NEW YORK (OSV News) – Along with vampires, werewolves and zombies, undead ancient Egyptians have long been a staple of the horror genre. While “Lee Cronin’s The Mummy” (Warner Bros.) presents viewers with a reasonably interesting variant on this motif, the titular writer-director seems more interested in grossing moviegoers out than intriguing them.
Little Katie Cannon (Emily Mitchell), a young American girl whose family is temporarily living in Cairo, is abducted by a mysterious, unnamed neighbor (Hayat Kamille) and disappears without trace. Eight years later, she unexpectedly resurfaces (Natalie Grace) much to the delight of her dad Charlie (Jack Reynor) and mom Larissa (Laia Costa).
But hopes for a happy ending prove premature.
In the first place, the details of Katie’s return are bizarre. She was found encased in a millenia-old sarcophagus, bound up like a mummy and barely alive. Once back home in the states, moreover, Katie veers between catatonic oblivion and unsettling actions that indicate she’s in the clutches of some kind of evil force.
Both Charlie and Egyptian police Det. Zaki (May Calamawy), who was assigned to Katie’s case at its outset, pursue an explanation for the lass’ behavior. And the background story, albeit outlandish, eventually turns out to be mostly coherent. The movie’s visuals, however, are consistently more distasteful than frightening.
Additionally, Cronin’s sometimes over-the-top chiller eschews a spiritual solution to its main victim’s plight. His picture also includes a sequence in which darkness triumphs, at least for the time being, over the prayers for Katie’s healing offered by her pious Catholic grandmother, Carmen Santiago (Verónica Falcón).
Later developments do showcase familial love being demonstrated through self-sacrifice. Yet viewers will have to endure Cronin’s lingering focus on repulsive physical details to reach this virtuous action, which is itself succeeded by a much less admirable plot twist, one aimed at eliciting a visceral response from audiences.
The film contains many grisly sights and much gore, occult ideas, a vengeance theme, a couple of mild oaths, considerable rough language and occasional crude dialogue. The OSV News classification is L — limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
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