‘Lee Cronin’s The Mummy’ - a clever effort in reinvention

Tobias Cotton-Selman / THE GATEPOST

By Jesse Burchill Staff Writer Released on April 17, “Lee Cronin’s The Mummy” is a supernatural horror film written and directed by Cronin and starring Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, May Calamawy, Natalie Grace, and Verónica Falcón. It is a reimagining of the Universal Studios franchise of the same name, which includes the original 1932 horror film, the 1990s/2000s action films starring Brendan Frasier and Rachel Weisz, and the 2017 flop starring Tom Cruise. In Cronin’s new take on the franchise, the Cannon family is shattered when their middle child, Katie, goes missing in the desert. Eight years later, Katie is found mummified and buried in an ancient sarcophagus - and miraculously alive. She and her family reunite, but it soon becomes clear that something evil has followed Katie home. Dalia Zaki, Calamawy’s character and the detective on Katie’s case, was probably my favorite character. She arguably plays the largest role in unraveling what happened to Katie, and there were times where I felt like she could have been a better main character instead of the Cannon family. Grace as Katie was another standout performance. Even when she’s talking from offscreen, she pulls off the “possessed by a monster” character type very well, especially when she’s speaking with and tormenting her siblings under its influence. Cronin’s previous film, “Evil Dead Rise,” did not hold back with gruesome imagery, and while “The Mummy” is more restrained in comparison, the blood and gore get really intense when it comes down to it. There are several moments that made me physically recoil when I watched the film in the theater, especially in the third act when everything goes to hell. The makeup effects for the gore and Katie’s possession certainly help matters. Even outside of the gore, the movie manages to be frightening, thanks in part to how realistically chilling its setup is. Katie is kidnapped a short distance away from her house and out of her family’s sight. Katie’s dad, Charlie, learns that something’s wrong just moments too late and follows to try and save Katie, but the crowds in the streets and a poorly-timed sandstorm prevent this. Thus, Katie’s family has no idea where she is for eight entire years. It’s every parent’s worst nightmare come true, and the way it’s implemented works. Something to note is that aside from the name, the horror elements, and the presence of a character who’s been mummified, Cronin’s version of “The Mummy” has little in common with the rest of the franchise. It features a completely original story and completely original characters. This certainly brought a sense of originality to the film and some interesting plot points, but the film is so different that it can feel like it shouldn’t be called “The Mummy" at all. It’s tied to the larger franchise while trying to tell a unique and unrelated story, which results in a middle-of-the-road experience that feels like it doesn’t go far enough in either direction to stand out as well as it could have. On another note, I feel like the movie ended a bit too fast. The movie wraps up fairly quickly after Katie is saved, but the way it does this makes it feel like Katie and her siblings had little psychological hangups over all that’s happened to them, which can feel a bit disconnected from the experiences they endure. In the end, however, Cronin’s take on the “Mummy” franchise has more ups overall than downs and reworks the “ancient Egyptian monster” plot in a clever way, even if its new ideas are a bit lost in the shuffle. Rating: B- Entombed between original and familiar.