Lee Cronin’s The Mummy (2026) Review

Film Details

Director: Lee Cronin

Run Time: 2hr 13m

Cast: Jack Reynor, May Calamawy, Laia Costa, Billie Roy, Veronica Falcon, May Elghty

Synopsis

The young daughter of a journalist disappears into the desert without a trace, but eight years later the broken family is shocked when she miraculously returns.

My Review

Right off the bat, I want to make it clear that this film is in no way tied to the iconic Brendan Fraser films, so if you were expecting that, please adjust those expectations! Lee Cronin’s The Mummy is a completely new story centred around an American family living in Cairo and a fictional Egyptian spirit called the Nasmaranian, a sinister force hell bent on tearing families apart.

‘The Mummy’ is gory, tense and uncomfortable, producing countless moments that had me squirming in my seat; from disgusting toenails to graphic body horror type sequences, Lee Cronin certainly finds plenty of ways to play with his audience! Exploring the concept of mummification from a modern day perspective was a really interesting way to approach this horror film. The ancient Pharaoh narrative certainly leans into fantasy more than horror for me, so seeing the ceremony played out in this particular manner was truly horrifying to watch and it exacerbated that sense of unease.

Films such as this are only as good as its performers and everyone involved really knocked it out of the park here, particularly Natalie Grace who created the physical presence of Katie’s tormented form quite brilliantly. I do wish the archeological professor was utilised a little more, despite it all being fictional mythology, I do find those moments of lore building within the film super interesting, but his appearance is really brief unfortunately. The film has a small budget of just $22m and for the most part, the aesthetic far exceeds expectations, with just a select few moments where the special effects fall short. But the cinematography captured the tone of the film nicely and helped establish that tense and creepy atmosphere that just kept evolving as the film progressed.

If you were a fan of Cronin’s Evil Dead Rise, then you will certainly enjoy The Mummy, it’s coded in a very similar way, albeit with a different supernatural force. What’s also cool is the director has hinted that the two pieces of IP actually exist in the same universe too. So if that sounds like a bit of you, then it’s definitely worth checking out!

My rating: 7 out of 10

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