Synopsis:
In 1290 B.C., in the Egyptian city of Thebes, a forbidden love between the evil high priest Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo) and Anck-Su-Namun, the Pharaoh's mistress, is exposed. When Anck-Su-Namun takes her own life, Imhotep's acts of desperation in Hamunaptra, the City of the Dead, defy the gods. For his unholy acts he is condemned to have his still living, mummified body sealed inside his sarcophagus, undead for all eternity. Should his rotting corpse ever be released, he will arise a walking disease, a plague upon mankind. An unholy flesh-eater with the strength of the ages, power over the sands and the glory of immortality.

Roughly 3,000 years later, dashing Legionnaire Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) and his companion, Beni (Kevin J. O'Connor), stumble upon the hidden ruins of Hamunaptra. Years later, O'Connell languishes in prison. By his knowledge of the exact location of Hamunaptra, he is saved from almost certain execution. The legendary riches buried beneath the sands of Hamunaptra have become an obsession with both treasure hunters and archeologists. O'Connell finds himself in an unlikely alliance with the beautiful Egyptologist Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) and her brother Jonathan (John Hannah). The trio leave Cairo on a journey which will take them down the Nile, across the treacherous expanse of the Sahara, and to an encounter with a malevolent force whose power defies imagination.