''Bram Stoker's Legend of the Mummy'', or simply ''Bram Stoker's The Mummy'', is a 1998 American

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, ap ...

based on

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busi ...

's 1903 novel ''

The Jewel of Seven Stars ''The Jewel of Seven Stars'' is a horror novel by Irish writer Bram Stoker, first published by Heinemann in 1903. The story is a first-person narrative of a young man pulled into an archaeologist's plot to revive Queen Tera, an ancient Egypti ...

''. Directed by

Jeffrey Obrow Jeffrey Obrow is an American film director and a professor at USC School of Cinematic Arts. He has also produced many music videos with Propaganda Films. Career Obrow's first project, ''The Dorm That Dripped Blood'', was underfinanced but thro ...

, it features an ensemble cast that includes Louis Gossett Jr., Eric Lutes, Amy Locane,

Lloyd Bochner Lloyd Wolfe Bochner (July 29, 1924 – October 29, 2005) was a Canadian actor. He appeared in many Canadian and Hollywood productions between the 1950s and 1990s, including the films ''Point Blank'' (1967), '' The Detective'' (1968), '' The ...

, Victoria Tennant,

Mary Jo Catlett Mary Jo Catlett (born September 2, 1938) is an American actress. She is a main cast member on the animated series ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', providing the voice of Mrs. Puff. She is also known for originating the role of Ernestina in the 1964 Bro ...

Aubrey Morris Aubrey Morris (born Aubrey Steinberg; 1 June 1926 – 15 July 2015) was a British actor known for his appearances in the films ''A Clockwork Orange'' and ''The Wicker Man''. Early life and career Morris was one of nine children born to Becky ( ...

, and

Richard Karn Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

. Morris previously appeared in '' Blood from the Mummy's Tomb'', a 1971

Hammer Films A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as wi ...

adaptation of the same novel.

Plot

Art historian Robert Wyatt is summoned to the house of his old flame, Margaret Trelawny. Her father, noted Egyptologist Abel Trelawny, was found in a coma in his study with claw marks on his wrist. Per his dictated wishes, Trelawny asks that he be kept in the room with his Egyptian artifacts with two witnesses at all times. Hoping to solve the mystery of Trelawny's case, Wyatt contacts Corbeck, an archaeologist who worked with Trelawny in the 1970s in uncovering the tomb of an Egyptian queen.

Cast

* Louis Gossett Jr. as Corbeck * Amy Locane as Margaret Trelawny * Eric Lutes as Robert Wyatt *

Mark Lindsay Chapman Mark Lindsay Chapman (born 8 September 1954) is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Chief Officer Henry Wilde in the film ''Titanic'' (1997), as John Lennon in the film '' Chapter 27'' (2007) and as Dr. Anton Arcane on the USA Net ...

as Daw *

as Abel Trelawny *

as Mrs. Grant *

as Doctor Winchester * Laura Otis as Lily *

Julian Stone Julian Stone (born 31 December 1962) is an English actor/writer/producer. He has appeared extensively on the screen, guest-starring in many popular TV shows including ''Suburgatory'', ''Maron'', ''Castle'', ''Columbo'', ''Mad About You'', ''Bayw ...

as Jimmy *

as Brice Renard *

Portia Doubleday Portia Ann Doubleday is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Sheeni Saunders in the film '' Youth in Revolt'' (2009), Chris Hargensen in the film '' Carrie'' (2013), and as Angela Moss in the USA Network television drama ''Mr ...

as Young Margaret * Rachel Naples as Queen Tera * Donald Monet as Hutchins *

Kelly Perine Kelly Perine (born March 23, 1969) is an American television actor, writer, director, producer, and comedian. Perine attended Lake Forest Academy near Chicago, Illinois, where he studied stage acting. He spent his undergraduate years at Pomona Co ...

as Keene * Victoria Tennant as Mary

Production

''Bram Stoker's The Mummy'' is the fourth film adaptation of the 1903 novel ''

'' by

, following the 1970

television play A television play is a television programming genre which is a drama performance broadcast from a multi-camera television studio, usually live in the early days of television but later recorded to tape. This is in contrast to a television movi ...

''The Curse of the Mummy'' (an installment of the TV series ''

Mystery and Imagination ''Mystery and Imagination'' is a British television anthology series of classic horror and supernatural dramas. Five series were broadcast from 1966 to 1970 by the ITV network and produced by ABC and (later) Thames Television. Outline The se ...

''), the 1971

production '' Blood from the Mummy's Tomb'', and the 1980 film '' The Awakening''.

Special effects

Effects artists Chad Washam and Chris Fording provided the special effects makeup for the film, which included a mummy prop built using a sculpted head, rubber hands, and a

spandex Spandex, Lycra, or elastane is a synthetic fiber known for its exceptional elasticity. It is a polyether-polyurea copolymer that was invented in 1958 by chemist Joseph Shivers at DuPont's Benger Laboratory in Waynesboro, Virginia, US. The ge ...

suit with cloth bandages glued to it; mechanical seven-fingered hands; shriveled face makeup; a baby mummy suit; and a

foam latex Foam latex or latex foam rubber is a lightweight form of latex containing bubbles known as cells, created from liquid latex. The foam is generally created though the Dunlop or Talalay process in which a liquid latex is foamed and then cured in a m ...

chest appliance for a death scene. The effects crew also utilized "lots of dirt", with Washam noting, "This whole movie is dirty. We must have used over 100 pounds of the stuff."

Release

The film was released

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

in 1998 by A-Pix Entertainment on VHS and by Simitar Entertainment on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

Reception

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' gave the film a score of two out of five stars, writing that it "unearths a story familiar from classic

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

and Hammer horror movies; unfortunately, this straight-to-video rendition of the tale has few chills, and pales in comparison to the originals." Alan Jones of the ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'' also awarded the film two out of five stars, and wrote that it "features the least believable Mummy make-up in horror history".

References

Bibliography

External links

* * * * {{The Jewel of Seven Stars 1998 films 1998 fantasy films 1998 horror films American fantasy films American supernatural horror films American direct-to-video films Direct-to-video horror films Films based on Irish novels Films based on horror novels Films based on works by Bram Stoker Mummy films 1990s English-language films Films directed by Jeffrey Obrow 1990s American films