01/05/2026

FRIDAY | MAY 1, 2026

25

LYFE

MOVIE REVIEW

Will leave you screaming for mummy

o Lee Cronin presents darker, family-focused tale

Ű BY AMEEN HAZIZI

T HE latest reimagining of The Mummy drops the action-driven formula tied to Brendan Fraser’s trilogy and the reboot led by Tom Cruise, replacing it with something far more contained and unsettling. Lee Cronin’s The Mummy leans fully into horror, centring the story on a family dealing with the return of their daughter Katie, who has been missing for eight years and is found mummified inside a sarcophagus. The premise is easily the strongest hook. What actually happened to Katie Cannon – why she was kept like that drives the first half and keeps the audience invested. It builds a clear sense of mystery before the film shifts deeper into possession and body horror. Familiar structure, effective enough The film leans on familiar horror ideas. Katie’s possession closely mirrors Regan Macneil in The Exorcist (1973), while the father’s obsessive research recalls Ethan Hawke’s dad character in Sinister (2018). One parent is trying to understand what is happening, the other ignores the warning signs until it is too late. It is not subtle. The more interesting angle comes from how the parents handle the situation. They become so focused on Katie that they almost completely ignore their other children, even when those children begin showing worrying behaviour. Gore that pushes it far This is a brutal watch. The film leans heavily into gore and does not hold back. One scene involving a toenail stands out as the most disturbing moment here, and among the more extreme horror sequences in recent years. It will have audiences curling their toes in their seats. That intensity carries through the rest of the film. The violence is

Katie is discovered inside an ancient sarcophagus eight years after her kidnapping.

work. From The Hole in the Ground (2019) to Evil Dead Rise (2023), his films often centre on family dynamics under pressure. Here, that idea is pushed further, showing how those bonds can break when something external takes hold. There are also similarities between the Nasmaranian and the Kandarian demon from the Evil Dead franchise, though this version feels more limited. It can only possess one host at a time and can be contained through rituals, which lowers the overall threat compared with the nearly unstoppable deadites in Evil Dead . Performances The child performances stand out. They feel natural, which helps ground the film as it becomes more extreme. That is not always the case in horror, so it makes a difference here. Jack Reynor’s Charlie Cannon holds the film together on the adult side and delivers a more consistent

graphic and constant, sometimes to the point where it feels like it is trying to outdo itself. It will work for viewers who enjoy that side of horror, but it can also feel excessive. Visuals, atmosphere The cinematography does a lot of the work in maintaining tension. The use of Dutch angles and tight framing creates a constant sense of unease and disorientation. Scenes rarely feel visually stable, which fits the tone of the story. It keeps the film engaging from start to finish. Even when the plot leans on familiar beats, the way it is shot helps sustain the tension without relying too much on jump scares. That said, once the film slows down, some of the smaller logic gaps start to stand out more, including how the basalt sarcophagus was even moved from its original location in the first place. Cronin’s focus on family This continues a pattern in Cronin’s

Ancient Egyptian curses and dark magic play a central role in shaping the film’s horror. – ALL PICS FROM IMDB

0 Director: Lee Cronin 0 Cast: Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, May Calamawy, Natalie Grace, Veronica Falcon, Shylo Molina, Billie Roy, Hayat Kamille E-VALUE 7 ACTING 7 PLOT 8

predictable way. The ending leans towards a more crowd-pleasing direction where the impact is softened. It undercuts what could have been a stronger narrative choice, leaving the conclusion feeling less earned. Final verdict Lee Cronin’s The Mummy is effective for most of its run-time. It is genuinely scary, packed with gore and built around a premise that keeps the audience engaged. The mystery will intrigue audiences, the visuals keep things tense and the performances, especially from the younger cast, help carry the film. The ending weakens the overall impact, but there is still enough here to make it worth watching for horror fans.

performance compared with some of his earlier work. His American accent is noticeably a lot better here, avoiding the inconsistencies seen in Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) and helping keep the character grounded. May Calamawy’s Detective Dalia Zaki grounds the Egypt side of story and brings a cultural perspective to things. It shows even the mystical side of Egypt would freak out even a normal cop. Her performance remains steady and helps hold attention on the mystery from a different angle. Final act falls short The final stretch is where the film loses some of its impact. It turns into a more standard showdown between the family and the demon, with everything escalating in a

The creature design draws from North African references and preserved bog bodies studied in Ireland.