A - D | E - L | M - Z
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: The sword that Rick uses in the climax makes short work of the chains binding Evy.
- Action Survivor: When we first meet Jonathan in 1926, he does things like hop into a sarcophagus and muse out loud that he'd rather like to join the dead. When Rick is faced with an awful situation, he says "I've had worse odds", and Jonathan says "So have I." His age, improbable aiming skills, ability to think quickly on his feet yet gets scared of firefights? He's the exact age to have fought in World War I.
- Actor Allusion: After crashing his plane, Winston and the plane sinking in the quicksand is treated like a captain going down with his ship. Actor Bernard Fox previously played someone who went down with the Titanic (twice!).
- Adaptational Attractiveness: Imhotep in the original was still pretty off-putting when he was fully regenerated. Here, he becomes the very attractive Arnold Vosloo, whose physique is on full display.
- Adaptational Badass: Imhotep is by far more powerful than his original counterpart which was mostly an undead sorcerer that mostly kill with instant death spells. Here he is cursed with the most feared curse that made him an apocalyptic invulnerable god.
- Adaptational Heroism: The brothers Ardeth and Terence Bey, here presented as mostly-heroic figures trying to stop Imhotep. In the 1932 original, Ardeth Bey was Imhotep, and the various Bey characters in the Universal Mummy sequels of the '40s and the Hammer Horror version of the The Mummy (1959) were mostly Evil Sorcerer types, manipulating the mummy to kill their enemies.
- Adaptational Villainy: Anuck-su-namun, thanks to Evy becoming a separate character, is now a secondary antagonist the main characters have to fight. This is emphasised more in the sequel, where she's an outright Femme Fatale, who leaves Imhotep to die.
- Alliterative Name: Dave Daniels and Bernard Burns, two of the leaders of the American expedition.
- All There in the Manual:
- The novelization gives some details that probably would have been difficult to convey in the movie, such as some of the Carnahans' backstory and the cause and effect of their parents' deaths. Among other things, pouring the scarabs into Imhotep's sarcophagus wasn't just to torture him further; it's an essential part of the ritual that they would eat his flesh, and when he became desperate he would eat them, and this would continue for years. This dark mockery of the cycle of life was an important aspect of making him immortal so that he would suffer forever.
- There was a lot more detail in the original script that was cut for pacing, including an expansion on Imhotep's backstory, the rest of the plagues, and tidbit explanations on minor issues. The original script can be viewed here.
- Almost Kiss: Rick and Evy when they both get drunk during the first night in Hamunaptra and he teaches her how to throw a punch. Since Rick clearly holds his liquor better than Evy, Hilarity Ensues.Evy: [completely hammered by this point, but attempting to appear dignified] I may not be an explorer—or, or an adventurer, or a treasure seeker, or a gunfighter—Mr O'Connell...! But I am proud of what I am!
Rick: [pretty much sober] Oh? And that is...?
Evy: I... am a librarian! [proud smile] And... and I am going to kiss you, Mr O'Connell.
Rick: [amused] Call me Rick.
Evy: [smiling] Rick... [leans in]
[Rick stops smiling and leans in as well]
[Evy passes out]
Rick: [exasperated/disappointed look] - An Arm and a Leg: During the final fight, Rick slices off Imhotep's arm. After tossing him away, Imhotep is able to reattach it.
- Always Know a Pilot: Rick is good friends with Winston Havelock, a WW1-era pilot. It comes in handy by the third act.
- Ancient Order of Protectors: The Medjai, the descendants of Pharaoh's bodyguards who try to keep people away from Hamunaptra, and Imhotep. Interestingly, despite maintaining their vigil and still taking the ancient religious elements seriously, they have all converted to Islam by the time of the movie.
- And I Must Scream: Imhotep's fate prior to his release by the main protagonists. His tongue was cut out, he was wrapped in bandages to the point of immobilization, and was then locked in a sarcophagus with a bunch of flesh-eating scarabs. To be eaten alive. Forever.
- Artistic License – Geography:
- Right at the beginning, during the opening shot of Thebes, pyramids are visible, but there never were any pyramids built around Thebes. You can also see a small version of The Sphinx in front of the pyramids, making the whole set look like Giza, in Cairo. Apparently, somebody believed that Ancient Egypt without pyramids would not be realistic.
- Then the opening (modern day) scene: what's the French Foreign Legion doing in Egypt (a British protectorate)? Ancient Egypt at its height didn't expand anywhere near what became France's African colonies. (This is somewhat mitigated by Rick mentioning that his unit deserted to go treasure hunting, but that just raises more questions, especially since he mentions them marching across Libya [an Italian colony] to reach Egypt. Of course, Rick also implies that they were just that motivated, and they appear decidedly understaffed for a regiment, so perhaps they found a believable amount of trouble on the way. It does make you wonder why the Italians and British don't seem pissed over some Legionnaires shooting their way through their territory, though.)
- Artistic License – History:
- The Book of the Dead and the Book of Amun-Ra are both made to look like a bunch of black stone and gold (respectively) tablets bound together in a form resembling a codex (a modern-day book). The Ancient Egyptians would have written their books on papyrus scrolls. Even if they could make the books the way they're depicted, the Book of Amun-Ra would never have been made out of pure gold—it would have been obscenely heavy.
- Imhotep spares Beni's life when he recognizes his Hebrew chanting as "the language of the slaves" and realizes he has some use for him. Even setting aside the debate about the historicity of the Bible and the Exodus story, the time period in which Imhotep—an Ancient Egyptian administrator—would have any familiarity with the Israelites, they should have been speaking Aramaic, not Hebrew.
- The bronze sword that Rick wields during the climax of the movie, as well as the bronze khopesh used by the soldier mummies, are considerably bigger and longer than their historical counterparts. Not only would a bronze sword like that be absurdly heavy, a sword that long would easily bend during battle.
- Imhotep, Seti, and Anck-Su-Namun's namesake of Ankhesenamun all lived in different dynasties of Ancient Egypt, with Imhotep dying a millennium before Seti and Ankhesenamun were born. Of course Imhotep could be a separate person named after the first Imhotep.
- Seti I was not murdered, in fact the leading consensus is that he died of a heart ailment. Ramses III on the other hand was murdered by his secondary queen and other conspirators in a plot to put her son on the throne. It didn’t work.
- Imhotep faces a dreadful curse called the Hom-Dai, which paradoxically bestows eternal life and incredible powers despite being a form of punishment. In reality, if Imhotep had been found guilty of regicide, his fate would likely have differed. Options might have included being coerced into suicide and buried without honors, or facing execution followed by cremation, with his ashes discarded in the desert. Immortality through curse wouldn't have been on the table; instead, he would have been erased from official records, his name stricken from memory, as ancient Egyptians believed immortality was achieved through posthumous remembrance. Additionally, proper funeral rites and an intact body were considered prerequisites for the journey into the afterlife.
Considering ancient Egyptian beliefs on death, Imhotep's crime would have barred him from eternal life. In the afterlife, his heart would be weighed against the feather of truth on the scale of Maat, and if found heavier due to his regicide, it would be consumed by Ammit the Devourer — ensuring Imhotep's permanent demise. - Rick tells Evelyn that his military garrison reached Hamunaptra in 1923 by marching across Libya. The name Libya is historically inaccurate. In 1923 (and in 1926 when Rick talks to Evelyn), that territory was known as Italian North Africa. The Italian government would not give it the name "Libya" until 1934, though the name comes from a name for the region dating back to ancient times, so Rick could have been using it informally, as was common.
- Artistic License – Linguistics: During his Emergency Multifaith Prayer, Beni starts praying in modern Hebrew, which Imhotep recognizes as "the language of the slaves". Even ignoring that the language involved would be Aramaic, as noted above, modern Hebrew shares very little with ancient Hebrew, to the point the two can't be recognized as the same language without careful study.
- Artistic License – Religion: Jonathan identifies the plague of boils as the final plague. Biblically, the final plague was the death of the firstborn sons, which never happens in the movie. Given that the death of the firstborn is controversial even within some parts of the Christian Church, it was probably cut for not being family friendly.
- As Long as It Sounds Foreign: Ardeth Bey appears to say the same sentence three times. Granted, he changes intonations. In case you're interested, he says "The desert will kill him."
- Audible Gleam: When Beni's bagging all that golden treasure from Hamunaptra (which winds up in Rick and Evy's hands after he bites it, and probably paid for their Big Fancy House in the sequel).
- Audible Sharpness: When Rick holds Beni's face against the ceiling fan, it suddenly sounds a lot louder and invokes razor-sharp blades.
- Author Appeal: The Mummy (1932) is Stephen Sommers' favorite movie, and he worked for years to get a crack at making his own version of it. This is the result.
- Avenging the Villain: After Jonathan uses the soldier mummies to destroy Anck-su-namun, Imhotep attempts to strangle him to death.
- Badass Boast: O'Connell is almost growling when he tells Imhotep "I'll be seeing you again" in a tone that should have told Imhotep that nothing would stop Rick from getting Evy back. Imhotep smirks in response, but it is clear that he has severely underestimated our hero.
- Badass Driver: Jonathan, who manages to maintain control of the car in the car chase despite it being mobbed. Right up until it crashes into a trough, that is.
- Bait-and-Switch: After the Warden dies, Jonathan reaches into his bag, which he had earlier stuffed with scarabs. He draws his hand back out, but it's because of a broken bottle neck, the bottle being one of Glenlivet whiskey. Jonathan compliments the Warden's taste and starts drinking it.
- Be Careful What You Wish For:
- As Rick explains, his Foreign Legion regiment (which looks more like an understrength battalion,
though that could be chalked up to attrition from marching across 1700 miles of Sahara Desert) shown at the beginning of the film were so certain they could find Hamunaptra, they marched out into the desert against orders to find it. And they did. Rick and Beni were the only ones to come back. - After Evy knocks over the shelves, Dr. Bey says, "Give me frogs, flies, locusts! Anything but you! Compared to you the other plagues were a joy!" He soon finds out that isn't true.
- As Rick explains, his Foreign Legion regiment (which looks more like an understrength battalion,
- Being Evil Sucks: Beni serves Imhotep purely out of fear and greed, and he clearly loathes every minute of it, except the part where he taunts the eyeless Burns, perhaps because he blames Burns and his fellows for unleashing Imhotep. By the end of the movie, he finds out being the toadie for an undead dark wizard is really not all it's cracked up to be.
- Better to Die than Be Killed: In the ancient prologue, Anck-Su-Namun fatally stabs herself rather than be apprehended by the Pharaoh's men.
- Big Damn Heroes: When Imhotep breaks into Evy's room as she's sleeping, Rick and Jonathan break into the room and scare Imhotep off with a cat.
- Big "NO!": Evy at the beginning when Rick is about to be hanged.
- The Egyptologist when he hears the Mummy's resurrection: "NO! You must not read from the book!"
- Bilingual Bonus: In-Universe: Beni Gabor can apparently pray in several different languages, so any available gods passing can hear. Not to mention Evy's ability to read, write and speak Ancient Egyptian and possibly many other languages.
- Blasting It Out of Their Hands: Rick shoots Ardeth's sword out of his hands during the camp shootout. Ardeth returns the favor a couple moments later when he draws a second sword and knocks Rick's gun out of his hands, forcing Rick to resort to the dynamite to create a standoff.
- Blind Without 'Em: Mr. Burns. His Oh, Crap! look after Beni accidentally smashes his glasses is rather sad.
- Of course, after Imhotep takes Burns' eyes, he too can't see well, initially mistaking Evy for Anck-su-Namun. This is fixed once he regenerates further.
- Blunt "Yes":
- The Medjai make no bones about being Necessarily Evil.Dr. Bey: We are part of an ancient secret society. For over three thousand years we have guarded the City of the Dead. We are sworn at manhood to do any and all in our power to stop the High Priest Imhotep from being reborn into this world.
Ardeth Bey: Now, because of you, we have failed.
Evelyn: And you think this justifies the killing of innocent people?
Dr. Bey: To stop this creature? Let me think...
Ardeth and Dr. Bey: YES! - Later in the film:[mummies rise from the floor]
Rick: Who the hell're these guys?
Ardeth: Priests... Imhotep's priests!
Rick: ...Alright, then.
[More Dakka ensues]
- The Medjai make no bones about being Necessarily Evil.
- Book Ends: At the beginning, Anck-su-Namun fatally stabs herself in the stomach, as seen in a Shadow Discretion Shot. At the end, Jonathan gains control of Imhotep's priests and orders them to kill her. We see this happen as a Shadow Discretion Shot.
- Bookshelf Dominoes: Evy's introduction scene has her knocking down every bookshelf in the library she works in, by accident.
- Bottomless Magazines: Count the bullets, and Rick and the other Americans fire a lot more rounds from their revolvers than the mere six shots they carry. It's especially noticeable during the shootout on the boat, i.e. when Henderson shoots the Hook-handed Medjai nine times, more than the capacity of the Colt Single Action Army revolvers he carries.
- Boulder Bludgeon: One of Imhotep's priests tries to crush Rick using a large stone slab.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Imhotep brainwashes most of Cairo's population via the plague of boils in order to go after the heroes there.
- Bugs Herald Evil: Scarabs and Imhotep are both found only in Hamunaptra and have a symbiotic link. But while you could dismiss the scarabs as being native to the city since ancient times, the actual awakening and activation of Imhotep is literally heralded by a swarm of locusts.
- Butt-Monkey: Burns, prior to his death, suffers unfairly—before Imhotep catches him, his glasses are broken, leaving him unable to see well. Then Imhotep catches him and steals both his eyes and his tongue. Later, he tracks down the group again and finishes Burns off, but not before the poor bastard finds out what's going to happen.
- Campfire Character Exploration: Evy and O'Connell talk about personal things like her background while sitting next to a crackling fire in their makeshift campsite.
- Cannon Fodder: The Egyptologist stops Henderson from opening a compartment in Hamunaptra, then suggests that they let the native diggers handle it instead, knowing full well that it's likely to be booby-trapped. Sure enough, they're immediately sprayed with acid.
- Can't Kill You, Still Need You: When Beni gets lost in the pyramid, the recently resurrected Imhotep is about to kill him as the cowardly Beni prays to various gods in an attempt to ward him off. When Beni starts to chant in Hebrew, Imhotep recognizes the language and instead forces Beni into his service, since having someone around who can actually understand him would be useful to someone who's planning to conquer the world.
- Cats Are Magic: At two points, a normal cat is able to ward off Imhotep because "cats are the guardians of the underworld." This is exploited only once, because Imhotep completes his regeneration soon after and becomes immune to whatever the cat would supposedly have done to him. In the
Licensed Game of the sequel, cats drain Imhotep's life bar. - Chekhov's Boomerang: The flesh-eating scarabs. OK, these were important when they first showed up, but still...
- Chekhov's Gun:
- Early on it is mentioned that Hamunaptra was rigged to collapse into the sands at the flick of a switch. At the end of the movie, Beni sets a bag of gold on a seemingly random protrusion in a wall, which is that exact lever.
- During the Medjai attack, Rick uses a lit stick of dynamite to threaten Ardeth Bey into backing down, and afterwards he pulls the fuse out and tucks the dynamite in his waistband. So it's no surprise when he uses dynamite again in the climactic fight against the mummified priests.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Winston first appears as an old barfly who has a couple lines and then wanders out of the film, only to reappear when the protagonists need a pilot to get back to Hamunaptra in a hurry.
- Chekhov's Skill: Jonathan picks the key that opens seemingly every locked Egyptian artifact in existence out of Rick's pocket before the start of the film, then swipes it back from the Medjai that attacks him on the boat, and once again out of Imhotep's robes during a struggle near the end.
- Completely Unnecessary Translator: Beni acts as one for Imhotep, and gets taken down a peg when Evy, who is fluent, corrects his translation.
- Compact Infiltrator: Imhotep has the ability to transform into sand, which he normally uses to travel as a dust-storm. However, while still regaining his strength, he uses the same power to sneak into Evelyn's bedroom without raising the alarm - namely by literally pouring himself through the keyhole.
- Concealment Equals Cover: Averted during the Medjai raid on the boat, where Rick takes cover behind a wall but a Medjai gunman keeps firing through it and almost would have hit him if Evelyn didn't pull him away at the last moment.
- Contrived Coincidence: On the same totally random day Rick and Evelyn set out on their expedition to Hamunaptra, another expedition for the same long lost city being led by Rick's old associate Beni just happens to depart from the exact same location, on the exact same ship.
- Cool Car: The Curator's 1931 Duesenberg Model J, also useful for Car Fu.
- Cool Old Guy: Winston Havlock, RAF. A hard-drinking, good-natured WWI ace who lost all his friends fighting the Ottoman Turks 10 years earlier. When offered a chance to "Rescue the damsel in distress, kill the bad guy, save the world," with a near-certainty of it being a suicide mission, he all but says "Hell yeah, sign me up!"
- Cowardly Lion: Jonathan. Unlike Beni, Jonathan proves that when the going gets tough he can muster enough courage to help out the others... even if he'd prefer not to unless really, really pushed.
- Cruel and Unusual Death:
- As part of his punishment for murdering Pharaoh Seti I, Imhotep is buried alive in a sarcophagus filled with flesh-eating scarab beetles.
- The priests who helped Imhotep in the prologue are mummified alive.
- Some hired locals are sprayed with acid when they pry open a pass in the tomb and trigger a booby trap.
- Hassan, the warden who accompanies O'Connell's group on the journey, is unfortunate enough to have a scarab beetle crawl under his skin and eventually burrow into his skull to eat his brain. While this doesn't kill him directly, he bolts down a tunnel, screaming in agony before (possibly intentionally) slamming his head into a stone wall, killing himself and putting an end to the bug's work. Christ.
- Everybody unlucky enough to be in the vicinity of the chest (that holds the Book of the Dead and Anck-su-namun's canopic jars) when it is opened—they get their flesh sucked away by Imhotep.
- Beni Gabor, who has spent the movie betraying everyone, faces a slow death by dehydration and starvation after being trapped in Hamunaptra's treasure chamber. That's bad enough, especially given that the single torch he has is going out. Cue those self-same flesh-eating scarab beetles, which would probably be a Mercy Kill if anything.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Rick's fight with Imhotep is ridiculously one-sided. Thanks to Imhotep's Super-Strength and Healing Factor, Rick can only serve as a distraction while Evy and Jonathan try to find a spell to kill Imhotep.
- Curb-Stomp Cushion: Rick's French Foreign Legion in the prologue don't back down in the face of the Medjai army, and their first several volleys take down several waves of horsemen, but the moment the Medjai start returning fire, the difference in firepower is obvious. The moment they jump the barricades, the battle is all but lost.
- Curiosity Killed the Cast: Evy reads from a book that sets off the events of the film, and that conveniently prevents the production company from having to pay more actors.
- Cursed with Awesome: Imhotep, whose punishment for having an affair with the Pharaoh's favorite wife, killing the Pharaoh, and trying to raise the dead is to be eaten alive by scarabs. Unfortunately for the rest of the world, once the scarabs are done and he comes back, he has all the powers of the Ten Plagues of Egypt.
- Curse of the Pharaoh: Despite warnings from a band of Medjai, a group of explorers find the remains of Imhotep. When his Book of the Dead is read by one of them, Imhotep comes back to life and kills members of the expedition to regain his strength and eventually revive his deceased lover.
- Cute Monster Girl: Subverted by Ankh-su-namun in her mummy form. She looks exactly as you'd expect a 3000-year-old mummified corpse to look, but she was gorgeous when she was alive.
- Damsel in Distress: Evy a couple of times. One of the times is actually a subversion since she goes with the villain willingly to save everyone else (though it's not explained how she ended up unconscious and chained to a slab; note that it is shown in the original uncut script).
- Dark Is Not Evil: Played with in the case of the Medjai, who dress in black and are Necessarily Evil, but turn out to be Good All Along.
- Deadly Dust Storm: Imhotep has power over them, and can even turn into one.
- Death by Materialism:
- Beni. He just gets a little too greedy with the gold he is thieving from Hamunaptra—the guy already has a huge saddlebag and simply has to go back for more.
- The prison warden steals a wall decoration that's actually a live scarab beetle... which burrows into his foot, up his entire body, up his face, then starts eating his brain.
- The Americans are a lot more callous in their tomb-raiding and make perfectly clear that they are in only for the money. As awful as their deaths are, they get what they deserve.
- Death Seeker: Winston Havlock, a WWI pilot who survived when all his buddies died in glorious combat. In fact, when the heroes recruit his assistance against Imhotep, and tell him point blank that he'll probably die (as everyone else who's gotten involved has died), he sounds downright giddy at the prospect. He gets his wish too, dying in the subsequent plane crash and being buried in the desert.Winston: [as Imhotep's sandwave is about to bring down the biplane] Here I come, laddies! [laughs]
- Decomposite Character:
- In the 1932 film, 'Ardeth Bay' was just the alias that Imhotep went by when he was resurrected. Here, he is a separate character from Imhotep completely.
- Likewise, the female lead, named Helen in the 1932 film, was the reincarnation of Anuck-su-namun. Evy has the Egyptian heritage and is nearly used as a sacrifice to bring Anuck-su-namun back to life, but is not her reincarnation. The Mummy Returns would introduce Meelah, Anuck-su-namun's actual reincarnation as a separate character. That same film also blends things further with the 1932 one, as Anuck-su-namun was a princess there, but isn't here, and now Evy is revealed as a reincarnation of the actual princess, Nefertiri.
- Designated Girl Fight: Subverted in the final fight. While Rick and Jonathan fight off Imhotep and his many mummy mooks, Anck-Su-Namun attacks Evy. However, being a Non-Action Gal, Evy spends the whole "fight" simply dodging her attacks. Jonathan then commands an army of mummified guards he summoned to kill her.
- Devoured by the Horde: Beni Gabor is eaten alive by scarab beetles, which swarm over and inside of him.
- Die Laughing: Winston's last words that we see him say are a gleeful "here I come, laddies!" and a laugh as his plane spins out of control because of Imhotep's sand storm and after it crashes and Rick notices that the crash killed Winston, Winston looks rather pleased.
- Digital Bikini: When O'Connell throws Evy into the river to escape the burning ship, when she gets out her white nightgown is soaking wet. It's not see-through because ILM came to the rescue and added opacity to it (Stephen Sommers apparently didn't notice during filming because he was focusing on Rachel Weisz's performance). If you look at her legs, you can see the gown became basically transparent when it got wet.
- Dirty Coward:
- Beni runs away and leaves his so-called comrades to be killed by the Tuaregs; he locks himself in the tomb, even shutting out his "friend" Rick; and worst of all, he becomes Imhotep's servant in order to save his own miserable neck. On top of that, he greedily fills his pockets with the gold from the tomb, which ultimately ends up killing him.
- The Foreign Legion commander at the beginning raises his sword to give the order to charge... and then drops it and gallops away, leaving Rick to give the order to attack. Even Beni lasts (a little) longer, enough to tell Rick about the aforementioned command change.
- Disposable Pilot: Winston.
- Dissonant Serenity: As the Pharaoh is murdered by Imhotep and Anck-Su-Namun, Imhotep's priests watch the bloodshed with stoic fascination.
- Don't Touch It, You Idiot!: The British Egyptologist tells Evy, "You must not read from the book!" She does anyway. Subverted in that he declares this after she's already done what she wasn't supposed to. Although he's really not one to talk, since he and the three Americans were the ones to open the chest the aforementioned book was in in the first place, after he'd clearly read the inscription that warned that anyone who opens the chest would be the resurrected mummy's first victims.
- Dual Wielding: One of the soldier mummies who attacks Rick near the end uses a pair of khopesh swords.
- Dwindling Party: As Imhotep slowly works his way down the cursed in a Sorting Algorithm of Evil, everyone who tries to help stop him dies. When they're recruiting Winston to fly them back to Hamunaptra and he's excited about potentially not surviving it, Jonathan flippantly says "Well, everyone else we've bumped into has died; why not you?"
