Movie Review — Lee Cronin’s The Mummy, A Gory, Evil Dead Spin on a Classic

Lee Cronin’s The Mummy delivers a heavy, blood-soaked punch to the audience. Director Lee Cronin returns with his latest work, completely reshaping our preconceived notions of The Mummy.

The film abandons the old treasure-hunting in pyramids and fantasy-action tropes, focusing instead on a profoundly broken family. The story follows a journalist’s young daughter, Katie, who mysteriously vanishes in the desert, only to bizarrely return eight years later. What was thought to be a miraculous reunion turns out to be a nightmare, as the returned girl has become a living mummy parasitized by an ancient, dark power.

Credit:imdb

During the watch, I had a very strong sense of déjà vu. Although inspired by The Mummy, the plot’s direction is not far off from Evil Dead. You could even call it a spin-off. And it makes perfect sense, as director Lee Cronin helmed Evil Dead Rise. He makes no secret of his love for claustrophobic terror and demonic possession elements, brutally dragging what was originally an action-adventure genre into the abyss of psychological thrillers and body horror.

As a fan of the Evil Dead franchise, you will definitely find that familiar wicked delight in this film. There are some deeply uncomfortable scenes where the visceral, bloody visuals unapologetically hit you right in the face. Among them, the part where Katie peels off her own skin is incredibly disgusting. The sticky, visceral sensation of flesh separating from skin tests the audience’s stomach and showcases the director’s profound skill in handling sadistic scenes.

Yet, the most suffocating aspect of Lee Cronin’s The Mummy isn’t just the sheer gore, but the atmosphere of despair that permeates the entire family. At first, I just thought the director intentionally slowed down the pacing, allowing all the tragedies to unfold naturally. The truth is, people who have experienced trauma react and think much slower, and the movie exactly magnifies this sense of helplessness. When a beloved daughter turns into an uncommunicative, rotting monster, the parents’ hesitation and agony of wanting to save her but being utterly powerless is even more heartbreaking.

Lee Cronin cleverly weaves the trauma of losing a loved one into the monster trope, making Lee Cronin’s The Mummy much more than just a horror film that shows off fake blood. If you enjoy pure terror that peels back human trauma and stares directly into the abyss of despair, this bizarre work full of eeriness and sorrow is absolutely worth experiencing in theaters.

Further Watching

• Jack Reynor’s previous horror flick 👉 Midsommar
• Resurrections gone wrong 👉 Pet Sematary