THE BEST MUMMY MOVIES OF ALL TIME
- Nick Digilio
- 46 minutes ago
- 6 min read
You know, it’s funny, every time a new movie gets announced now, your first reaction is, “Oh, great…what are they rebooting this time?” Because that’s where we are. Everything is a reboot, a sequel, a reimagining, a “new take,” and originality in Hollywood is, let’s just say…not exactly thriving.
I’ve complained about it a million times (on the podcast, on the socials, on this very site) but every once in a while, every once in a while, one of these reboots or revivals or whatever you want to call it actually makes you go, “Okay…this might be interesting.”
And that brings us to mummies.
With the release of Lee Cronin’s The Mummy, yet another attempt to bring this ancient, bandaged, dust-covered, curse-ridden creature back to life for modern audiences (even though it really isn't a mummy movie...read my review), I thought, you know what?
This is a good excuse to dive back into one of my favorite corners of horror and talk about mummy movies. They’ve been around forever, they’ve taken on a bunch of different forms, and when they’re done right, they’re incredibly entertaining.
Now, the mummy as a monster is a fascinating one. Unlike vampires or werewolves or even Frankenstein’s monster, the mummy has this very specific origin tied to history, to archaeology, to Egyptology, to this idea of ancient curses and lost civilizations.
And the whole thing really exploded into pop culture after the discovery of King Tut’s tomb in 1922, which suddenly made mummies this huge, mysterious, scary thing in the public imagination. You had this whole “curse of the pharaohs” idea floating around, and boom—Hollywood jumps on it.
But the roots actually go back even further, into 19th-century literature, when Egypt was being romanticized and, frankly, exoticized by Western writers. Early mummy stories weren’t even really horror, they were weirdly romantic.
You had mummies as love interests, as these mystical, resurrected beings, often female, tied up in all kinds of colonial fantasy nonsense. Then, as things tend to do, that shifted into something darker.
By the time you hit 1932 and Universal releases The Mummy with Boris Karloff as Imhotep, that’s when the template is set. That’s when the mummy becomes a monster. A tragic monster, yes (because like all the great Universal creatures, there’s heartbreak in there) but still a monster.
And suddenly, the mummy joins Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolf Man, all of these iconic figures that basically built the horror genre as we know it.
And man, I love that stuff. That’s my childhood right there. The Universal monsters are the reason I fell in love with movies in the first place. Watching those films, being fascinated by those creatures, being scared by them, being moved by them...that’s what got me hooked.
And the mummy has always been a really interesting part of that lineup. It’s slower, it’s more atmospheric, it leans into mood and curse and inevitability rather than just outright terror.
Then, of course, like everything else, the mummy evolves. You get the Kharis series in the ‘40s, which are fun and pulpy. Then Hammer comes along in the late ‘50s and into the ‘60s, and they crank up the color, the blood, the intensity, Christopher Lee stomping around as the mummy, which is fantastic.
Then you get all kinds of weird offshoots: Mexican mummy movies, low-budget cult stuff, comedy takes like Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy, animated versions, TV shows, toys, everything. The mummy becomes this incredibly flexible monster.
And then, in the late ‘90s, you get that Stephen Sommers version with Brendan Fraser, which basically turns the whole thing into a big, fun, swashbuckling adventure, which is more Indiana Jones than horror. Those movies are a blast. Completely different tone, but they work.
And then…you get stuff like the 2017 Tom Cruise disaster, which tried to launch a “Dark Universe” and just completely fell on its face. I mean, that thing is a mess.
But that’s the thing about mummy movies, they can be anything. They can be gothic horror, they can be action-adventure, they can be comedy, they can be weird cult movies. You can play it straight, you can play it ridiculous, you can go big, you can go small.
The mummy as a character, as a concept (this ancient being brought back to life, tied to curses, to lost love, to revenge) it’s incredibly adaptable.
And as a lifelong horror fan (and I mean lifelong, since I was a little kid) this stuff is my bread and butter. Horror is my favorite genre. It always has been. It’s the gateway that got me into everything else.
And the mummy, as one of those classic monsters, has always had a special place for me. It’s a great visual, it’s a great concept, and when it’s done right, it’s creepy as hell.
And yeah, sometimes it’s silly. Sometimes it’s ridiculous. Sometimes it’s just downright stupid. But even then, it can still be fun.
So I thought, in honor of this new version hitting theaters, it would be a great time to go back and revisit some of the best examples of this genre. The ones that really work. The ones that are creepy, or fun, or weird, or all of the above. The ones that show just how versatile this character can be.
I’ve put together my list of the 10 best mummy movies of all time. These are my favorites, in order of preference.
There’s a mix of the classics, some Hammer stuff, some more modern takes, and yeah, even a completely insane movie that involves a mummy and Elvis Presley, because of course that exists and of course I love it.
So unwrap the bandages, watch out for the curse, and get ready—here are my 10 favorite mummy movies of all time.
THE TOP 10 MUMMY MOVIES OF ALL TIME (in order of preference):
This is where it all begins. Boris Karloff as Imhotep, he is slow, eerie, hypnotic, tragic. It’s not a jump-scare movie, it’s a mood piece. It’s about atmosphere, obsession, reincarnation, and doomed love. Karloff barely moves and still dominates the screen. One of the great Universal monster movies and one of the true foundations of horror cinema.
Absolutely insane and absolutely brilliant. You’ve got Elvis (yes, Elvis) living in a nursing home, fighting a cowboy mummy that sucks souls out of people’s…well, let’s just say unconventional places. Bruce Campbell gives one of his best performances ever. It’s funny, weird, surprisingly emotional, and somehow profound. A complete cult masterpiece. By the way, take a look at who is quoted at the very beginning of this trailer. Yeah!
Hammer Horror takes the Universal template and cranks it up, with color, blood, intensity. Christopher Lee as the mummy is physically imposing and terrifying, and my hero Peter Cushing brings the class. It’s gothic, it’s dramatic, it’s stylish as hell. One of the best of the Hammer monster movies, no question.
One of the lesser-known Hammer entries, but still a lot of fun. It’s got that classic British gothic vibe, some solid atmosphere, and a great sense of doom hanging over everything. Top-tier Hammer that's very entertaining and definitely worth a look if you’re a fan of the genre. Also, this trailer is classic.
This is where the Kharis storyline kicks in, and it’s a blast. More pulpy, more straightforward, a little less poetic than the 1932 version, but incredibly entertaining. It sets the tone for the sequels and has that great B-movie energy that I absolutely love.
By this point, the Universal monsters are basically hanging out and doing comedy, and I’m completely okay with that. Abbott and Costello are hilarious, the mummy is still creepy enough, and it’s just a fun, goofy ride. A perfect example of how these monsters became pop culture icons.
This one leans back into that “romantic mummy” idea, mixed with Hammer-style horror and a lot of atmosphere. It’s weird, it’s stylish, it’s got that early ‘70s vibe, and it’s based on Bram Stoker’s The Jewel of Seven Stars. Not your typical mummy movie, which is exactly why it’s interesting.
A direct sequel in the Kharis series, and it’s darker, meaner, and a little more brutal than its predecessor. Lon Chaney Jr. as the mummy brings a real physical presence, and there’s something about the pacing and the tone that just works. Solid, classic Universal horror.
Pure entertainment. This is the big, loud, action-adventure version, and it works beautifully. Brendan Fraser is a perfect leading man, Rachel Weisz is fantastic, and Arnold Vosloo’s Imhotep is a great modern take on the character. It’s fun, it’s fast, it’s endlessly rewatchable.
I mean…come on. The title alone. This is one of those gloriously ridiculous Mexican horror films that you just have to see to believe. It’s got wrestlers, it’s got a mummy, it’s completely bonkers, and it’s incredibly fun. This is the kind of weird cult stuff that makes digging into genre cinema so rewarding.
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