Film Review: Lee Cronins The Mummy

“An innocent child is best, their body lasts longer - but any living human will do”

Lee Cronins The Mummy: ★★★☆☆

Released: 17th April, 2026

Stream: Cinemas

From the iconic production house Blumhouse and horror connoisseur James Wan, Lee Cronin takes a spin on a classic, reinventing ‘The Mummy’ universe and guides us through a twisted tale of horror, gore and lore. If you were hoping for a tomb raiding adventure, you’re in for a shock. For this reimagined version of ‘The Mummy’, we spend a 134 minute run-time following the Cannon family battling an ancient curse that’s taken hold of their eldest daughter, Katie. Best known for his role in cult classic Midsommar, Jack Reynor (Charlie Cannon) plays an investigative TV reporter and ever devoted father, next to his on-screen wife and mother of four, Laia Costa (Larissa Cannon). It takes no time for Cronin to formally introduce what horrors await, opening the film with scenes of a family native to Cairo, Egypt, who seem to be the keepers and protectors of the ‘Nasmaranian’, an ancient demon whose goal is unknown but savage, wreaking unholy, unimaginable havoc upon anyone in its path.

From the get-go this film is riddled with subtle foreshadowing, obvious to any active audience and offers an intriguing insight as to the narrative arch and ultimate resolution, though I’ll let you watch and figure that out yourselves.

Photo Credit: Warner Bros UK

Establishing an ongoing house-hopping dynamic for the Canon family due to Charlie's line of work, the family of four currently reside in Cairo, unknowingly neighbours with the entity that’ll soon change their lives forever. With only ten minutes on the clock, eight year old Katie is abducted from the family home, quickly falling victim to an almost satanic ritual, one that leaves her the newest host of the Nasmaranian. Having been officially missing for eight years, the Canons have moved back to the States, have welcomed a new child (around seven years old at this point) and live with Larissa's adoring mother. Having long given up on the idea of closure, the family are abruptly contacted by authorities with the information that Katie has been miraculously found alive. Thus ensues an hour and a half of sheer terror. From the moment a now seventeen year old and physically unrecognisable Katie is returned home, the family undergo unimaginable horrors and some of the most toe-curling body gore in modern horror.

Despite having (genuinely) comedic elements sprinkled throughout the script, offering moments of relief to its viewers, The Mummy equally incorporates and combines all elements of staple horror tropes, jump scares, possessions and body gore galore, somehow executing each of them almost flawlessly. It’d be easy to boil this tactic down to clutching the straws of horror cliches, and I have to agree, many films do rely on the ‘easy’ route of cheap thrills for instant reaction and immediate impact.

However, The Mummy does execute each of these components with distinct purpose and volition - the jump scares don’t feel tacky, they feel genuinely impactful and unassuming, the possession elements seemingly pay homage to horrors that shaped the genre, think: The Exorcist, and the body gore - while often used for sheer shock factor (which I’m not disputing does play a part here), really does ground you in the reality of what the family is facing. The gore within this move feels relevant, necessary and realistic, given the severity of the circumstance. Shock value runs throughout the entirety of the movie, my screening was met with thundering gasps and audible disgust from the audience, few even leaving the screening early - something that’d usually indicate negative reception, but for this genre, the biggest compliment one can receive.

Photo Credit: Warner Bros UK

While The Mummy is facing a mixed reception, with some, like myself, appreciating the cocktail of cliches and layers of horror archetypes, others struggle to separate this movie from blockbuster standards. Notably surfacing amongst several reviews, many have found the narrative relatively lackluster and void of emotional depth, and while that may ring some truth - one must remember horror isn’t required to bring layers of context, usually unneeding of substantial depth or explanation. Horror is typically and historically reliant on suspense and shock value, traits this movie certainly upholds, and in my opinion, harbours as much emotional depth as necessary for its plot. We watch the dynamics between the parents drastically shift as they begin to turn on each other in times of familial distress, the changes of personality of the other two children as torment grows and the devout nature of family support structure deteriorate as the unexplainable horrors exacerbate throughout the film. If one yearns for contextual depth, psychological thrillers are usually the way to go.

The Mummy showcases perfectly curated camera work and editing styles, gnarly, jaw-dropping gore and a slow but impactful build-up. My biggest and arguably only criticism would, in fact, be its pacing and equilibrium - I’m outspoken in the fact many films that exceed a two hour run time have absolutely no business in doing so, much less a film following a possession story arch, and usually does themselves a disservice in doing so. As stated, the horror genre is one that demands reaction and complete immersion, qualities that can quickly falter if fleshed out too long - so I do understand where criticisms of others’ come from in terms of depth. If it has to be over two hours, it probably does need something more than absurdities. While I have to note my distaste for the final five minutes that sadly took me out of the awe I spent the majority of the film in, it does do its job following a five-act-structure in reaching an undeniable resolution, whether or not it was a good one or not is up to personal preference.

Photo Credit: Warner Bros UK

The Mummy is out now in all cinemas.

Article By Bella Proudfoot

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