Why The Mummy (1999) Is The PERFECT Action Movie
6. It's Still Scary
Now while the film does have its share of humorous moments, it also is sure not to forget its roots. There are legitimately some scenes with some surprising dark tones.
Among them include the introduction of the scarabs: flesh eating bugs that wind up eating through a person's flesh. One gets under Johnathan and has to be removed with a knife, while several begin devouring the warden who, driven mad with anguish, runs headfirst into a wall, crushing his own skull and killing himself.
There is a disturbing scene once Imhotep rises when a scholar, holding the book of the dead wonders aloud "What have we done" as insects crawl all over him. The three adventurers that opened the tomb are then hunted by Imhotep, where they are absorbed into him so that he can regenerate, often leaving shriveled husks behind.
Rivers run red with blood, the sun is blotted out, and fire rains down from the sky. Make no mistake, while this film is a rollicking adventure, it never fails to impress the very real threat of the villain, nor to demonstrate the sheer breadth and horror of his power.