Life in Egypt was great for the expat Cannons, until it suddenly wasn\u2019t. Foreign correspondent Charlie Cannon was on the verge of a promotion to a national network news anchor position and his RN wife Larissa Santiago-Cannon was pregnant with their third. Then the creepy neighbor lady abducted their daughter Katie. Of course, the lazy lead detective just assumes her father, or someone else in the family killed her, so he does little to investigate.
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Despite his innocence, the guilt nearly breaks Cannon and his marriage. About a decade later, the Cannons have relocated to her mother\u2019s rambling desert home in New Mexico, where Katie\u2019s absence still remains keenly felt. Initially, they celebrate when the American consulate finally informs them Katie has been discovered alive. The circumstances are almost as bizarre as her condition. Found encased within a strange sarcophagus that survived a freak plane crash, doctors diagnose the withered and desiccated Katie with locked-in syndrome.
Ominously, strange things start happening once the Cannons bring Katie home, in hopes of nursing her back to full health and consciousness. Maud, the little sister who arrived after her abduction, exhibits particularly distressing symptoms. Meanwhile, Dalia Zaki, an Egyptian missing persons detective, who regrets her former boss\u2019s slapdash handling of Katie\u2019s disappearance, follows clues back to the shadowy \u201cMagician,\u201d who performed the sinister ritual on the innocent girl.
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First there was Bram Stoker\u2019s Dracula<\/strong><\/a> in 1992. Then came Mary Shelly\u2019s Frankenstein<\/strong><\/a> two years later. Now we have Lee Cronin\u2019s the Mummy<\/strong>. Granted, Cronin successfully reinvigorated the Evil Dead<\/strong> franchise with Evil Dead Rise<\/strong><\/a>, but do average everyday movie-goers really recognize him as an equal to Shelly and Stoker? That seems doubtful. However, Cronin\u2019s titular stamp helps differentiate his Mummy concept from its predecessors. Instead of the cursed Im-Ho-Tep eternally seeking his reincarnated lover in Universal\u2019s classic 1932 Mummy<\/strong><\/a>, this ancient monster acts more like Pazuzu in The Exorcist<\/strong><\/a>.<\/ins>
Instead of the zombie-like relentlessness of prior mummies, Cronin serves up demonic scares and a particularly gory variety of body horror. Frankly, if viewers are not wedded to the established ambiance and trappings expected of traditional mummy movies, Cronin\u2019s Mummy<\/strong> is consistently grabby and often impressively scary. Regardless, it completely outclasses the Tom Cruise Mummy<\/strong><\/a> movie.
Jack Treynor solidly anchors the film as Charlie Cannon, credibly depicting his everyman character experiencing a parent\u2019s worst fears, raised to the power of one thousand. Hayat Kamille is massively creepy as the Magician, while May Calamawy is convincingly shrewd and forceful as the intrepid Zaki. Young Natalie Grace also earns tremendous credit for maintaining corrupted Katie\u2019s unsettling ferociousness, while enduring all the practical makeup effects.
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\u00a9<\/b>Courtesy of Warner Brothers\u00a0<\/p>\r\nDespite the lack of pyramids and tombs, Cronin still finds a way to incorporate enough exotic Egyptian atmosphere to placate old school purists. Reportedly, Cronin identified Fincher\u2019s Se7en<\/strong><\/a> as an influence, which is most clearly reflected during Zaki\u2019s gritty investigative sequences. Frankly, if Blumhouse ever greenlights a sequel, Cronin should promote Calamawy to the lead. If you liked the review, share your thoughts below!<\/strong><\/p>\r\n
This is clearly not the jokey late 1990s Mummy<\/strong><\/a> or the broodingly romantic 1930s Mummy<\/strong>. As the title says, its Lee Cronin\u2019s the Mummy<\/strong>. It is super-angsty and at times unapologetic grotesque, but it does what horror movies are supposed to do. Altogether, it is rather satisfying. Recommended for mummy fans receptive to a radically new take, Lee Cronin\u2019s the Mummy<\/strong> opens nationwide April 17th.
Grade<\/strong>: B+<\/p>\r\n