‘Lee Cronin’s The Mummy’ Review: A Horror Film Wrapped in Memories of ‘The Exorcist’

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Reviving Universal’s classic monster movies with modern themes was a promising idea, and Blumhouse Productions – known for films like Get Out – seemed like the perfect company to do it. However, the recent films haven’t lived up to their potential. While Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man cleverly explored domestic abuse, and Wolf Man touched on themes of fatherhood and inherited trauma, Lee Cronin’s The Mummy is even less successful. It’s hard to find any meaningful message beyond surface-level ideas about parental guilt and the challenges of motherhood, lost beneath a lot of gore. Cronin, who did a great job with the intense horror in Evil Dead Rise, seems most interested in delivering a wild, though illogical, final act. Ultimately, the movie prioritizes standard horror thrills over any deeper meaning.

Surprisingly, this film focuses more on demonic possession than the traditional mummy story. It seems the director struggles to revitalize either classic horror trope. While it includes all the expected elements – dusty corridors, impressive sound, excessive gore, and satanic ceremonies – it pushes boundaries in a problematic way. Specifically, a scene involving a young girl tied to a cross and placed in a sarcophagus is deeply disturbing and likely to alienate most viewers. Even strong family drama, like that in Ordinary People, wouldn’t be enough to excuse such a scene.

The family at the center of this story feels instantly disconnected, like strangers thrown together. Jack Reynor, resembling a grown-up Seth Rogen, plays Charlie Cannon, a television reporter who doesn’t seem convincing despite winning an award and wearing glasses. Charlie’s work has brought his family – his wife Larissa (Laia Costa) and their three children – to a dusty suburb of Cairo, Egypt, a location that feels deliberately set up by the writer. It’s already difficult enough to uproot three kids and move to Egypt, but things take a devastating turn when their youngest daughter, Katie (Emily Mitchell), is kidnapped from their yard by a woman with supernatural abilities (Hayat Kamille). Detective Zaki (May Calamawy, known from the Disney+ series Moon Knight) is assigned to the case because she’s fluent in English, but she hits a dead end and the investigation stalls. The story jumps forward eight years, and the Cannons, now living in Albuquerque (Charlie clearly needs to make better choices about where his family lives), receive news that Katie has been found – but she’s changed.

Cronin avoids truly examining the immense guilt the parents must feel after their daughter, Katie, was kidnapped. Instead of focusing on their emotional journey after eight years of uncertainty, the film presents Katie as a terrifying figure. Brought to life with impressive makeup effects and a chilling performance by Natalie Grace, Katie is physically disturbing – twisted, covered in wounds, and constantly snarling. Grace’s performance seems heavily inspired by the iconic horror film The Exorcist. Ultimately, Katie’s supernatural abilities, while occasionally providing some darkly humorous or shocking moments, simply serve whatever dramatic effect the director desires.

The film has a consistently creepy and ominous look, thanks to cinematographer Dave Garbett. However, this creates a problem: once the violence starts, there’s nowhere for the visuals to go. The Cannon family’s large, isolated house – filmed in Spain but meant to be in Albuquerque – feels overly theatrical, like a classic haunted house ripped from a movie like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Director Lee Cronin avoids typical jump scares, believing he’s creating something more disturbing. Instead, he focuses on graphic close-ups of blood and flesh, and unusual camera angles that force the parents to confront Katie’s deteriorating condition. Unfortunately, this approach makes the over two-hour film feel slow and repetitive, giving the audience plenty of time to anticipate the scares and consider the long-term psychological damage Katie will need help with.

The movie would have benefited more from focusing on Detective Zaki’s story in Cairo instead of repeatedly showing Charlie tiptoeing around, worried about Katie. The director doesn’t reveal if she regrets not finding Katie years ago, but the renewed investigation does lead to a strong scene at a nectarine farm, featuring a well-composed shot between Zaki and a woman who knows important details. Ultimately, the film seems to be about three women fixated on one young girl. Exploring this idea – three different types of female power pursuing a vulnerable child – could have added depth. Instead, the movie relies on impressive visuals, good special effects, and some effective scares, all reminiscent of classic horror films like The Exorcist, The Omen, and Poltergeist.

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2026-04-16 16:20