- A crazed Egyptian follows the members of an archaeology expedition and kills them off one by one while getting progressively older.
- Archaeologists in Egypt find one of their crew has been turned into a blood sucking mummy after they have unleashed a three thousand year curse by entering a Pharaoh's tomb.—Ray Baden
- The movie opens with the Bel-Air production logo followed by the title and credits shown over a stone tablet of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and then dissolves into a map of Egypt with the British Flag flying. We are in Cairo in the year 1902 at a British military outpost. A man explains to Colonel Cross (Ralph Clanton) that his soldiers were attacked by the local people. A riot is underway outside and a rock crashes through the window and lands on the Colonel's desk. Captain Storm (Mark Dana) reports to the Colonel for a new assignment. He is to go south to the Valley of the Kings with a very small contingent to rescue an archeological expedition. To add to his challenge he is to take the wife of the expedition's leader along. It seems that this dig went out without Egyptian approval and the authorities are concerned the locals may attack and kill the members of the dig. The planned route is the long way because it is safer.
The rescue party on horseback crosses the desert. Leading the group is Capt. Storm, followed by Sylvia Quentin (Diane Brewster). The third in line is Sgt. Gromley (Richard Peel), followed by a man with a beard, Sgt. Smolett (Terence de Marney). They stop at an oasis for water and to rest. Storm turns on the charm and explains how things are done to Mrs. Quentin. Sylvia assures Storm she is accustomed to hardship. The group beds down for the evening in a brushy area of the desert. This gives Sylvia and Storm a chance to get better acquainted. Sylvia is perceptive and tells Storm he must have had one woman immune to his charms. The horses get spooked and Storm investigates. Gromley and Smolett join the captain, armed and ready for the intruder. Storm sees a woman, alone, approach their fire. Simira (Ziva Rodann as Ziva Shapir) explains that she is alone, and she is not lost. She was drawn by the light of their fire. She declines the food and water offered, and explains she is traveling to find her brother, Numar, who is helping the expedition with the tomb of Rahateb. Simira knows her brother is with them, and warns, "You must hurry before it is too late." She offers to lead them on a more direct route, but Storm is reluctant to trust this stranger. They allow her to join them, but on the longer, safer route. The rescue party goes to bed and Simira reclines in the nearest tree.
The next morning Gromley rouses Smolet, who is supposed to be on guard. He notices one of the mules, Mabel, is missing. She was carrying the food. They search but there are no hoof prints. They continue south. Simira walks behind the horses. Storm calls a halt and tries to convince Simira to ride one of the pack animals, but she again declines the offer. She tells Storm, "I do not tire, Captain. The desert is my strength. You had better keep the animals for yourselves." Gromley checks the water container and finds it empty. He blames his colleague, Smolet, but also grows more suspicious of the stranger in their camp. Simira rubs a cat charm on a necklace around her neck.
That evening, as the party gets sleep, a scorpion steals into camp. It stings Sylvia on the arm. When Storm calls for the medical kit, Gromley discovers the kit is missing, along with Simira. Storm uses a knife to cut Sylvias arm and he sucks out the poison. He uses the makeshift tourniquet to bandage the wound.
The next morning Simira wanders back into camp. She claims she went the short way and reached the pass. Storm tells her Sylvia was stung by a scorpion. Simira insists they take the short route if Sylvia is to survive. Storm agrees to the change in routing, but promises Simira if it is a trap he will kill her first.
At the tomb, Walter Andrews (Ben Wright) reads the cartouche, "Let ye who seeks to disturb the eternal peace and sleep of the high priest beware. Flesh of my flesh shall creep into thy body and eat of the flesh of thy spirit until such time as he shall return into the pit of everlasting darkness, which he lived before life." The expedition leader, Robert Quentin (George Neise) orders the seal on the sarcophagus be broken. Andrews warns against desecrating the tomb. Quentin asks the opinion of Hans Brecht (Kurt Katch). Brecht replies, "It is what we came for." Next he asks Claude Beauchamp (Robert Fortin). The little French alcoholic indifferently answers, "What does it matter what I think, Robert. You will do what you want anyway." Beauchamp continues his sketches of the tomb. Quentin turns last to Dr. Michael Farraday (Guy Prescott). Farraday replies hes a man of science and he doesn't know much about superstition. Quentin stares at Numar (Alvaro Guillot) as if to ask his opinion, thinks better of asking a native, and then cuts open the seal on the lid.
The rescue party now follows Simira across the desert. They arrive at a high point above the tent covered encampment below. Simira grimaces and clutches the charm on her necklace. She announces, "We are too late. Theres no chance to help now. It is too late."
In the tomb, Quentin and Brecht remove the lid over Andrew's objection. Inside is the mummified remains of the high priest. Farraday cuts into the wrappings on the head with a scalpel. As he does, Numar drops the torch he is holding and clutches the side of his face. He falls to the floor unconscious. Storm walks into the chamber carrying a torch.
Storm confronts Quentin in his tent. He informs the leader, "Tomorrow we seal up the tomb, and that's final." He adds that as soon as Sylvia is ready to travel they ride back to Cairo. Farraday stops in to talk to Quentin. He tells Quentin his wife is fine, but exhausted. He also reports that Numar is also fine, just a little shock. He adds that his sister, Simira is with him in his tent. Quentin visits with his wife in her tent. She is reluctant to give her husband the bad news. Quentin tries to convince her to be sick a little longer to delay their departure. She wanted to end their relationship in person. Her husband tries to explain what he did for her, then finally concludes Storm may have influenced her. Quentin next visits Beauchamp in the work tent. He is drinking and working on the diary and sketches. Brecht and Andrews are still working on the translation on the stone tablet. Quentin wants to find the king's tomb. Storm goes to Quentin's tent to talk, but the expedition leader is not there. He grabs a torch and walks into the tomb complex to find Quentin. There is a minor rock fall, but Storm continues his search. He hears someone using a pick on the wall and follows the sound. He finds Quentin and reminds him he ordered everyone out of the tomb. Quentin shows Storm that the mummy is missing and cat prints on the floor lead to a solid wall. Quentin storms off to confront Numar. He threatens the young man, but the doctor explains that Numar is now ill, very ill. His skin and teeth show rapid aging. Numar has a long scar down his face and his hair has turned gray. Quentin is obsessed with the tomb and shows no regard for Numar or his wife.
Gromley shoots at Numar entering the tomb. One of the animals is discovered drained of all its blood. Storm tries to get answers from Simira, but only gets the same words of warning unheeded. He confines her to her tent. Storm, Quentin, Beauchamp, Farrady, and Gromley enter the tomb carrying torches. They split up to search the tomb passages for Numar. Quentin and Beauchamp find what might be the tomb of the king. Beauchamp sarcastically observes that Quentin needed more time and got it. Gromley enters a chamber and looks around, but his torch is extinguished by a gust of wind. A door opens and Numar, now very old, approaches the Sergeant. Gromley fires several shots from his revolver directly into Numar, but it has no effect and he continues to approach. He attacks. Later we learn that Gromley's blood was rapidly and completely drained. The noise draws the others to the chamber where they discover the body.
Andrews and Brecht complete the translation on the stone tablet. They relay the contents. It is a letter from Rahateb to his high priest regarding his funeral arrangements. The high priest is to commit suicide and guard the king after the king's death. Andrews notes that when the high priest's mummy was disturbed the trouble started. Storm now decided they must remain to solve the mystery and the death of one of his soldiers. The entire party reenters the tomb to work. Brecht goes off alone to explore the tunnels in the tomb complex. Quentin is working on the wall with a pick. Storm finds an opening above their chamber and explores the room. Brecht explores a chamber room. A door swings open and he crawls under it and into another room. It is well stocked with statues and other treasures. A door opens and an even more decrepit Numar exits approaching Brecht. He attacks Brecht, but the man, barely alive, escapes the room with scratches on his face. Storm enters the hidden room and fires at the retreating Numar. He grabs Numar's arm as the door closes. The arm is torn off in the process.
Farraday examines the arm and exclaims, "Unbelievable. His body disintegrating. Turning into dust." Storm makes an appeal to Simira to help them find her brother, but she again repeats her chant of, "Tried to warn, tried to help, you would not listen." She is escorted back to her tent. Sylvia appeals to Storm to give up so they can leave. In her tent she sees the shadow of a cat, but at the entrance Simira enters. Simira stares at Sylvia, who runs from her tent. Simira pulls off her necklace. Sylvia makes her way into the tomb complex. She feels her way around trying to find her colleagues. An arm grabs Sylvia and she screams, but it is only Smolet. He heads Sylvia to her husband. They walk into the secret room. She relays her story about Simira to the group. They return outside looking for Simiar. Andrews and Quentin remain behind. Quentin pulls a gun on Andrews and tries to beat the location of the king's chamber out of him. The door flies open and Numar is there looking worse than ever. He turns and walks deeper into the tomb of Rahateb and Quentin follows. Quentin only gets a few feet inside when the ceiling collapses killing and burying him.
Outside, Storm searches each tent for Simira with no luck. It is then they notice Quentin and Andrews missing. They enter the tomb complex and see the remains of the expedition leader. Beauchamp sees Simira's shadow on the wall and finds her amulet. As the group exits the tomb complex they find the sarcophagus lid back in place. They open it and cut the wrapping on the mummy. There they find Numar as an ancient, decayed mummy. Numar is now the high priest, destined to guard his king. Simira is the cat goddess. They replace the lid and exit the tomb. They bury their dead and depart on their horses. Beauchamp destroys his notes and sketches because he feels no one would believe his story. He drops the cat amulet and we close with the remaining members of the expedition and rescue party riding off on their horses.
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