I suppose you need something to distinguish this Mummy from all the others — the Universal Monsters original, the Brendan Fraser blockbuster, the Tom Cruise disaster. Why the solution was to put the name of a relatively unknown director above the title, I have no idea.
The Mummy? More Like Lee Cronin’s The Exorcist … or Lee Cronin’s Evil Dead, Again
Lee Cronin is slightly known for the well-received (if relatively little-seen) 2023 sequel Evil Dead Rise, an intense and graphic revitalization of the infamous horror series. He has followed that up with a film that’s more intense, more graphic and much less enjoyable — and, to avoid false expectations, one that bears depressingly little connection to either the classic black-and-white Boris Karloff vehicle or the successful early-2000s series.
It does, however, bear a passing resemblance to The Exorcist, particularly in the age and depravity of its unlikely villain.
A television journalist (Jack Reynor) and his family temporarily find themselves in Cairo; he’s angling for a New York job that would bring them back stateside. Tragically, their oldest daughter (played first by Emily Mitchell, then by Natalie Grace after a jump forward) disappears, seemingly kidnapped by a neighbor; the Egyptian authorities don’t put much effort into the search, and the family returns to America in emotional tatters.
Eight years later, the girl is found alive… inside a giant sarcophagus recovered from a plane crash. Despite her dreadful condition and near-catatonic affect, they send her home. Conditions in the house deteriorate rapidly.
Unwrap with Care
I make no secret of my devotion to the horror genre, and there’s little that rattles me in most scary movies. Yet I found myself looking away from Lee Cronin’s The Mummy; it’s punishingly violent and genuinely disturbing.
(If any studio PR types are looking for a phrase to pull from this debut, I assure you: “genuinely disturbing” is the closest thing to a compliment you’ll find in this review.)
The tone and action are so unrelentingly bleak, however, that it’s tough to figure out who would enjoy Lee Cronin’s The Mummy. There is a certain breed of horror fan for whom the brutality is the point — the sort who lap up grotesquerie as if downing a scaldingly spicy brand of hot sauce. For those, I suppose there’s enough artful construction here to satisfy. Cronin isn’t without visual abilities; he invents odd angles to highlight unusual situations and makes fine use of deep focus to create intimidating moments.
For the average viewer, however, Lee Cronin’s The Mummy is best avoided. With none of the cathartic thrills or inventive settings that serve to make horror fun, it’s a deeply unpleasant experience.
The name isn’t the only thing that distinguishes Cronin’s film from its predecessors. Good mummy pictures are spooky adventures, not exercises in unrelenting terror; in this one, Cronin missed the point.
Live From New York, It’s a Lorne Michaels Documentary
Those curious about the longevity and idiosyncrasies of Saturday Night Live received precious little clarity in the middling mediocre 2024 feature Saturday Night, a highly fictionalized account of the show’s birth. There’s plenty to glean, however, from Lorne, a documentary biography of the show’s creator, Lorne Michaels. A viewing of the film — which is peppered with appearances from nearly every living SNL alum of note — demonstrates how the show’s quirks derive directly from its influential producer. And, unbelievably, director Morgan Neville (who also made the Fred Rogers doc Won’t You Be My Neighbor?) inches toward unearthing the character of the famously enigmatic Michaels. For fans of the show, it’s essential — and even the merely curious will be more than engaged.
But, There Are More Home Releases, Too
The fortunes of writer/director Peter Farrelly have fallen since 2018, when his Green Book won Best Picture (an unquestionable blot on the record of that lofty award). He returns to his broad-comedy roots with Balls Up, a World Cup-themed caper starring Mark Wahlberg and Paul Walter Hauser. Most early reviews have not been kind.
On Netflix, meanwhile, Chloe East (star of the well-received A24 horror flick Heretic) and Sadie Sandler (daughter of, and frequent collaborator with, father Adam) play a pair of Roommates trying to navigate college life. The film has a strong supporting cast, including Natasha Lyonne, Nick Kroll, Carol Kane and Janeane Garofalo.
Story by Sean Collier
Featured Photo Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
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