Plot
Under archeologist Sir Richard Turkel's guidance, a group of scientists finds an unspoiled tomb in the Valley of Kings in Egypt on August 15th, 1948. At the entrance of the tomb they can't find the buried person's name, thus they decide to break the seal to enter the tomb. All involved have to pay this decision with their lives because when they figure out that it is the bloodthirsty prince Talos' grave it's already too late - all the old prophecies become true. Just before he dies, Turkel is able to close the sarcophagus to prevent worse things from happening.

50 years later, another expedition team goes to the tomb - among them is Sir Richard's granddaughter Samantha Turkel. With the help of modern technology they are able to bring the sarcophagus (along with the mummy) to the British Museum in London. Soon, there's a mysterious series of murders going on in the city. The police officer in charge - Detective Riley - gets some help by Samantha who tells him that (due to a special constellation of the stars) Talos soon might become immortal...


Versions
Director Russel Mulcahy (of Highlander-fame) made this B-Movie with a budged of 8 million dollars in the year 1998. Besides the theatrical version there also exists a Director's Cut Fassung which was extended with a few scenes that (usefully) evolve the story further. In the USA only the short version has been released.


Runtime
Theatrical Version: 83:08 min. PAL (credits not included)
Director's Cut: 105:11 min. PAL (credits not included)

Difference in time: 43 differences with an overall runtime of 22 minutes and 43 seconds.

00:04:41
Valley of the Kings, August 1948
Inside the tomb, Parsons talks to Young. The little Egyptian boy interrupts their conversation and then leaves.

8 sec.

00:05:01
Sir Richard Turkel finds Talos' name at the entrance of the tomb.

1 min. and 10 sec.

Young: "Well. What about this champ? Was he anybody"
Sir Richard: "Oh yes. It was somebody. We must go back, I don't know, which is to be gained here."
Young: "I'm not gonna argue, Turkel. We've been eating Sand now for damn nine months. You're into fault. Now, I'm gonna break through that wall before sunup. You can be on my side and sharing the glory or you can read all about it from an english prison cell. Your choice."
Parsons: "Sir Richard?"
Sir Richard: "When he goes through it, I have to be there but you don't. I implore you. Go back to London, I implore you."
Parsons: "And I'll miss the opportunity of the ages? Not on your life."
Sir Richard: "Or yours, suppose."

00:06:14
Sir Richard writes something down in his expedition diary and then hands it over to the little boy.

41 sec.

00:08:12
Parsons (whose left half of his face falls down) is shown a little longer. In return, the following shot of Sir Richard was cut out.

4 sec.

00:12:07
Valley of the Kings, 1998
Bradley Cortese talks to native children.

8 sec.

00:12:27
Professor Marcus finds a watch which he thinks belonged to his old friend Sir Richard Turkel. Wistfully he tells Samantha Turkel - Sir Richard's granddaughter - that he would've loved to have been a part of the expedition in the 40's.

31 sec.

Professor Marcus: "Welcome back, old friend. I was meant to be at his side first time out. Damn war injury put a crimp in my plans."
Samantha: "Fate's giving you a second chance."
Professor Marcus: "This time we well become to know your grandfather for his work. The exhibition will provide a fitting legacy."
Bradley: "Come in!"
Professor Marcus: "Ah, look. Beautiful uh?"
Burke: "Ya ya"

00:13:44
Bradley helps Samantha to get dressed when her fiancé Burke comes in to inform the team about the fact that they will be able to enter the tomb in an hour. He's not really happy to find Bradley tampering with Samantha's pants. After a short conversation Burke follows Samantha into her tent where she reads a few pages of her grandfather's diary.

2 min. and 32 sec.

Samantha: "I'm fine Burke. Thanks."
Bradley: "Is it just my imagination that it get all kind of windsory or something?"
Burke: "No more games Brad. I expect nothing less than utter professionalism."
Bradley: "Honey, be a puppet and define the word 'utter' for me."
Claire: "Why wont you try reading my mind. How many fingers am I holding up?"
Bradley: "Au!"
Claire: "Sorry."
Bradley: "That hurts."

Burke: "Don't go having any funny ideas. If your head isn't clear I can't allow you to be there with us."
Samantha: "My head is fine Burke and I'm mental intact."
Burke: "Allright, I'm sorry. This isn't the group leader talking anymore, this is Burke. A kidding adorable fiance. Come on Samatha we are not exactly traditionalists. Talk to me."
Samantha: "It's have been taking fifty years for this logbook to find me. At all this time, why do you think no one bothered with this toomb?"
Burke: "To be honest with you Sam, you're grandfather's final action said he wanted to die."
Samantha: "No, these aren't the pages of a mad men's book. It's from the heart of a scholar."
Burke: "Who encrypted his own records."
Samantha: "As a precaution to prevent them from beeing found, yes. He said, he studies the presence of pure evil, Burke."
Burke: "I know that. I've had read his final passage."
Samantha: "I believe him."
Burke: "Look Sam. Your grandfather was consumed by the desert."
Samantha: "Maybe all of us."

00:17:01
The group enters teh tomb through an airlock and professor marcus supervises everything via a monitor.

8 sec.

00:22:08
A little later in London: Samantha comes home and gets confronted by a bothersome neighbor on her way to her apartment.

26 sec.

Stuart: "Hey Sammie."
Samantha: "Hi Stuart."
Stuart: "You're home early?"
Samantha: "Ya well, try to salvage my saturday, what little is left of it."
Stuart: "But you have somtimes for your self aren't you?"
Samantha: "Yeah."
Stuart: "Got plans?"
Samantha: "Uhmm, ahmm. Thanks Stuart"

00:27:05
Detective Bartone from the local police and Detective Riley from the US embassy investigate a crime scene.

23 sec.

Bartone: "We have found a couple of adhesive plaster in his wallet."
Riley: "Which one?"
Bartone: "Cats."
Riley: "Where is the wife?"
Bartone: "Mistress. But I'm afraid, she is catatonic."
Riley: "I did not ask you how she was, I ask you where."
Bartone: "Over there."
Riley: "Forget it, she's catatonic."

00:27:50
Forensic doctor Claire Mulrooney gives lessons about anatomy in a lecture hall of the university clinic; suddenly, there's an electricity failure which is the reason for endign the class early.

35 sec.

Claire: "So, how does he feel?"
Student1: "Dead!"
Claire: "Tell me about the texture of the skin."
Student2: "The texture? Ahhm, clummy?"
Claire: "Don't ask me. He has got all the answers. What have he has to say for himself? Uh! He thinks he's been dead for 18 to 24 hours. OK! Today we gonna to examine the brain and to do that, we first must ..."

00:28:50
Samantha is standing inside her kitchen when the phone rings. She only picks the phone up when she hears Bradley Cortese's voice on the answering machine.

35 sec.

Bradley: "Sam! Sam, listen to me, we have to talk, someting happens ..."
Samantha: "Brad? Where are you?"
Bradley: "Where's the difference?"
Samantha: "Come on Brad. I want to help you."
Bradley: "But you are the one who needs help. You're in danger. You think I'm crazy but take a look at the headlines!"
Samantha: "Hold on."
Bradley: "After 3.000 years our boy's still on the frontpage."

00:32:07
Riley and Bartone investigate another crime scene.

41 sec.

Bartone: "Jesus! 'Jack the Ripper'. Somebody copycat on him?"
Riley: "No the actually 'Jack the Ripper' did this. Crushed the cealing, punched a hole through the floor, yankled old Grosny through like a Kleenex and systematically removed her Lungs. We can go home early tonight."
Bartone: "Oh, good. So, what was your theory here?"
Riley: "Never got one."
Bartone: "To risk a smack on the mouth, can I ask you a personal question?"
Riley: "Sure."
Bartone: "When was the last time, you had sex?"
Riley: "No, no, no, no."
Bartone: "No, no, no, no what?"
Riley: "You cannot ask this goddamn question."
Bartone: "Thanks, that's what I've thought."

00:37:29
Riley is looking for Samantha - you see him slightly earlier.

5 sec.

00:38:05
A part of the conversation was cut out.

27 sec.

Riley: "So you've been feeling a little under the weahther? Monday, Tuesday calling in sick."
Samantha: "Yeah, I've had a science condition."
Riley: "Probably some mummy dust lasting somewhere.."
Samantha: "Ah, I'm taking this is about the breaking in the museum."
Riley: "This is one for the books Ms. Turkel. A power outage switched of the security camera, a guard gets killed. The bad guys goes to a lot of trouble and what do they steal? A worthless pair of rags."
Samantha: "Wrappings."
Riley: "That too."

00:40:16
Riley and Bartone are on their way to Bradley.

53 sec.

Bartone: "Give it a thougt of psychic surgery."
Riley: "Can't say I have."
Bartone: "Oh, I really council this procedure ... Oh no, stay with me. Basically you got ordinary human beeings who remove organs without instruments."
Riley: "Fascinating."
Bartone: "Oh, when you can't hunt it or shoot it, it doesn't exist?"
Riley: "Pretty much. So, how do we come along with the rest of the Talos friends?"
Bartone: "Oh I screwed up with the old men."
Riley: "Professor Marcus?"
Bartone: "Yeah, he is in Paris till next monday giving a lection in the history of 'The Beatles'. How's about you?"
Riley: "These Ms. Turkel."
Bartone: "Ahh."
Riley: "Not, what you are thinking. She is not the killer."
Bartone: "I knew that."
Riley: "Of course"

00:45:34
Riley - who found a floppy disk in Bradley's apartment - asks Samantha to take a closer look at it.

45 sec.

Samantha: "News clippings. Science Journals. Nothing unusual"
Riley: "I admire your sense for loyalty."
Samantha: "I bet you admire it but you don't believe a bloody word of it"
Riley: "I've got a Detective with 25 stitches in his head and Cortese has something to do with it."
Samantha: "Yeah, well I am sorry about that. But this still doesn't make him your killer."
Riley: "Nice words, princess."
Samantha: "Don't call me that. The reason is ahhmmm... Noting else but I haven't eat all day long."
Riley: "Last one! Please."

00:48:31
Bradley (who hides at his friend's - the psychic Edith Butros - apartment) starts to get nervous. When Edith comes home, she has difficulties to calm him down. She tries to call the police with a trick, however, he sees through it.

1 min. and 48 sec.

Edith: "Bradley, it's a little late, don't you think?"
Bradley: "Yeah, well I'm late. But what's the difference!"
Edith: "I saw your face on the telly. You are wanting by the police for questioning."
Bradley: "Dont you even think about to deliver me! Don't even think about it! This is really bad karma. Some really really bad karma."
Edith: "Take a deep breath instead. It's allright. Calm down. You gotta listen to me Bradley. You know, I do always right by you. O.K. Well, the only way to release your fear is by confronting it. Right? So Come over here and sit down. Come on. It's o.k. Take a deep breath. Relax and close your eyes. Good. Release the tension. That's good. Look for the light. Visualize your inner light."
Bradley: "What are you doing? Do you think I'm stupid? Is this the direct line to my inner light?"
Edith: "Bradley, you gotta turn yourself in, o.k.?"
Bradley: "I CAN'T!"

00:51:30
Bradley flips and puts a gun at his head. He tells Edith to get him in contact with Talos' next victim.

32 sec.

Edith: "Bradley, You need help."
Bradley: "You will not deny me. Turn the fucking phone off."
Edith: "O.k. Brad. Put the gun down, put the gun down, o.k. name your commendation."
Bradley: "Astro... astro displacement."

00:53:23
Riley - who took Samantha to an Irish Pub - talks to her a little longer.

1 min. and 40 sec.

Riley: "Can I be honest with you?"
Samantha: "Why do I get the feeling I'm about to be insulted?"
Riley: "I just doesn't figure. An intelligent person like you entertain the possibility of an existing curse."
Samantha: "Well, there are great many things in this world which science can't explain."
Riley: "Like what? What exactly doesn't science has an explanation for?"
Samantha: "The science itself."
Riley: "Allow me to pass along an old wisdom of my great aunt?"
Samantha: "Do I have a choice?"
Riley: "Not really. The old Lady was a medium."
Samantha: "Do you see what else must I say?"
Riley: "Her speciality reading from television. She was quite good in it. She predicted jobs, births, travels. In one case even a car accident right to the day. Anyway, when I was a teenager and my aunt must had to be in her nineties by then, I decided that it was a time to pop the question. You know, as kids you never ask. But me."
Samantha: "And what do you had to ask?"
Riley: "So I asked: 'Dear aunt, when you stare on your TV, what is it, that you actually see?' And she looked at me and she has this mysterious little grin on her face and I never forget the word, that they used to describe what she saw."
Samantha: "What was it?"
Riley: "Nice pictures. There is no magic Sam."

00:58:06
When he brings her home, a small piece of the conversation was cut out.

29 sec.

Riley: "Would be you shocked to learn that I am not of entirely disagree? Nevertheless, you've heared from this man? The man who did what the voices in his head said to him."
Samantha: "Oh yeah, it was his dog, right?"
Riley: "Yeah, that's right. The dog actually gave him the orders. 'Go out and kill all those people!'"
Samantha: "But he was psychotic."
Riley: "Obviously. I mean, if your dog tells you to you something you knew that you should'nt be doing, don't listen to him. And if he insists, stop feeding him. Then eventually you come around."

00:59:04
After Riley bid goodbye, Samantha enters her apartment alone. Again, there are some electricity failures and the lights start to flicker. Then, the kitchen window springs open and she nervously looks around in her apartment. Suddenly, she trips over her cat.

49 sec.

01:00:03
Riley - who is on his way home - is contactet by detective Bartone via radio.

30 sec.

Riley: "What's up?"
Bartone: "There is something to do, we meet in the car park."
Riley: "Let me guess. A whitness says that Bigffot has been seen."
Bartone: "Yeah, your getting warm. Just think you like to know it was a local."
Riley: "Really? Are you sure?"
Bartone: "Yes he was a local. Just his liver wasn't."
Riley: "I don't get it partner."
Bartone: "Maurice Prout was the recipient of an organ donation. His liver came from South Korea."
Riley: "Oh my god."
Bartone: "Your on for dessert?"
Riley: "Sure."
Bartone: "Someone has knocked off a guy down on 'Old Street'. Probably he did it by ripping his jaw bone of his face."

01:05:28
Meanwhile, Bradley Cortese was arrested by the police. Riley and Bartone interrogate him.

29 sec.

Riley: "Why do you feel that way?"
Bradley: "Because it is the truth, isn't it?. And the truth is that I am dead and he is gone. Mind is another word for idiocy."
Riley: "I'm a bit fuzzy. Maybe you can explain it to me."
Bradley: "Of course. If you prepare to truly listen."
Riley: "I'm listenig to every word you say."
Bradley: "What exactly do you wanna know?"

01:13:24
Riley is a little exhausted after the interrogation and meets Bartone - whom he previously sent out - in the hallway.

31 sec.

Bartone: "You got him?"
Riley: "Maybe did."
Bartone: "You allright?"
Riley: "Of course."
Bartone: "Just go home, take the phone of the hook and sleep three days."
Riley: "I have to stop at Sam first."
Bartone: "So? Sleep with her for three days."
Riley: "No intense partner."

01:14:13
Shortly after the conversation between detective Bartone and captain Shea there are some electricity failures inside the police station.

7 sec.

01:16:17
Riley visits Samantha to give her her grandfather's diary back which was in police custody after the alledged burglary in the museum. The two of them get a little closer to each other.

54 sec.

Samantha: "Take care detective."
Riley: "You too, princess."

01:18:35
Inside the morgue, Riley says farewell to detective Bartone.

12 sec.

01:20:09
Talos catches Samantha unawares. During her escape she beats at her neighbor's door.

5 sec.

01:22:40
After Samantha's disappearance and the death of Stuart and his wife, Riley arrives at the crime scene.

17 sec.

01:23:41
Riley - who meanwhile also believes that the mummy escaped - tries to convince captain Shea of the mummy's aliveness inside Shea's office. She doesn't believe him and thus suspends him. Riley puts his badge on her desk and leaves the office.

1 min. and 10 sec.

Riley: "She is not dead. She can't be. The creature must keep her alive for tonight"
Shea: "You can't be serious."
Riley: "You heard Cortese's statement."
Shea: "Certainly. I can accept that crap comming from him. What's your excuse?"
Riley: "I have no other plausible explanation than his."
Shea: "Then it's time to dive for the inplausible ones."
Riley: "Maybe. Why not. Do you know, what they found under Bartone's fingernails?"
Shea: "Let me guess. The remains of his attackers skin?"
Riley: "That's right. Only this remains where of linen."
Shea: "I should have seen this comming. It's time for you to go back to la la land."
Riley: "When this case is solved."
Shea: "Did it sound like you had an option? And what is this? Latest US fashion?"
Riley: "It's a protecting device"
Shea: "So the mummy doesn't get ya? You are unballanced Riley. Go anyway near that investigation again and I have your badge on both sides of the atlantic. Is that bloody well clear?"
Riley: "Bloody well."

01:25:04
Riley calls Edith Butros, whose business card he found in Bradley Cortese's apartment.

7 sec.

01:26:30
Riley and Edith pick professor Marcus up at the airport. Marcus is surprised to find out that Dr. Claire Mulrooney agreed to meet up with him.

29 sec.

Riley: "For Sam's sake she said she would be there."
Edith: "Positive thinking is always better than negative."
Professor Marcus: "Excuse me. Who might you be?"
Edith: "I'm Edith Butros and you are pleased to make my acquaintance."
Professor Marcus: "Yes, I suppose, I am delighted."

01:28:58
Inside Edith's apartment they prepare everything for a séance.

11 sec.

01:32:28
At the end of the ceremony Edith is shown a little longer.

10 sec.

01:33:29
Professor Marcus explains:

9 sec.

Professor Marcus: "The thing we are facing is not of the flesh infact. It envious the flesh."

01:34:17
The group decides to pit itself against Talos.

30 sec.

Professor Marcus: "It can be stopped and then we send it back. Are we in common? Samantha must prevent precisely at the time of the planet constellation for the reincarnation. This is the only way."
Riley: "I cannot expect from all to continue here."
Professor Marcus: "We have gone this far, we cannot go back."
Edith: "Yeah, agreed."
Claire: "For Sam."
Professor Marcus: "For all of us."
Edith: "Great."

01:35:14
On their way to save Samantha Riley takes a shortcut over the sidewalk.

6 sec.

01:36:53
Shortly later they're interrupted by a demonstration.

22 sec.

01:39:28
Finally, they arrive at their target place.

15 sec.

01:40:21
Riley tries to fight the fire with his jacket.

20 sec.

01:41:28
The scene where Talos takes professor Marcus and Edith by surprise goes on a little longer.

7 sec.

01:43:40
Riley takes a look around.

12 sec.