Review: Lee Cronin's The Mummy (2026)

If you were to dissect this movie, you would find all of the necessary parts to have a legitimately good film.  A creepy 'possessed' performance from Natalie Grace as Katie; Egyptian lore adding some credibility to go with the otherworldly elements (whether or not this lore is real - probably not - is inconsequential); solid performances from Jack Raynor as Katie's dad and May Calamawy as the detective assigned to Katie's disappearance; there are even a few sequences that build tension in interesting ways.  However, as this movie is currently assembled, it just doesn't quite work despite having all of the parts necessary to succeed.

The movie follows the Cannon family: parents Charlie and Larissa (Reynor and Laia Costa) and children Katie, Seb, and Maudie (Grace, Shylo Molina, and Billie Roy, with younger versions of Katie and Seb played by Emily Mitchell and Dean Williams).  Before Maudie is born, Katie disappears while the family is living in Egypt.  Eight years later, the Cannons are contacted after Katie is found inside an ancient sarcophagus, and they bring her home (now in Albuquerque) to help her recover - in possibly the most 'this would only happen in a movie' scene.  Things quickly get weird.

One thing about this movie is that it is in no rush at any point during its 132 minute runtime.  In the early going, it is forgivable since it allows the viewer to get to know the family pre and post-abduction, but once Katie is brought back into the story it definitely should've gotten to the meat much faster than it does.  I know I sound like a broken record on this point, but this movie probably could've cut a good 30 minutes out of it and not lost anything of note, which would've only helped with the pacing.

This movie is also incredibly gross.  Director Lee Cronin is very obviously a fan of movies like Braindead or Drag Me to Hell and he leans into it in such a way that I, a veteran of gross-out horror movies, found myself turning away from the screen.  Whereas there is a tongue-in-cheek giddiness to the mentioned movies, Cronin chose to play it much straighter in this one and it suffers for that decision.  It doesn't matter how good the effects are if the audience is turning away in disgust.

What does work in the movie is the little subversions to the standard tropes: having the dad be the one to realize things are going sideways first is a nice change of pace (and I'm sure Reynor would like to be remembered for roles other than the one in Midsommar), and the cop side of the plot takes a few turns that I won't spoil, but felt like a welcome reprieve from other, dumber movies.

It would be hard for me to recommend this movie to other people.  Whatever good parts it has - and there are several good parts, including a scene with Katie's grandmother that might be the most effective of the movie - the pacing issues and vulgarity would outweigh them for most people.

A frustrating, though competent movie.

5 out of 10

Published Oct 27, 2026