LEE CRONIN’S THE MUMMY

Director
Lee Cronin

Starring
Jack Reynor
Natalie Grace
Laia Costa

After a brief introduction to a mysterious family guarding a mummified body near Aswan, Egypt, we’re shown reporter, Charlie [Reynor] and his wife Larissa [Costa], speaking with the police after their eldest daughter Katie has been abducted. Without any solid leads and little hope of seeing Katie again, the film jumps ahead eight years. Charlie and Larissa live with Larissa’s mother in New Mexico and have never really escaped the devastation of losing Katie. This wound is reopened somewhat when they receive a call from the Cairo police office, explaining that Katie’s body has been found in a sarcophagus being transported by plane. Alive but extremely traumatised, it’s agreed she should be with her family to recover. But, upon arrival in New Mexico, Katie [Grace] begins exhibiting strange and dangerous behaviour.

Horror fans are a unique breed of audience; what appeals to them and denotes success can run somewhat parallel to the standard markers of cinema. So when I say this film could be very polarising solely based on the title, what I mean is that people go into a “Mummy” film with certain expectations. What they’re actually going to get is a part Exorcist, part Evil Dead hybrid. And that’s not a nuanced or subtle take, this film wears those inspirations brazenly on its sleeve, to the point of taking pastiche to plagiarism. Much like Cronin’s other works, The Hole In The Ground and Evil Dead Rise, The Mummy is essentially a haunted house chamber piece that starts as a creepy unsettling family drama, before descending into heightened violence and horror. However, it feels like Cronin’s work on that latter film has infiltrated his directorial style a little too much and the Evil Dead-ness of the whole affair taints the tension. Meaning it will often veer into comedic antics and frankly silly lines such as asking “how your little piggies taste” before a gelatinous tongue slides under a locked door and licks an actor’s feet.

And it’s this split personality that spreads and blemishes the rest of the film. You’ve got pronounced extreme-close-ups and split diopter shots and an immersive, creepy musical score. Yet there’s an argument to be made that (like a lot of contemporary releases) maybe it’s a little too dimly lit for some, especially considering the story is split between Egypt and New Mexico – two very bright locations. What’s more, the film is initially calmly paced, unfolding as it wants to rather than rushing from scare to scare. But while the first half an hour unfolds gradually, this ends up being detrimental as it makes the majority of the film feel a little bloated and indulgent. It’s almost as if the movie wants to project a strong throwback to 70s horror, with a mystery detective element in Cairo adding a nice parallel palate cleanser to the straight horror elements (reminiscent of The Omen), but it can’t let go of the Sam Raimi inspired antics and tight camera focus on unsettling unpleasantness.

The performances and writing for each character doesn’t help matters either. Jack Reynor does a good enough job but never fully embodies the obsession and guilt he’s supposedly consumed by. He also oddly slips out of focus every now-and-then, to the extent he doesn’t always feel like the main character. And making that void of presence worse, there isn’t a clear supporting role that steps up. Laia Costa as Larissa has great highlighted moments of frustration but overall she’s simply too retreated and underdeveloped. Similarly, we have standout respective deliveries from Shylo Molina and Billie Roy as the other children but they don’t dominate enough to be considered leads. The only other major note is Natalie Grace as the semi-catatonic Katie. Encased in prosthetic makeup and subjecting her body to jerking movements and harrowing sounds, she performs admirably as the titular monster.

The Mummy feels like a blunt force weapon attempting surgical precision. It hits with devastating impact but when it’s trying to say something with finesse, the result ends up feeling silly and comical. The first of two key examples being the central driving conceit of “we’ve found your daughter and we recommend flying her from Africa to America to rehabilitate with her family” is hilariously trite, solely engineered to generate horror fuel. Another example being the fallout from the outburst at a wake. Without going into too much spoiler-riddled detail, any notion of “we can take care of Katie ourselves” should be dismissed entirely there and then. Not to mention the distinct lack of wider outcry and panic from onlookers sullying the impact and suspension of disbelief. Instead, we just cut to the next scene several hours later, with the family planning to resolve matters. And it’s that hard cut which neuters the impact, creates ambiguity, and pierces credibility.

Ultimately, this is a competent enough film about possession and the impacts of lasting trauma. It touches on familiar themes and tropes that Cronin clearly enjoys, such as family dynamics, bodily autonomy, and doppelgangers. And, granted, it takes an openly new twist on the idea of what a Mummy film can be but never really presents anything daring or new, simply substituting aesthetics and well-trodden scenarios from adjacent horror releases. Far from a complete write-off but too bloated to enthusiastically recommend.

Release Date:
17 April 2026

The Scene To Look Out For:
In an example of the grisly horror, bold presentation and practical elements working in harmony, Charlie resets the bathroom after one of Katie’s outbursts, only to notice a shred of what appears to be skin. Upon closer inspection in the basement, he peels away the various layers to reveal bindings with text written on them. And it’s this visceral nature of the wrappings fusing to Katie’s flesh and the hidden messages on them that not only felt like a genuinely nice touch, but made for a surprising reveal and development.

Notable Characters:
As stated above, the film often cuts away from the family in New Mexico to follow May Calamawy as Detective Dalia Zaki in Egypt. Admittedly there’s nothing especially novel about a missing cases detective being a bit hard-nosed and invested in a case but Calamawy performs admirably enough to help ground the film outside of the more outlandish elements.

Highlighted Quote:
“I can fix her, I can fix her, I can do it.”

In A Few Words:
“A confused and conflicted release that would’ve been neater if it could have been titled Evil Dead Rise 2.”

Total Score: 3/5

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