A Brain Dead ‘Mummy’ Goes Big on Blood and Guts

The scariest thing about “Lee Cronin’s The Mummy” isn’t the film’s wrapped wraith or its gory frights but the director’s name in the title. An Irish director with two prior scary flicks to his name, Mr. Cronin is nowhere near a household name nor considered a master of horror to merit the inclusion. Yet there it is, an obscure proper name taking possession of a beloved ancient Egypt-inspired archetype in the name of “branding” and “reimagining.”If only said reimagining were fresh and distinctive. Instead, the primary goal of the new version of “The Mummy” is to co-opt ideas and plot devices from other horror movies, like classics “The Exorcist” and “The Omen.” The film also wants to gross out its audience in the style of old-school gore fests, particularly in a few key body horror and bloody scenes that are sure to make viewers squirm. I know I did, but mostly out of revulsion with the script, the thin characterizations, and the disturbing lack of real terror. On the plus side, the picture doesn’t take itself very seriously and even has moments of camp. Classic horror aficionados might claim that “The Mummy” is rolling over in its grave to which Mr. Cronin might reply, “But maybe it’s twirling.”After a “Final Destination”-recalling prologue in which a mummy haunts an Egyptian family at a remote ranch, the film introduces its central family consisting of Charlie, an American TV reporter stationed in Cairo, his nurse practitioner wife Larissa, and their kids Sebastián and Katie. Moving quickly, the creature feature soon arrives at its most disturbing plot point and unique “twist” on prior Mummy movies: the abduction of Katie, her subsequent disappearance, and the discovery of her living body eight years later within a sarcophagus. Once the family, now residing on the outskirts of Albuquerque, hear of Katie being found and bring her home, the film settles into its “disturbed family member” storyline, with periodic sequences back in Egypt as a detective investigates whether the girl’s kidnapping was an instance of human trafficking. In a catatonic, locked-in state, Katie is now 17 years old, and her ragged, desiccated appearance disturbs her parents, brother, younger sister Maud (born after her abduction), and grandmother Carmen. Needless to say, the teen is not herself and immediately starts wreaking havoc on the household.In addition to borrowing from the aforementioned movies, Mr. Cronin, who also wrote the screenplay, leverages “haunted house” tropes as Katie’s powers—even her puke—infiltrate the structure. While very little of what transpires feels inspired, including the nods to Egyptology via a British professor, there are moments of over-the-top gruesomeness and absurdity that elicit grudging awe and yelps of helpless laughter. These include a nail-clipping scene and a confrontation between Katie and Carmen. Still, the psychological implications and familial tensions caused by the periodic chaos are barely explored, despite the writer-director’s blunt connection of a domestic discord myth and the demon that possesses Katie.While the occasional “splatter” scene makes for some amusement, Mr. Cronin’s use of songs like Manfred Mann’s Earth Band’s “Blinded by the Light” and The Band’s “The Weight” reveals his penchant for cheap sarcasm and obviousness. The latter aspect is also reflected in the film’s procedural clichés and thriller machinations. As patriarch Charlie, Irish-American actor Jack Reynor (“Midsommar”) is blandly convincing, while Spanish actress Laia Costa is a compelling Larissa. Each of the young thespians, including Shylo Molina as Sebastián, Billie Roy as Maud, and Natalie Grace as the teenage Katie, has a striking moment or two, though Ms. Grace’s performance is the most memorable. Mexican actress Veronica Falcón brings easy levity and a sense of groundedness to the family portrait as grandmother Carmen, yet one ends up lamenting the way the character is handled. Rounding out the cast, Egyptian-Palestian actress May Calamawy makes for a decent detective, and Hayat Kamille, with her strong features, proves appropriately haunting as a sinister operator.Gone is the original 1932 movie’s stately, steady dread and the 1999 movie’s “Indiana Jones” adventure tone, replaced by blood and guts. Still, Dave Garbett’s hazily edged cinematography contains a textural, almost tactile, quality and keen sense of perspective, enhancing at times the dramatic stakes. He and Mr. Cronin also stage some of their setpieces effectively, though the Grand Guignol climax—all frantic cross-cutting and violence—is a mess. Perhaps that’s what most horror fans seek: gore and quick shocks to the nervous system. To paraphrase a line from the movie: “It’s fun to be brain dead.”

A Brain Dead ‘Mummy’ Goes Big on Blood and Guts

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