Lee Cronin’s The Mummy
April 16th, 2026
MOVIE: LEE CRONIN’S THE MUMMY
STARRING: JACK REYNOR, LAIA COSTA, MAY CALAMAWY, NATALIE GRACE
DIRECTED BY: LEE CRONIN
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 3 STARS (Out of 4)
RATED: R
RUN TIME: 133 MINUTES
The frustration with Lee Cronin’s The Mummy is justified. On one hand, it’s an undeniably fresh take on a horror icon that has too often been recycled or relegated to Indiana Jones–style adventure. On the other hand, Cronin wraps his version in the trappings of an Evil Dead film, channeling the spirit of William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist, resulting in a sometimes confusing blend of horror tropes. What can’t be denied, however, is that this is unmistakably Cronin’s The Mummy– a film packed with uncomfortable imagery and shocking bursts of gore that make it hard to forget.
The story begins in Cairo, where international reporter Charlie Cannon (Jack Reynor, reliably playing the downtrodden everyman) lives with his wife, Larissa (Laia Costa), and their children, Katie (Natalie Grace) and Sebastián, with a third on the way. Unbeknownst to them, their neighbors are hiding a tomb beneath their home- one containing a massive steel coffin imprisoning something sinister. In a brief, devastating moment, Charlie turns away to take a phone call, and Katie vanishes. She remains missing for eight years, leaving the family fractured and steeped in grief.
Years later, now relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico, with young Maud (Billie Roy) completing the family, Charlie receives unexpected news: Katie has been found alive. This is where the film begins to wobble. Katie returns as a hollow, emaciated version of herself, barely able to speak and not explain her survival. Soon after, strange and increasingly disturbing events begin to plague the family, suggesting that whatever took Katie may not have let her go.
Written and directed by Cronin, the film feels his wholly. Following Evil Dead Rise, he leans hard into visceral horror, delivering rotting flesh, grotesque bodily fluids, and a particularly wince-inducing pedicure scene that feels engineered to make audiences squirm. Unlike the excess of the Terrifier series, Cronin uses gore with purpose, evoking the spirit of ’80s horror filmmakers like Tobe Hooper and Clive Barker- where shock and atmosphere carry more weight than any deeper thematic message.
As a whole, The Mummy is an imperfect reimagining but a solid horror film. Cronin proves himself a talented director, with a sharp eye for sound design, practical effects, and striking visual compositions, including stylish split-diopter shots. That said, the film’s intensity can feel relentless, cranking from nine to eleven and refusing to let up. For some, that will be exhausting; for others, exhilarating. I found it stomach-turning in the best way- outrageous, excessive, and occasionally overwhelming. Sometimes, that’s exactly what a horror movie needs.
Love it or hate it, this is Lee Cronin’s The Mummy, and he makes sure you know it.
3 STARS
LEE CRONIN’S THE MUMMY IS NOW PLAYING IN THEATERS EVERYWHERE.
Written by: Leo Brady
