Tale of the Mummy

Plot

In 1948 Egypt, an archeological dig led by Richard Turkel (Christopher Lee) reaches a tomb (of Talos), which is apparently cursed. The hieroglyphics at the entrance warn that all should avoid the place as it has been abandoned by all that is holy. Despite this, they proceed to open the chamber's door only to be blasted with a cloud of dust, which causes them to crumble apart as though they are made of fragile stone. Richard manages to blow the tomb shut, killing himself in the process.

In 1999, Richard's granddaughter Sam Turkel (Louise Lombard) continues where he left off. When they break into the burial roost, they see Talos's sarcophagus suspended from the ceiling. One of the team falls to his death, and another (Brad) (Sean Pertwee) has a seizure while experiencing Talos' past atrocities.

Nine months later, a power cut occurs, during which the container holding Talos's sarcophagus is broken into and a guard is killed. Detective Riley (Jason Scott Lee) warns them the killer will undoubtedly strike again. At a party, a youth is assaulted by Talos in the bathroom and dragged down the toilet. A man is attacked by Talos in a car park while Sam explains the core of Talos' myth to Riley. Talos directed that his body parts be removed by his followers; and they believed he would someday be resurrected to reclaim them, gaining physical perfection and immortality. Talos was exiled from Greece for sorcery and came to Egypt where he fell in love and, in a pagan ceremony, married the pharaoh's daughter Nefrianna.

Neighboring factions of Egypt ordered the Pharaoh to kill Talos, as all who opposed him were struck with disease or tortured into believing his theology. To save Nefrianna from death, the Pharaoh told her about Talos' upcoming execution and she in turn told Talos. When the Pharaoh's army reached Talos' chamber they saw Nefrianna eating Talos' heart. They were all put to death including Nefrianna.

Brad surmises that the murder victims are reincarnations of the pharaoh's followers and that killing Sam (Nefrianna's reincarnation) is the only way to stop Talos, who plans to be reborn when the planets align. Brad further explains that part of Talos' curse is that the only one who knows what's going on will be deemed a madman. A reborn Talos tracks down Sam to her apartment, but she manages to get away; however, Talos captures her after posing as a dog. After further incidents, Talos continues in his quest to destroy the world.

Reception

Nicholas Sylvain of DVD Verdict derided the film, saying that while it had an interesting premise, some effects were "merely bad, while others border on the ludicrous," and that the story made no sense. Martin Liebman of Blu-ray.com gave it a 2.5/5 rating, conceding that the film is technically well-done, but calling the plotting unoriginal and characters bland. He recommended viewers only watch Christopher Lee's scenes. British Horror Films reviewer Chris Wood praised Tale of the Mummy as an homage to Hammer Films horror movies of mid-20th century, with the token inclusion of Lee.

Home media

The North American version is around twenty minutes shorter than the European version. A Blu-ray of the film was released by Echo Bridge Entertainment on March 20, 2012.