By Matthew Moorcroft

Solid Recommendation

• Directed by Lee Cronin
• Starring Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, May Calamawy, Natalie Grace
• R

Almost as nasty as an actual decaying corpse, Lee Cronin’s The Mummy, which is indeed the full title, revels in it’s gruesome horror. Less overtly scary and more focused on being as disgusting and gross as you can imagine, it follows in the footsteps of the titular director’s past work on Evil Dead Rise by having a mean, cruel streak in how it treats it’s characters. Everyone is having a rough time in this, even the titular mummy, even if said mummy is less a classic one and more of a possessed little girl who just happened to be in a sarcophagus.

It’s very likely Lee Cronin’s The Mummy is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. Bleakly written in terms of it’s themes and visually dark – if handsomely made – it’s also well assuredly far different then what you would expect from a normal Mummy film these days. It’s likely that the production team is aware of this, as Lee Cronin’s name is slapped on this to differ it from the far more popular and beloved Brendan Fraser films. Not like it’s hard to tell at first glance that this is going to be a completely different kind of flick, with it’s brutal opening scene and creepier vibes that immediately tell you that the action-adventure stylings of old are gone.

Instead, Lee Cronin is making his version of an Exorcist flick, just now with a much more Egyptian focused bent as said little girl, the young Katie, has been taken over by some kind of malevolent force after disappearing for eight years. Her family is woefully unprepared for what is to come, and while there is a little bit of denial at first with the assumption that simply being there for Katie will be enough, it becomes clear very quickly that whatever is inside of Katie will cause untold amounts of damage if not sealed away. It’s a classic possession setup, even down to the titular demon taunting and swearing their way at the people they are both trying to torment and manipulate.

It would be tired if it wasn’t so entertaining, as despite Lee Cronin’s The Mummy‘s large suspension of disbelief to get it’s premise across it’s a gnarly fun time across the board. From toenails that rip off top layers of skin to scorpions down people’s throats, there is enough nasty imagery to full one’s twisted imaginations for days, and the sheer delight that Cronin revels in showcasing each detail is the kind of joy usually only found in true sickos. While it never translates fully to being scary, it’s creepy enough that most will find it difficult to watch when it wants to be difficult to watch.

If Cronin is doing anything new here, it’s mainly in it’s presentation, which is of high quality and polished across the board. Far more visually stylish then it likely would have been under other directors, it’s a great looking flick at the very minimum and has enough of a clear voice that it starts to make sense why Cronin’s name was plastered all over it. A flurry of split diopters and extreme close ups combined with fast, almost rough around the edges cutting gives the film both a distinct identity while also keeping it’s tension up as much as it can through the film’s admittedly strenuous runtime of 134 minutes.

Overboard a bit? Probably. The film’s long runtime, while it does mean there is much to be found in it’s nasty bits, does mean it has a lot of ground to cover and it has a dual set of endings that don’t really compliment each other very well and feel like they come from two separate pictures tonally and thematically. But as a story of a parent who would do anything for their child, it’s got a hell of a conclusion on that front and a damn solid final setpiece.

I don’t know if Lee Cronin’s The Mummy will stand the test of time as one of the all time great possession flicks, but it’s a entertainingly nasty affair that will likely please gorehounds and those in the mood for a mainstream horror flick that isn’t afraid to get full on disgusting with it’s nightmarish imagery. As these Universal Monster reimaginings go, it’s nowhere near the best but it’s a solid effort, and Lee Cronin has talent for days in the body horror department. He might be a one trick pony – this is really similar to Evil Dead Rise in some key ways – but if this is his one trick, then frankly I could be down for another helping.