In 1948 Egypt, an archeological dig led by Richard Turkel reaches a tomb, identified as belonging to Talos, which is apparently cursed. The hieroglyphics at the entrance warn that all should avoid the place. 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 continues where he left off. When they break into the burial chamber, they see Talos's sarcophagus suspended from the ceiling. One of the team falls to his death, and another, Brad, has a seizure while experiencing Talos' past atrocities. Nine months later, a power cut occurs, during which the container holding Talos' sarcophagus is broken into and a guard is killed. Detective Riley 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, Nefriama. The Pharaoh was ordered by neighbouring countries to kill Talos, as all who opposed him were struck with disease or tortured into believing his theology. To save Nefriama 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 Nefriama eating Talos' heart. They were all put to death including Nefriama. Brad surmises that the murder victims are reincarnations of the pharaoh's followers and that killing Sam 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 anyone who knows what's going on will be deemed a madman. After Riley steps out of the interrogating cell, Talos appears and kills Detective Bartone and Brad. A reborn Talos tracks down Sam to her apartment, but she manages to get away; however, Talos captures her after posing as a dog. Riley, now believing whatever Brad told him, takes part in a ceremony where Brad's dead body is used in a ritual which shows them the possible location that Sam might be held hostage, an unfinished construction site. Sam, meanwhile bound with rags, manages to free herself and stumbles upon a room where a huge nest of rags used to mummify the deceased is clumped in the form of a womb with dead bodies of Talos' victims lying around. As she watches, the water breaks from the womb and a horrifying baby creature is thrown out which quickly grows up into the true form of Talos with only the heart missing. Riley and his group arrive at the construction site with eighteen minutes remaining before the planets are supposed to align and Talos would regain his physical immortality. Riley and Claire separate from Butros and Professor Marcus. The latter encounter Talos who manipulates Marcus into killing Butros by strangling her. On the other hand, Claire falls down and gravely injures her leg which then forces Riley to go forward without her. Somewhere else Claire comes to Professor Marcus and after a brief conversation kills him by stabbing him with a scalpel which suggests Talos manipulated Claire into killing Professor Marcus. Riley finds Sam bound hands and foot and they are intercepted by Talos who is fired upon by Riley but to no avail. Sam begs Riley to kill her which he does by shooting her in order to stop Talos from achieving what he wants. But, it is shown that Nefriama's love resides within Riley and his heart is what Talos wants for which he used Sam to lure him at the right place at the right time. Claire appears and takes out Riley's heart which Talos stuffs within himself just as the planets align and begins to transform. The police arrive and pull out four dead bodies and a hysterical Claire. Elsewhere in London, Detective Riley is shown to be the reincarnated Talos.
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. Tale of the Mummy currently has a 17% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 6 reviews, with an average rating of 4.19/10.
