Apparently, it needs to be made abundantly clear that Lee Cronin’s The Mummy is not your father’s The Mummy. That’s assuming you’re the child of someone who has only ever witnessed the classic Universal Monster character reimagined as a blockbuster adventure/fantasy series. There was also the poor attempt to use The Mummy as the launching point for a Dark Universe series of films, but not even Tom Cruise could save that impossible mission. That brings us back to this iteration of The Mummy (which very assuredly does not feature Brendan Fraser). It is a hardcore horror film very much indebted to films like Poltergeist and The Evil Dead (and director Cronin fittingly just directed an entry in that ongoing series). The results are quite violent, gory, and potentially scarifying if you’re in the mood for a return to the more straightforward delights of being stalked by a cursed corpse.
Beginning in Egypt, following the usual cold open needed to build awareness of further dangers, we are eventually introduced to the Cannon family. Charlie (Jack Reynor) is a journalist currently working in the area. His wife, Larissa (Laia Costa), and two children live with him locally. One day, their younger daughter, Katie, is abducted during a sandstorm, with no trace left behind. Eight years later, Katie (Natalie Grace) has been found inside a centuries-old sarcophagus. Underneath some wrappings, Katie is malformed with fragile skin and long nails. She doesn’t speak but is at least aware of her environment. Depending on her mood, she may also find her way into the crawlspaces of the house, or worse, let herself be overtaken by a powerful force inside of her that could harm the rest of the family.
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Not to cheapen the narrative, but while horror films are often known for the way they can use the genre as a means to target interesting themes or social commentary, one does get the feeling that Cronin was largely more interested in using certain bits of iconography primarily for the sake of creating a world that’s keen on terrifying the viewer. While there’s something to be said about grief, loss, and upsetting the domestic family ideal, the film’s true function is to operate as a scare machine. It honestly shares a lot with Cronin’s previous film, Evil Dead Rise, down to some of the familial elements, as we know we are in for a ride, and even though we don’t want to see bad things happen to a decent family, we can’t help but keep watching once they do.
As a Blumhouse Production, following the somewhat more expansive opening prologue, much of the rest of the film remains set in either the Cannon household or a few offices and hallways that don’t cost too much. It makes little difference, however, as this film may not have the scope of the four previous Mummy movies, but the variety of big horror moments is bound to have an effect. Coming in at over two hours, Cronin clearly delights in testing the audience’s patience, but that allows for a decent amount of melodrama that gives actors a chance to act, let alone a sense of humor to emerge, grounding this film in more than just oppressive levels of violence.
Still, when the spooky moments arrive, they do what’s necessary to ramp up the tension. Shot choices, sound design, and a blend of physical and CG effects do what’s needed to make this mummy child a nightmare to deal with. Intense closeups on things like toenails lead to sequences where the audience is no doubt ready to squirm at a moment’s notice. Many uses of split diopter shots call back to an earlier era, yet still feel like effective ways to craft suspense. Balanced jumps and old-school tactics do work in favor of a film that raises plenty of questions that are not all satisfyingly answered.
Making up for some narratively lacking areas is a game cast happy to play along with Cronin’s ideas for a fun, horror-filled time. In particularly, the children are utilized quite well. Bring Her Back may have made it clear that nothing is off-limits, but this film is sure to remind audiences that larger studios aren’t afraid to walk right up the line, either. Seeing Grace’s Katie go through some tough physical challenges really helps sell the danger she poses to both herself and her parents.
At the same time, May Calamawy leads the investigative side of the film, which at first feels more like a distraction than anything, but does end up with some interesting payoffs. The same can be said for a few other characters, once we know the full extent of the plotting. I do wish these aspects of the film had been tightened (2+ hours for a horror movie like this is always going to feel long), but I can’t argue with the thrills provided by scenes featuring these characters, along with scorpions and sharp objects.
While perhaps not as finely tuned as some other recent horror hits, let alone some referenced horror classics, Lee Cronin’s The Mummy does do enough to satisfy those looking to see a more shocking step taken by a shroud-covered curse monster. Allowing the film to have a dark sense of humor goes a long way to make the whole thing more enjoyable than just watching a family suffer at the scraggly hands of their once-lost daughter. Plus, sometimes a movie that builds towards becoming an over-the-top violent funhouse is just what the mummy ordered, hold the sand.
Lee Conin’s The Mummy opens in theaters and IMAX on April 17, 2026.
