenstein, the Invisible Man, Phantom of the Opera, The Wolfman, Creature from the Black Lagoon, and Frankenstein. I think I'm just gonna take not my next day off, but perhaps the next day after that, and just like have these on in the background all day long and just chill, you know, like really enjoy some alone time. I think I'm gonna absolutely put this back into the mix.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:44

Yeah, that's awesome. It's a really great idea. I'm super glad that this happened for this podcast. I uh I feel like everything happens for a reason. I feel honored to have brought this forward. Um, I wish we were all watching it together because that would have been super special. Seeing as this is one of my favorite films of all time, right? I will definitely be watching it again. I watch it every so often. It brings me back to fond memories of my childhood, spending time with my grandmother. It's a feel-good movie for me. It's one that's always gonna come back in rotation for me, so it definitely has rewatch value. It's just such a good one.

SPEAKER_06 1:11:20

I love that, Sean. Maybe one day for one future classic or something, we can have a little Floridian movie night. You know, I think it's no surprise, obviously, Sean, with the love that you have for this movie that this is something that you're gonna be revisiting again. Obviously, we all have the desire to, but I think what is even more fascinating is what still remains to be learned from Max Factor Fiction.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:42

Number one, as you mentioned earlier, Sean, the process of getting into the mummy costume took around eight hours for makeup artist Jack Pierce to apply it. But for 1931's Frankenstein, Karloff would have to wake up at three in the morning to get makeup applied for a monstrous 12 hours.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:59

Ooh, oh, pulling out the tough ones.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:02

So the thing about these, right, is you know, it's all in the details. Now, I will say it does seem like it would take a whopping 12 hours. Is that what you said, Mac? It's like Indeed. Alright. That sounds about right.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:15

So you know what? I'm gonna just say YOLO and say fact.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:19

So I'm trying to actually remember this fact. I know it took a very, very long time, and I knew these ones were gonna come that that these ones were gonna come, and you were gonna try to throw me off with these, Mac, but I'm trying to actually remember, and 3 a.m. is a specific detail, and 12 hours is a specific detail. I could be wrong, but I do want to say fact on that one because I do think that I remember learning that.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:43

This one's a fiction. So close. So close. Uh there is a three.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:47

Yeah, there's a detail there.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:49

There's a three somewhere in there, but it's actually about three hours to get into makeup for Frankenstein.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:53

Oh, there it is. There it is.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:55

So it was a lot, it was a lot better, but the mummy 100% took longer.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:00

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 1:13:00

I think what I love so much is that you two are so fresh to Mac that you have yet to understand his lies.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:06

I see, that's the tough part about this fact and fiction factor fiction.

SPEAKER_06 1:13:10

I agree.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:11

It's all fact until it's suddenly wrong. One of these days, one of these days I'm gonna best you. You're gonna see.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:16

I hope so, because I've really I'm really very like very easy to get the right answer with, typically. But let's go to number two and see how we do here. So Boris Karloff originally turned down the role of the monster for Frankenstein and had to be persuaded during a three-hour conversation with actress Mae Clark.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:32

I'm gonna say fiction because I think we were talking about er earlier that this was like his first kind of like role, in a sense, right? Or like this is his first opportunity or something to that effect. I don't know. I feel like that doesn't sound right. I'm gonna say fiction.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:51

I I love I love how we're throwing the facts from alternate movies with bar with Boris Karloff.

SPEAKER_06 1:13:59

And uh and something that I love is when Mac gets into a theme. For example, the first time he did uh fact or fiction, it was just gator facts with Mac for Krawl. Yeah, wasn't about the movie, just gators.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:15

Nope. Yep.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:16

Love it.

SPEAKER_06 1:14:17

I love it.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:18

I don't 100% know if I actually know this one, but I do think that is a fact.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:23

Sweet. This one is a fiction.

SPEAKER_06 1:14:25

So I bested you!

SPEAKER_01 1:14:27

Yeah, you bet you you did it. So he's eating lunch uh in the uh universal like cafeteria, and director James Whale invites him over for some coffee and tells him he wants them to test for a damned awful monster. So he was somewhat hurt because he thought it was looking good that day, and he was like, Why does he want me to test for a monster? But he was delighted because of course it meant another job if he was able to land it. Hmm.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:14:52

How sad his self-esteem was hurt.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:53

You know, I could see him just being like, but I I didn't I wore my suit and everything. Number three, more Karloff. Karloff had bit parts in more than 70 movies before landing that 1931 Frankenstein, and even had to get odd jobs to pay the bills between gigs, including driving a cement truck.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:09

Oof. Jeez.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:11

Alright, I'm gonna say fact though, because his voice is iconic. So if it was like like sound bits and stuff like that in in other films, I mean maybe. I I'm gonna say I'm gonna say fact.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:22

Wow. I don't know if I know this much about Boris Karloff.

SPEAKER_06 1:15:26

The real kicker is gonna be when it's facture fiction for Frankenstein and he's pulling shit from the bucket.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:31

I know, right? Switching it up. That's the yeah. I feel like I know that he has done some interesting jobs in the past, or some some kind of jobs that were unrelated to pay the bills. I don't know if it was 70 gigs or if it was a cement truck or or not, but um I'm gonna say fiction.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:49

You're doing so well. This one is a fact. Yeah. Um he had all sorts of roles in low-budget films, silent movies, talkies, uncredited roles. I think he did some stage work. But yeah, at one point he, you know, needed to pay some bills, and a friend hooked him up with uh getting, you know, getting a job driving a cement truck.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:09

Oh jeez.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:09

Nice. Well, let's let's land then. Uh let's land this playing with number four. The director, Carl Freund, has 20 directing credits, but his career in film suddenly ended after directing the 1935 film Mad Love, starring Peter Laurie and Francis Drake.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:23

Alright, now here's the make or break for myself. I'm just gonna shoot fiction. That's it.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:30

Yeah, I definitely have no idea about this one because I don't know much about this director outside of these films. Um I'll just go, I mean, just for the sake of it, I'll go fact.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:40

Oh, we're not we're not batting a thousand tonight. This one is a fiction.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:43

There you go.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:44

So um, yeah, that was his last film directing, but he's actually better known as a cinematographer. He actually invented the unchained camera technique because previously you would need to be like on a tripod still to capture a shot. So this allowed filmmakers to get shots from cameras in motion, enabling us to use things like pan shots, tracking shots, tilts, and crane shots, and even more. Um he also designed the flat lighting system that is still used in sitcoms to this day. Yeah. You flood the set in light so you can shoot from three different moving cameras, and you don't have to worry about changing the lighting between shots. You may recognize it from the massive TV series he shot, I Love Lucy.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:23

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:24

Interesting.

SPEAKER_05 1:17:24

Dang. We love a Cuban love story.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:26

A Cuban love story, I feel seen. Look at that.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:30

He's actually, I think, got over like 150, 160 cinematography credits. He also uh was a cinematographer on Metropolis. So pretty impressive stuff.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:39

Yeah. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:40

Well, there you have it. And that's been fact or fiction.

SPEAKER_06 1:17:43

Well, there you have it, folks. Crusty drip aside, the mummy from 1932 has earned a universal slash. Now we certainly had a robust discussion here, but it doesn't end here by any means. We want to know what you think.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:55

You can join in on the conversation by hanging out with us for free in our Discord. Click the link in our show notes to sign up.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:01

If you've enjoyed listening to this episode, consider becoming one of our patrons. Visit patreon.com slash hacker slash to enjoy more of the show with early access, extended episodes, bonus content, and live shows.

SPEAKER_05 1:18:11

We'll see you next time, folks. And remember, this is a plot just between us.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:16

The time has come for the final prayer.