FILM REVIEW: LEE CRONIN’S THE MUMMY (18) ESP RATING: 2/5
- Gavin Miller
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
Despite kudos for trying something different – this unravels into a disappointingly overlong bore.
Director Lee Cronin had ‘money in the bank’ after his impressive 2023 Evil Dead Rise sequel – which brought him lots of genre acclaim – but this new take on the iconic monster franchise is tonally all over the place.
With his pedigree – coupled with the decent trailer – this horror promised so much. But despite a few admirable ideas, this isn’t a lot better than the 2017 Tom Cruise-led version. In fact, that was probably slightly more enjoyable.
When Katie, the eldest daughter of investigative TV reporter Charlie (Transformers: Age of Extinction’s Jack Reynor) and his wife Larissa (Laia Costa), disappears without a trace in Cairo, it leaves the family devastated.
Fast forward eight years back home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the couple – along with their two younger children Sebastian (Shylo Molina) and Maud (Billie Roy) – have gone on with their lives, but then receive a phone call that their lost child has been found.
In an Egyptian desert near Aswan, Katie (Natalie Grace) has literally fallen out of the sky during a plane crash – mummified and entombed in an ancient coffin. But despite being in a catatonic state, and dependant on sedatives to keep her from self-harming, her parents decide to move Katie back home.
Which turns out to be a really bad idea.
Back in Egypt, Detective Dalia Zaki (May Calamawy) is put back on the case to see how Katie ended up in this predicament, and a link to a childhood friend Layla – and her magician mother (Hayat Kamille) – reveals she has been possessed by the ancient demon Nasmaranian, through a mummification ritual.
And via a very, slow and arduous process, we see Katie overcome by the evil that starts to affect the family with terrible consequences. Before going very ‘Evil Dead Rise’ during the finale.
But despite some intriguing elements – as it tries to do something different with The Mummy lore – it takes so long to get there, you’ll be watch-checking before the pay-off. And that isn’t particularly memorable.
Which puts this squarely in the ‘what could have been’ category – as it all ends up a bit of a nightmare. And not in a good ‘horror movie’ way. A few intermittent gory moments meant it was an ‘18’ certificate, but could have easily been a ‘15’ – as it’s not even particularly scary.
Fortunately, it looks like Brendan Fraser is coming back with a mini reboot of the ‘other’ franchise, so if you’re yearning for a Mummy fix – it’s probably best you wait for that exorcism.
The funny thing is this had the ‘Lee Cronin’ moniker in the title so you didn’t get this version confused with that blockbuster series.
Which will probably be a relief to Fraser and co – because they wouldn’t want to be associated with this bloated mess.
ESP Rating: 2/5
Gavin Miller
Showcase Cinema De Lux Peterborough & Odeon Luxe Peterborough, Out Now
Cast: Jack Reynor, Natalie Grace, May Calamawy, Laia Costa, Shylo Molina, Veronica Falcon, May Elghety, Billie Roy & Hayat Kamille
Running Time: 2 Hrs 14 Mins
Director: Lee Cronin
Film Review Venue: Showcase Cinema De Lux Peterborough
For all the latest film information & showtimes at Peterborough’s Showcase Cinema De Lux & Odeon Luxe Cinemas go to www.showcasecinemas.co.uk and www.odeon.co.uk
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