Movie Review: Lee Cronin’s The Mummy

Probably not what you were expecting

Let’s get things started by addressing the elephant in the room. If you are going into this one expecting some bandage wrapped creature from inside an Egyptian tomb rising to exact revenge, you are going to be disappointed. While there is a connection to Egyptian lore, this is, at its heart, a possession movie that feels like a mash-up of The Thing and The Evil Dead.

In the opening of the move, we see a happy young family living in Egypt, where the man of the house is working with the media. They are heading home soon, but before they can do that, their daughter is taken by a mysterious woman in a rather creepy little scene. From there, the movie jumps forward 8 years, where it is revealed that the girl has been found. The problem is that she is not the sweet, precocious little thing she was when she went missing.

Even though the girl looks like death warmed over, the parent brings her back to the States and try to integrate her with the rest of the family. I don’t think I am giving up any major spoilers here by telling you that this is not the joyous reunion that the parent were hoping for. This is, though, where the stomach-churning aspect of the movie begins.

While I was watching all the madness unfold, I could not help but think that The Mummy existed in the Evil Dead universe, which would make sense given the Cronin had recently done ED: Rise. By all accounts, he has suggested that it is indeed part of that world. The gore is great, to the point of being cartoonish at times, but I will say that you do have to suspend disbelief to quite an exceptional level. Some of the decisions made by the parents will have you yelling at the TV.

All in all, though, I really enjoyed this one. I was already aware, based on what I had seen and read, that this was not your regular mummy flick, so I was not disappointed that it went the way it did. I initially gave this one top marks, but I think I am going to shave a half-point due to there being some definite issues with decisions made within the movie.

4.5 Stars out of 5