Among the many classic monsters that Universal and Hammer have brought to life, the mummy reigns. Yes, the vampires, werewolves, and the numerous Invisible Men all have their time in the spotlight, but across many decades, the mummy has lured audiences to the theater.
The opportunity for the mix of adventure, Egyptian lore, and dark horror fantasy lend the subject of mummies to many memorable movies. Along with the different mummy movies over the decades, many great actors have portrayed a mummified villain ready to terrorize the contemporary world. Each actor also gives a unique performance to their mummy.
Eddie Powell - The Mummy's Shroud (1967)
It doesn't help that this was easily Hammer's weakest attempt at a mummy movie. It's mostly a victim of being derivative and Eddie Powell's mummy doesn't have anything to distinguish itself. He's very robotic and his eyes are always widened.
It's very similar to a Michael Myers performance but less scary. The mummy is a typical slasher villain and Eddie Powell did his job as the man behind the wraps as best as he could for The Mummy's Shroud.
Dickie Owen - The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964)
The sequel to the first Hammer film, The Curse Of The Mummy's Tomb features a memorable mummy. Dickie Owen is quite the physical presence, making him imposing to look at. The superior makeup and costume also play a part in making Owen's mummy better than Powell's.
Rather than a lost soul willing to murder to revive a soulmate, Owen's mummy is more of a monster. As such, Owen is brutish and is scarier when he finally kills. Unfortunately, Owen was unable to elevate what was already a drab paint-by-numbers mummy movie.
Jet Li - The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor (2008)
Not a mummy, as such, Jet Li plays the titular Dragon Emperor, an evil warlord with power over the elements and made out of terracotta. This could have been a top-tier villain character, but sadly, Jet Li is wasted in an abysmal sequel.
Jet Li rarely even gets to show off his famous martial art skills and is almost never physically in the movie and is mainly a CGI statue. That said, his performance as a villain is far from bad: portraying an evil sorcerer and warlord fairly well. However, it's only brief segments before he is forced to turn back into a CGI monster of some sort.
Valerie Leon - Blood From The Mummy's Tomb (1971)
In a dual performance, Valerie Leon plays Hammer's final and most forgotten mummy: Tera. Tera is an evil queen who is slowly revived through a woman who looks just like her. Valerie Leon mainly plays Margaret throughout Blood From The Mummy's Tomb, but she plays both sides well.
Valerie Leon's Tera is less of an undead slasher and more of a manipulator, and she uses her powers to cause deaths. Margaret is slowly corrupted by Tera, becoming more and more like her until the climax. Valerie portrays the villainy of one and the tragic descent of the other effectively and makes both characters feel distinct.
Sofia Boutella - The Mummy (2017)
The 2017 reboot that killed the Dark Universe before it could even begin, there was plenty for audiences to dislike about The Mummy starring Tom Cruise. However, many were quick to give credit to one thing: the mummy herself, this one being Ahmanet, played by Sofia Boutella.
Not only were her scenes easily some of the best of the film, but Boutella made Ahmanet her own. Never does she seem like a gender-swapped Imhotep: she's a vicious and cold-hearted witch. There was set up for her return in future Dark Universe movies and it was likely that Boutella would have kept improving.
Tom Tyler - The Mummy's Hand (1940)
Contrary to popular belief, every movie after the 1932 original, The Mummy, was not a sequel. Instead, The Mummy's Hand was more of a reboot that focused on a new mummy known as Kharis. Rather than a tragic villain, Kharis is more of a pawn for human villains, as well as more of a slasher villain, unlike Imhotep, with Kharis remaining a mummy throughout.
Though he did not match up to Karloff, Tom Tyler did well in portraying a soulless murdering machine. When he's on-screen, he gives a scary performance, but not the follow-up to Boris Karloff that one might expect.
Boris Karloff - The Mummy (1932)
The one that started it all in 1932, The Mummy from Universal brought about the first Imhotep, played by Boris Karloff. Karloff was most famous for Frankenstein's monster, but Imhotep was another significant notch in his belt. So why is Karloff ranked so low here? Well, it's not because he gives a bad performance.
It's just that Karloff is not given much to do as a mummy. The only time he actually is a mummy is in the opening when he first rises. For the rest of the movie, he's a normal-looking but sinister man who delivers hypnotizing stares and creates suspense, which Karloff perfected. Most of the movie is spent on him trying to resurrect his lover.
Lon Chaney Jr. - Various (1942 - 1944)
Continuing with the Kharis character, Universal monster legend Lon Chaney Jr. took on the role. In The Mummy's Tomb, The Mummy's Ghost, and The Mummy's Curse, Kharis is fleshed out a bit more. The movies themselves suffer from cases of sequel-itis but Lon Chaney Jr. was the standout.
The body counts kept getting bigger and the kills more brutal. Unlike Tom Tyler, Lon Chaney Jr.'s portrayal of Kharis shows more personality behind the pawn-like being. He has his own agenda, but he is forced to always obey his masters, so he always strikes with rage and fury.
Christopher Lee - The Mummy (1959)
After already taking on the role of Dracula and Frankenstein's monster, Christopher Lee reunited with Hammer for their version of The Mummy. Here, Lee plays Kharis, rebooted with a darker and more brutal edge to him that Hammer was known for, utilizing his highly expressive eyes and a suspenseful atmosphere.
Lee brings the more slasher and physicality of Lon Chaney Jr. and adds elements of Boris Karloff. Still, much like with Dracula, Lee made the character his own and created a deeper villain that none of the sequels measured up to.
Arnold Vosloo - The Mummy (1999) / The Mummy Returns (2001)
The character of Imhotep returned in 1999, played by Arnold Vosloo. This time, Imhotep was a combination of almost every famous mummy prior, but he still brought unique flavors to the mix. Horror, adventure, and romance were all present here and done well, and Vosloo's Imhotep is a force to reckoned with.
He gives a cold and menacing stare, but he can follow it up by absorbing a human or throwing them across the room. Yes, CGI plays a part in bringing Imhotep to life, but like Andy Serkis with Gollum, it is meant to enhance an already stellar performance. On top of it all, this Imhotep is the most powerful of the mummies, being an embodiment of the many plagues.
