10 Best Mummy Movies Of All Time, Ranked

When we inevitably pass on from this world, our bodies slowly rot away until we're a collection of dust and bones lost to the enormity of time. This inevitable stage of human existence is made slightly less horrifying by way of the various funerary traditions that shield us from having to see it unfold. Among the likes of cremation and casket burials is one that only a select few throughout human history have undergone: mummification. Taking over 70 days to perform, the Ancient Egyptian practice involved multiple stages of organ removal, embalming, and linen wrappings in order to preserve one's physical vessel with a sealed coffin. It's no wonder mummies became the muse of many horror movies, especially when one of the steps involved is removing the brain with hooks going through the nostrils. But the interesting part is that the last century of screen mummies were more defined by their resurrections.

While history shows that mummification was largely reserved for Pharaohs or Egyptians with a considerable amount of wealth, their screen depictions are often reserved as punishment for troublemakers who either communicated with dark spirits or tried to defy death itself. It makes sense, since most of these mummy movies are often made from a colonialist perspective, with some of the most interesting films dabbling in retribution for their plundering. Mummies are pretty limited in what they can do as monsters, which is why there aren't as many great movies about them wreaking havoc as, say, vampires. With the arrival of "Lee Cronin's The Mummy" revitalizing these bandaged spectres of death, let's unwrap the 10 best mummy movies of all time. If you're wondering why Blumhouse's latest isn't on here, the film speaks for itself.

What makes 1940's "The Mummy's Hand" such a fascinating beast is that, while reusing footage from Imhotep's flashback sequence, there's no returning characters from the 1932 film, nor the same mummy. What does remain, however, is a tale about a resurrected mummy looking to be reunited with his long lost love. The opening sequence features a High Priest named Andoheb (George Zucco) recounting the story of Prince Kharis (Tom Tyler) and his imminent mummification for attempting to resurrect Princess Ananka (Zita Johann) with the help of Tana leaves. The High Priests of Karnak are like his babysitters as Kharis watches over her tomb, punishing all who dare try to enter it. It's a great refresh button for a remakequel that's a strange tonal scattershot.

"The Mummy's Hand" eventually gets to Kharis wreaking havoc, yet it spends the first half of this 67 minute feature following an Abbott and Costello-esque duo (Dick Foran and Wallace Ford) bumbling around Cairo — albeit without the jokes. Peggy Moran's pistol-wielding Marta Solvani is a highlight, even if she ultimately becomes the damsel who needs rescuing. In many ways, seeing a group of interested parties seeking out a hidden tomb serves as a clear inspiration for the 1999 film. It plays like director Christy Cabanne discovering the movie while in the process of making it, so the adventure-horror tones never truly integrate with one another. It's at least worth checking out for the birth of the lumbering mummy archetype, in addition to the staggering work of makeup artist Jack Pierce.

Prior to the Kharis sequels hitting a wall with the "The Mummy's Curse," you have "The Mummy's Ghost" switching things up a bit. It doesn't matter that the aging Andoheb has lost a number of Karnak priests watching over the titular mummy, because he's got a new one ready to go with Yousef Bey (John Carradine). Picking up after the events of "The Mummy's Tomb," Kharis (Lon Chaney Jr.) is revived once again, with the assistance of Tana leaves, in order to kill those who stand in his way of retrieving the body of his beloved Ananka. What starts as a vengeful mummy on the loose on a college campus turns into something more aligned with the romantic edges of the original film.

Egyptian student Amina (Ramsay Ames) inadvertently falls under Kharis' trance as she's revealed to be the reincarnation of Ananka. She even sports the streaks of white hair à la "The Bride of Frankenstein" the more she becomes integrated with the mummy. After two movies, Kharis is given room for some interiority outside of the Cult of Karnak's trance, in which Chaney Jr. shines in a committed physical performance. While not as propulsive as the previous film, "The Mummy's Ghost" gets special commendation for one of the most memorable endings of all of the Universal Monster flicks. You're set up for the most natural conclusion, only for director Reginald Le Borg to swoop in and subvert expectations with a harrowing final image.

Just as Universal started to veer away from their monsters in favor of '50s sci-fi horror, Hammer Films opted to produce their own takes on the classic characters. After having starred in dueling roles in "The Curse of Frankenstein" and "Horror of Dracula," Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing found themselves starring in yet another Universal monster remake in 1959's "The Mummy." You'd think it would expand upon the gothic melodrama of the 1932 film, but the Terence Fisher-directed horror film is instead a remix of "The Mummy's Hand," "The Mummy's Tomb," and "The Mummy's Ghost," which features a lot of the same character names like Stephen Banning (Felix Aylmer) and Joseph Whemple (Raymond Huntley). It is yet another tale of Kharis (Christopher Lee) going on a revenge spree while under control of a priest of Karnak. Naturally, he's also driven to be reunited with his beloved Ananka (Yvonne Furneaux). It's a good, admittedly perfunctory horror film with some striking splashes of color and a lavish score from composer Franz Reizenstein.

Makeup artist Roy Ashton brilliantly updates Lon Chaney Jr.'s stumbling Kharis into Lee's rotting spirit of vengeance who smashes through doors and windows like a wrecking ball. His stature definitely serves as the inspiration for later undead slasher villains like Jason Voorhees. It's a shame, however, that Cushing's John Banning is a pretty standard protagonist who hardly makes an impression opposite his tormentor. Surprisingly, the standout isn't Lee or Cushing, but rather George Pastell as Mehemet Bey, a follower of Karnak who compellingly lets the British explorers know that they have what's coming to them for their plundering.

"The Mummy's Tomb" is easily the best of all the Kharis movies because it doesn't waste a single second of its 61-minute runtime. Serving as a fitting precursor to "Friday the 13th: Part 2," the film spends the first 15 minutes providing an extensive recap of the previous film from the perspective of the archaeologist (Dick Foran) who survived the wrath of Kharis (Lon Chaney Jr.), only to get killed immediately afterward. What follows is the titular mummy spending the next 40 minutes strangling all the other remaining survivors, as well as anyone else who dares to get in his way. Unlike "The Mummy's Hand," this is a tonally consistent early slasher prototype that knows exactly how to deliver its B movie thrills.

Harold Young's Universal monster flick invites you to root for the mummy due to the injustices shown toward him and his beloved Ananka, whom the explorers had uprooted and moved to the United States. You can't help but respect "The Mummy's Tomb" for going full "Frankenstein" with its finale. It even goes so far as to integrate footage from the climax of James Whale's 1931 classic with new footage of torch-wielding massholes cornering Kharis and burning down a plantation house in the process. It's practically over before you can even question why it took over 30 years for Andoheb (who miraculously survived being shot and falling down a massive flight of stairs in the "The Mummy's Hand") to enact his revenge plan, or why 1970s Massachusetts still looks like the 1940s.

Horror icon Bruce Campbell has given plenty of memorable performances over the course of his career, which makes it even crazier that "Bubba Ho-Tep" features one of his finest hours. From "Phantasm" director Don Coscarelli comes the bizarre cult classic of an elderly man named Sebastian Haff who believes that he's the real Elvis Presley, having switched places with an impersonator over 20 years prior. When a mummy dubbed Bubba Ho-tep (Bob Ivy) starts terrorizing his nursing home, the King teams up with a black man steadfast in his belief that he's actually a retrofitted JFK (Ossie Davis) to take out the Egyptian menace before he can feed on more of their souls. A mummy dressed in cowboy garb could look so silly, but Ivy's performance does a lot in making him a notable presence. Even more impressive is the convincing old man makeup on Campbell.

The charm of "Bubba Ho-Tep" weirdly doesn't come from the horror elements so much as its indie dramedy sensibilities about two lonely guys finding a renewed interest in life by playing one last game of pretend together. You quickly get past the ludicrousness of their alter ego personalities because there's a lovable sincerity to them. Campbell, especially, gives a very touching performance in playing a man facing his regrets and frail mortality by hitting scarabs with bed pans. It's one of his best movies for this reason alone.

Terence Fisher's "The Mummy" usually gets the credit of being the best of the four Hammer-produced flicks, even though Michael Carreras' "The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb" is arguably a more interesting film. It initially plays out like most of these movies do, with an expedition of British explorers uncovering a sacred Egyptian resting place. This time, it's a shake-up with the mummy being Ra-Antef (Dickie Owen), a Pharoah who was murdered in a surprise coup attack. Alexander King (Fred Clark), the slimy American showman bankrolling the whole trip, decides he's going to display Ra and his belongings on a world tour. While you do get the usual mummy on the loose beats, there's a lot in here that keeps you on your toes.

For one, Ra was mummified as a result of being wronged, rather than being a priest who had done something terrible. It takes a good while for him to actually start walking around, which lends a great deal of suspense. Ra's a lot like Michael Myers, in that just seeing him walk toward you is frightening — especially with his brutish strength and heavy breathing. There's a brewing secret romance in the back half between Jeanne Roland's Annette and Terence Morgan's Adam that takes some truly unexpected twists and turns, giving the mummy's killing spree an extra edge.

It wouldn't be a mummy party without the bandaged granddaddy himself. Born out of "Dracula" and "Frankenstein" being big hits for Universal, Karl Freund's "The Mummy" was the next monster to get their moment in the spotlight — albeit in a much different manner. When the mummified body of high priest Imhotep (Boris Karloff) is uncovered during an archeological expedition, an assistant unwittingly reads the attached curse aloud. But instead of Imhotep going on a killing spree, he casually takes the life-giving Scroll of Thoth and saunters out in the middle of the night. It's pretty incredible how iconic the Jack Pierce mummy makeup has become in spite of only appearing in this one scene, underscored only by the hauntingly manic laughter of Bramwell Fletcher's Ralph. When "The Mummy" skips ahead 10 years later, it becomes a much different movie.

Imhotep has now appeared in the form of Ardeth Bay, an Egyptian historian who has been searching for the long-lost Princess Anck-es-en-Amon. From here, the film becomes a gothic melodrama about a lost soul trying to reunite with his love after his defiance to revive her ultimately led to his mummification. Zita Johann, with her piercing eyes, gives a captivating performance as the contemporary reincarnation, Helen.

"The Mummy" may be a bit stuffy for fans of the other Universal Monster flicks. At times, it plays like a retread of 1931's "Dracula," complete with Edward Van Sloan in a supporting role as the suspicious skeptic. But its mood, surprisingly bloody flashback violence, and an intimidating Karloff performance has more than cemented "The Mummy" with its long-lasting legacy.

Considered the first true Disney Channel Original Movie, "Under Wraps" kicks off its near three-decade run with a very delightful monster movie. A horror movie-loving aficionado named Marshall (Mario Yedidia), along with his best friends Gilbert (Adam Wylie) and Amy (Clara Bryant), gets into more than he bargained for when the crew decides to go snooping. Believing there's a dead body in the basement of the recently passed neighborhood creep Mr. Kubat (Ed Lauter), the three accidentally resurrect an Egyptian mummy that they decide to name Harold (Bill Fagerbakke). Disaster will strike, however, if they don't get their new mummy buddy back inside his sarcophagus before the clock strikes midnight. Although it's a lot like the Frankenstein subplot in "The Monster Squad," Greg Beeman's made-for-television kids movie brings its own spin.

"Under Wraps" has a surprising amount of edge and atmosphere, especially with the opening that features an in-universe horror movie clip where a guy gets his face pushed into a knife sticking out of the garbage disposal. As far as mummy movies go, this late '90s Halloween staple features a stellar physical performance from Fagerbakke, who's able to be lovable, sad, and a little creepy underneath all of that detailed makeup. A particularly funny highlight is when Harold's in Kharis mode, chasing the kids through the house, sees a toilet, and immediately goes to relieve himself after all these years. It may not make a lick of sense, but it's the right kind of silly.

1971's "Blood from the Mummy's Tomb" was a notoriously cursed production. If it weren't bad enough that Peter Cushing had to leave the production after one day to take care of his ailing wife, director Seth Holt died of a heart attack on the film's set. Hammer staple Michael Carreras took over for the last week of shooting. But against all odds, the film not only ended up being the best mummy movie from Hammer Films, but one of the best mummy movies in general. Loosely based on Bram Stoker's "The Jewel of the Seven Stars," "Blood from the Mummy's Tomb" follows the strange unearthing of Tera (Valerie Leon), a malevolent Egyptian Queen who was entombed without any kind of wrappings, organ removal, or a left hand. After Julian Fuchs (Andrew Keir) transplants the strange discovery back to his home in England, his daughter Margaret (Valerie Leon) starts to have bizarre visions that bind her and Queen Tera together in a strange twist of fate.

Eschewing the dirty bandages in favor of something much spiritually violent, "Blood from the Mummy's Tomb" sticks out among these mummy movies as a dreamy possession movie. At the center is the lovely Leon, doing such excellent work in a dual role that sees her grappling with the horror and lustful temptation of her predicament. It's bloody, weird, and perfect for late-night viewing. To make the deal even sweeter, the film culminates in a cheeky, yet bold "Tales from the Crypt"-esque ending that you really have to see to believe.

1999's "The Mummy" remains one of the gold standards in how to do a remake. Rather than performing a simple retread of the 1932 film, director Stephen Sommers transforms the accidental resurrection of Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo) into a gorgeously shot swashbuckler that weaves action, romance, horror, and comedy without any of them compromising the other. It changed how action movies were made, emulating the adventurous thrills of the "Indiana Jones" movies while still being their own thing. Speaking of which, "The Mummy" boasts a dashing leading man in Brendan Fraser as Rick O'Connell, a lovably stupid treasure hunter who holds the key to finding the city of Hamunaptra. Leading the expedition is Evelyn Carnahan (Rachel Weisz), a brave, yet klutzy librarian pulled straight out of a screwball comedy. Together, the two make for a captivating dynamic that allows both parties to see the passion in one another's professions.

All of the mummy stuff involving Vosloo's Imhotep is just fantastic, as it creates a sinister screen monster who's gross but not gory. He's able to convey such a fun menace, whether through his goopy corpse form, his face in sand storms, or his handsome veneer. With a stacked ensemble cast including the likes of John Hannah, Oded Fehr, Kevin J. O'Connor, and Jonathan Hyde, "The Mummy" remains a staple of late '90s blockbuster cinema. It doesn't seem like we're capable of big budget studio adventure movies like this anymore — especially ones in which CGI, practical effects, and lavish sets complement one another.