Spooktober Day 3: The Vengeance of Egypt (1912)

U.S. poster (October 1912)

 

 Gaumont's now lost mummy horror of 1912 The Vengeance of Egypt was not the first mummy horror film made, but it is the first feature length film to feature the subject. At around 45 minutes in time and comprising 3 reels of film, it dwarfed two previous mummy films from 1911 and 1912, both of which were one reelers. Unlike the other two films, which feature (re)animation in some form, this film focuses around the horror of curses associated with disturbing the tombs and remains of Egyptian mummies. This was a real fear at the time (keeping in mind that the tomb of Tutankhamen would not be discovered until 1922 and decades of reported curses followed); the notion that the ancient priests of the ancient world's most well known empire would place real curses on venerated objects was a real one--especially in France, which had what can only be called "mummy fever." The film's release also came amidst the popularity of the curse surrounding the "Hope" diamond, which had grown significantly in the year prior.  In the case of the film, it is the stolen ring of a mummy that causes all the misfortune and death. The curse states that the ring will cause death to any who come to own it until it is returned to it's rightful owner: the mummy. It is not as famously lost as other silent features, but it is listed in at least one short documentary as among the top 10 lost horror films of all time. There are a few surviving stills (seen below) and one shows either the original theft of the ring from the mummy in it's sarcophagus, or returning the wretched object (most likely the former), with would could very well be a real mummy used for the occasion (France was awash with them, they were even used--in ground form--to make medicinal powders 😝).