Lee Cronin’s The Mummy (dir. Lee Cronin)

by Jack Martin | Apr 18, 2026

Certificate: 18

Running Time: 133 mins

UK Distributor: Warner Bros

UK Release Date: 17 April 2026

WHO’S IN LEE CRONIN’S THE MUMMY?

Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, May Calamawy, Natalie Grace, Verónica Falcón, May Elghety, Shylo Molina, Billie Roy, Hayat Kamille, Emily Mitchell

WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?

Lee Cronin (director, writer, producer), Jason Blum, John Keville and James Wan (producers), Stephen McKeon (composer), David Garbett (cinematographer), Bryan Shaw (editor)

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

A family is terrorised by their young daughter (Grace) who’s possessed by an Egyptian demon…

WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON LEE CRONIN’S THE MUMMY?

There have been sixteen theatrically-released movies in the Mummy franchise, from the 1932 original with Boris Karloff, to the Brendan Fraser-led action remakes, to the failed Dark Universe launchpad with Tom Cruise. But only one bears the distinction of having the filmmaker’s name in the title alongside the Mummy itself, probably to avoid legal action from Universal (this one’s being done by Warner Bros via their New Line Cinema branch), but also possibly to let people know that they’re not just watching any other Mummy movie.

Rather, they’re watching Lee Cronin’s The Mummy, and when you realise that this is the same guy who most recently brought us Evil Dead Rise, you’ll know instantly what you’re in store for. But even then, writer-director Cronin goes well beyond expectations by delivering the goriest, nastiest and most uncomfortable Mummy movie yet, which may well be enough to entertain – or, more likely, gross out – audiences wanting this classic movie monster to actually be monstrous again, though it doesn’t always add up to an especially great movie.

As most Mummy movies do, the film begins in Egypt, where American couple Charlie (Jack Reynor) and Larissa (Laia Costa) are situated with their young children, including eldest daughter Katie (Emily Mitchell), while Charlie works as a news reporter in Cairo. But one day, Katie is suddenly abducted and quickly goes missing, causing despair throughout the fractured family… until, eight years later, Charlie and Larissa suddenly receive the news that Katie (now played by Natalie Grace) has been found alive inside of a giant sarcophagus. And in one of many dunderheaded character moments, these parents then decide to bring Katie home – despite her feral behaviour, dried-up skin that’s practically peeling off, and overall being in no shape to be reintegrated back into society, let alone her own family – where of course they quickly realise that something else may well be operating inside their daughter.

Similar to other recent Universal Classic Monster reboots like The Invisible Man and Wolf Man – both produced by Jason Blum, who also worked on this film with fellow producer James Wan – Cronin has reshaped the original concept of The Mummy within a modern context that offer scares drenched in present-day relevance, in this case being the familial trauma of a child going missing and attempting to regain a sense of normalcy afterwards. However, somewhat ironically, most of Cronin’s influences are very much from the past, with few if any at all being actual Mummy movies. Instead, Cronin takes heavy cues from the likes of The Exorcist, The Evil Dead (naturally) and even Silence of the Lambs, the latter factoring into a sub-plot involving an Egyptian detective (a magnetic May Calamawy) diving deeper into Katie’s disturbing case. Talking of The Evil Dead, there are times when Cronin goes full Sam Raimi in sequences that carry the same flavour of dark comedy he previously applied to Evil Dead Rise, including a funeral scene involving bloodied devilled eggs and false teeth, only here they tend to clash with the grimmer tone that’s enveloping the rest of the story.

In addition to being largely derivative and tonally confused, Cronin’s script also happens to be one where everything is made possible by some exceptionally dumb character decisions. Take, for instance, the parents’ initial decision to bring their child, who in addition to being traumatised and malnourished after going missing in another country for almost a decade is clearly displaying all the trademarks and characteristics of someone possessed by a demonic force, back into the family home with their other vulnerable children and even an elderly grandmother all living under the same roof. She may be their long-missing daughter, but Charlie and Larissa fail to recognise that Katie is dangerous in her current state, even after she’s made one or two violent gestures towards others and even herself, and at the very least needs extensive psychiatric care before she can be properly reintegrated. One of them even brings up the latter idea (long after they should have first considered it), only for them to be shot down for reasons that can only be explained by the fact that there wouldn’t be a movie if they did move her away.

While aspects like that can make the script seem contrived and even frustrating, in addition to all its other imbalances, Cronin does at least go out of his way to indulge in some suitably grotesque violence that is often delightfully over-the-top. Whether it’s in a particularly grim toenail clipping scene or a climax involving a scorpion piercing out of someone’s throat, there is a gleeful twinge of sadism in Cronin’s direction that makes it apparent that he is treating it all like some bombastic theme-park horror show where the goal is to make the audience feel as disgusted as possible. As captured through numerous split dioptre shots, these scenes come with some impressive gore effects (though some are blatantly coated in so much CGI that it nullifies the overall intent) as well as suitably bleak cinematography that makes even the sunny landscapes of Cairo and New Mexico feel sinister.

But unfortunately, it’s not enough to overlook how deeply flawed the narrative is, rendering Lee Cronin’s The Mummy something of a style-over-substance movie that throws as much carnage at the screen to distract from its derivative storytelling and often frustrating character decisions. It’s not an awful movie, and isn’t even the worst Mummy movie on record, but it clearly needed a few extra bandages to cover up its more noticeably gaping holes.

SO, TO SUM UP…

Lee Cronin’s The Mummy goes for broke with a franchise reinvention that is grotesquely gory and stylishly deranged, but a derivative script filled with tonal imbalance and frustrating character decisions keep it stuck in its tomb.