Bram Stoker's Legend of the Mummy

Last updated

Bram Stoker's Legend of the Mummy
Legend of the Mummy.jpg
DVD cover
Directed by Jeffrey Obrow
Written by
  • Lars Hauglie
  • Jeffrey Obrow (adaptation)
  • John Penney (adaptation)
Based on The Jewel of Seven Stars
by Bram Stoker
Produced by
  • Bill Barnett
  • Robert E. Baruc
  • Ted Driscoll
  • Gina Fortunato
  • Hanel Goldstein
  • Jeffrey Obrow
Starring
CinematographyAntonio Soriano
Edited by Gary Meyers
Music byRick Cox
Production
company
Goldbar Entertainment
Distributed byNew City Releasing
Release dates
  • March 30, 1998 (1998-03-30)
(Germany)
  • December 29, 1998 (1998-12-29)
(United States) [1]
Running time
96 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1-3 million [1] (estimate)

Bram Stoker's Legend of the Mummy, or simply Bram Stoker's The Mummy, is a 1998 American fantasy horror film based on Bram Stoker's 1903 novel The Jewel of Seven Stars . Directed by Jeffrey Obrow, who is one of the writers that adapted the novel for the film, it features an ensemble cast that includes Louis Gossett Jr., Eric Lutes, Amy Locane, Lloyd Bochner, Victoria Tennant, Mary Jo Catlett, Aubrey Morris, and Richard Karn. Morris previously appeared in Blood from the Mummy's Tomb , a 1971 Hammer Films adaptation of the same novel.

Contents

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

Production

Jeffrey Obrow was inspired adapt a classic horror novel to film after friend and colleague Matthew W. Mungle won the Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling for his work on Bram Stoker's Dracula . [2] After some research, Obrow came across the novel The Jewel of Seven Stars by Bram Stoker and decided the book would serve as the basis for his next film. [2] John Penney wrote the initial adaptation, but due to scheduling conflicts Penney was unable to complete the script and Obrow finished it which would then be followed by a rewrite by Lars Hauglie. [2]

Bram Stoker's The Mummy is the fourth film adaptation of the 1903 novel The Jewel of Seven Stars by Bram Stoker, following the 1970 television play The Curse of the Mummy (an installment of the TV series Mystery and Imagination ), the 1971 Hammer Films production Blood from the Mummy's Tomb , [3] and the 1980 film The Awakening . [3] Obrow didn't watch any of the prior adaptations as he didn't want to let the prior works influence the direction of the film. [2]

Obrow attempted to pitch the film in 1994 but was met with disinterest from producers. [2] After failing to secure financing, Obrow instead created a 10-minute promotional video utilizing some aspiring effects artists who worked under his colleagues from The Kindred (1987 film) as well as USC Film School students Obrow had taught a class on independent film. [2] Hanel Goldstein and Bill Barnett at Goldbar Entertainment were impressed by Obrow's video and came on board to produce the film. [2] Goldstein and Barnett financed the film through foreign pre-sales as well as partnering with home video distributor A-PIX Home Video. [2]

Special effects

Effects artists Chad Washam and Chris Fording provided the special effects makeup for the film, [4] which included a mummy prop built using a sculpted head, rubber hands, and a spandex suit with cloth bandages glued to it; mechanical seven-fingered hands; shriveled face makeup; a baby mummy suit; and a foam latex chest appliance for a death scene. [5] 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." [5]

Release

The film was released direct-to-video in December 29, 1998 [1] by A-Pix Entertainment on VHS and by Simitar Entertainment on DVD.

Reception

TV Guide gave the film a score of two out of five stars, writing that it "unearths a story familiar from classic Universal and Hammer horror movies; unfortunately, this straight-to-video rendition of the tale has few chills, and pales in comparison to the originals." [6] Alan Jones of the Radio Times also awarded the film two out of five stars, and wrote that it "features the least believable Mummy make-up in horror history". [7]

Related Research Articles

Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve classic horror characters such as Baron Victor Frankenstein, Count Dracula, and the Mummy, which Hammer reintroduced to audiences by filming them in vivid colour for the first time. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies, as well as, in later years, television series.

<i>Bram Stokers Dracula</i> (1992 film) Film directed by Francis Ford Coppola

Bram Stoker's Dracula is a 1992 American gothic horror film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and written by James V. Hart, based on the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. The film stars Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, and Keanu Reeves, with Richard E. Grant, Cary Elwes, Billy Campbell, Sadie Frost, and Tom Waits in supporting roles. Set in 19th-century England and Romania, it follows the eponymous vampire (Oldman), who falls in love with Mina Murray (Ryder), the fiancée of his solicitor Jonathan Harker (Reeves). When Dracula begins terrorizing Mina's friends, Professor Abraham Van Helsing (Hopkins), an expert in vampirism, is summoned to bring an end to his reign of terror. Its closing credits theme "Love Song for a Vampire", was written and performed by Annie Lennox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abraham Van Helsing</span> Fictional character created by Bram Stoker

Professor Abraham Van Helsing is a fictional character from the 1897 gothic horror novel Dracula written by Bram Stoker. Van Helsing is a Dutch polymath doctor with a wide range of interests and accomplishments, partly attested by the string of letters that follows his name: "MD, D.Ph., D.Litt., etc.", indicating a wealth of experience, education and expertise. He is a doctor, professor, lawyer, philosopher, scientist, and metaphysician. The character is best known through many adaptations of the story as a vampire slayer, monster hunter and the arch-nemesis of Count Dracula, and the prototypical and the archetypal parapsychologist in subsequent works of paranormal fiction. Some later works tell new stories about Van Helsing, while others, such as Dracula (2020) and I Woke Up a Vampire (2023) have characters that are his descendants.

<i>Blood from the Mummys Tomb</i> 1971 film by Seth Holt

Blood from the Mummy's Tomb is a 1971 British horror film starring Andrew Keir, Valerie Leon and James Villiers. It was director Seth Holt's final film, and was loosely adapted by Christopher Wicking from Bram Stoker's 1903 novel The Jewel of Seven Stars. The film was released as the support feature to Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde.

<i>Dracula</i> (1958 film) 1958 horror film directed by Terence Fisher

Dracula is a 1958 British gothic horror film directed by Terence Fisher and written by Jimmy Sangster based on Bram Stoker's 1897 novel of the same name. The first in the series of Hammer Horror films starring Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, the film also features Peter Cushing as Doctor Van Helsing, along with Michael Gough, Melissa Stribling, Carol Marsh, and John Van Eyssen. In the United States, the film was retitled Horror of Dracula to avoid confusion with the U.S. original by Universal Pictures, 1931's Dracula.

<i>The Jewel of Seven Stars</i> 1903 novel by Bram Stoker

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 Egyptian mummy. It explores common fin de siècle themes such as imperialism, the rise of the New Woman and feminism, and societal progress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vampire film</span> Film genre

Vampire films have been a staple in world cinema since the era of silent films, so much so that the depiction of vampires in popular culture is strongly based upon their depiction in films throughout the years. The most popular cinematic adaptation of vampire fiction has been from Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula, with over 170 versions to date. Running a distant second are adaptations of the 1872 novel Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu. By 2005, the Dracula character had been the subject of more films than any other fictional character except Sherlock Holmes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe R. Lansdale</span> American novelist, martial arts instructor

Joe Richard Lansdale is an American writer and martial arts instructor. A prose writer in a variety of genres, including Western, horror, science fiction, mystery, and suspense, he has also written comic books and screenplays. Several of his novels have been adapted for film and television. He is the winner of the British Fantasy Award, the American Horror Award, the Edgar Award, and eleven Bram Stoker Awards.

Dracula is an 1897 novel by Bram Stoker.

<i>Bram Stokers Dracula</i> (1974 film) 1973 television movie directed by Dan Curtis

Dracula, also known as Bram Stoker's Dracula and Dan Curtis' Dracula, is a 1974 British made-for-television gothic horror film and adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. It was written by Richard Matheson and directed by Dark Shadows creator Dan Curtis, with Jack Palance in the title role. It was the second collaboration for Curtis and Palance after the 1968 TV film The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Count Dracula in popular culture</span>

The character of Count Dracula from the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker, has remained popular over the years, and many forms of media have adopted the character in various forms. In their book Dracula in Visual Media, authors John Edgar Browning and Caroline Joan S. Picart declared that no other horror character or vampire has been emulated more times than Count Dracula. Most variations of Dracula across film, comics, television and documentaries predominantly explore the character of Dracula as he was first portrayed in film, with only a few adapting Stoker's original narrative more closely. These including borrowing the look of Count Dracula in both the Universal's series of Dracula and Hammer's series of Dracula, including the character's clothing, mannerisms, physical features, hair style and his motivations such as wanting to be in a home away from Europe.

<i>The Tomb</i> (1986 film) 1986 American film

The Tomb is a 1986 American supernatural horror film directed by Fred Olen Ray and starring Michelle Bauer, Richard Alan Hench, David Pearson and Susan Stokey. Despite being respectively given first and second billing, Cameron Mitchell only has a supporting role, and John Carradine features in single scene. Sybil Danning also only appears in the prologue, despite being prominently shown on the poster. The plot concerns an ancient Egyptian vampire who kills those in possession of artifacts stolen from her and taken to the United States by grave robbers.

<i>The Awakening</i> (1980 film) 1980 British horror film

The Awakening is a 1980 British horror film directed by Mike Newell in his directorial debut and starring Charlton Heston, Susannah York, and Stephanie Zimbalist. It is the third film version of Bram Stoker's 1903 novel The Jewel of Seven Stars, following the 1970 television adaptation as The Curse of the Mummy for the TV series Mystery and Imagination, and the 1971 theatrical film by Hammer, Blood from the Mummy's Tomb. It was released by Warner Bros.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dracula's Guest</span> 1914 short story by Bram Stoker

"Dracula's Guest" is a short story by Bram Stoker, first published in the short story collection Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories (1914). It is believed to have been intended as the first chapter for Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula, but was deleted prior to publication as the original publishers felt it was superfluous to the story.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David J. Skal</span> American cultural critic (1952–2024)

David John Skal was an American cultural historian, critic, writer, and on-camera commentator known for his research and analysis of horror films, horror history and horror culture.

John Penney is an American film producer, screenwriter and director who has been working in the horror genre for over thirty years. He has created material for, and been involved in, a range of subgenres, including zombie movies, classic Creature Features (Amphibious), and supernatural thrillers (Hellgate).

Bram Stoker's Dracula may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mummy (undead)</span> Undead monster

Mummies are commonly featured in horror genres as undead creatures wrapped in bandages. Similar undead include skeletons and zombies.

The World of Hammer is a British television documentary series created and written by Robert Sidaway and Ashley Sidaway, and produced by Robert Sidaway.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Bram Stoker's Legend of the Mummy (1998)". TCM . Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Thonen, John (May 1998). "Bram Stoker's Legend of the Mummy". Cinefantastique . Fourth Castle Micromedia. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Shapiro 1998, p. 59.
  4. Shapiro 1998, p. 60–61.
  5. 1 2 Shapiro 1998, p. 61.
  6. "Bram Stoker's The Mummy - Movie Reviews and Movie Ratings". TV Guide . Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  7. Jones, Alan. "Bram Stoker's Legend of the Mummy – review". Radio Times . Archived from the original on August 24, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2020.

Bibliography