Loosely adapted from the classic 1932 horror film starring
Boris Karloff, The Mummy is set in Egypt, where over 3,000 years ago the high priest Imhotep (played by
Arnold Vosloo) was given the all-important assignment of preparing the recently dead for their journey into the afterlife. However, Imhotep made one terrible mistake - he became smitten with Anck-Su-Namun, the mistress of the Pharaoh himself. Driven mad by jealousy and love, Imhotep murdered the Pharaoh, and his punishment was to be buried alive and suffer the torment of an eternal life in his wretched tomb. In 1925, a band of adventurers seeking fame and fortune - led by Rick O'Connel (
Brendan Fraser), an American expatriate who has joined the foreign legion, and Evelyn Carnarvon (
Rachel Weisz), an amateur archeologist - find a previously unknown burial site in Egypt. The team starts to dig, hoping to find lost riches, but instead they disturb the tomb of Imhotep, and soon the cursed priest rises from his grave to wreck vengeance on humanity. The Mummy was written and directed by
Stephen Sommers, whose previous cinematic journeys into the past include
The Jungle Book and
The Adventures Of Huck Finn. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide