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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Universal's best Mummy offering., 17 Nov 2002
That might sound harsh and a spit in the collective genre eye to Karloff and Chaney but it is said with conviction. 'The Mummy's Hand' is an improvement on the original in that the supernatural element is less drastic (only one dimension instead of two). Certainly, it's far less serial/comic strip than the Chaney entries and let's not even try and compare it to the Abbott and Costello stuff.Tyler makes a convincing mummy, although it must be said that of all the monsters to confront make-up technicians of the Thirties and Forties, the Egyptian proved the hardest to create. Zucco produces one of his best performances as the wicked, freshly appointed High Priest. On the protagonist side, the Foran-Moran-Ford-Kellaway team works to give a maxmimum in comedy relief while edging its way slowly but surely to the pinnacle of their quest - to find the tomb of the Princess Ananka. The other Mummy films of the era are all worth a go, too, but it is the character chemistry, the 'authentic' location shots and the lack of a strong central character that allow the true horror to come about. This is fun horror, unlike 'Nosferatu' or its ilk, a badge that bolsters its watchability with repeated viewings. It doesn't drag or lull into catatonia the way some other early horror pictures can. For the best value, why not consider purchasing the American DVD that pairs 'The Mummy's Hand' with 'The Mummy's Tomb', the best of the Chaney Mummy pictures.
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