What makes The Mummy’s Ghost the best of the sequels(if not exactly by much) is that it is the only one that tried to do something different. Even if the basic plot is still very flawed and formulaic, The Mummy’s Ghost contains by far the boldest and most shocking ending of the four(and in a very good way, it’s the highlight of the film), and is the only one to have almost non-existent stock footage material. The Mummy’s Ghost does contain some campy fun with John Carradine and a few scenes with Kharis have some creepiness(others however just read of repetitive running around).
There are some attractively made sets, some atmospheric lighting and Ramsey Ames’ costumes are to die for, though on the most-part The Mummy’s Ghost is not one of Universal’s most accomplished-looking films. Three performances register quite well. Best of all is John Carradine, who is deliciously diabolical and although he doesn’t feature in much of the film he is still very memorable. George Zucco’s role is also brief, but nonetheless played with sinister authority. Lastly, Lon Chaney Jnr’s performance as Kharis is more consistent this time round, he intimidates much more and lumbers less, there even was glimpses of effort at giving Kharis a human side despite not having much to work with.
However, apparently The Mummy’s Ghost was made very quickly and it does show in some shoddy editing, some terribly staged close-ups of Kharis and Kharis basically looks like a man very poorly wrapped up in bandages. While Chaney, Zucco and Carradine fare well, the rest of the cast on the other hand are bad. Ramsey Ames’ alluring appearance and beautiful costuming are not enough to make up for how she spends her whole screen time looking bewildered and on edge, while Robert Lowery is hopelessly wooden to the point he veers on irritating. The chemistry between the two of them is non-descript.
The story does try to do things differently, but still manages to be on the paper-thin and formulaic side, with much of the plot reading of a series of familiar plot devices routinely handled. It also takes too long to get going, with an incredibly dull first third to the extent that the final fifteen minutes feels like a real relief, and is let down even further by tediously padded out college scenes(that are poorly played and add very little to the storytelling) and a sickeningly saccharine and passionless romantic subplot that seemed to only be there for the sake of it. The college and romantic scenes also suffered from the worst of the film’s erratic(mostly lethargic) pacing and incredibly trite dialogue. The direction shows little care and style, with occasional glimpses of atmosphere that stops it from falling into ineptitude, and the characters are even more thinly written than the story, and some like Lowery and his friends are annoying.
