The Scream Queen

‘What happened to Katie?’ is the question Lee Cronin poses to us in his self-titled version of ‘The Mummy’. The answer: it’s pretty fucked up. After being subject to the usual marketing storm claiming that this will be ‘the scariest thing you’ll see in theatres all year’, Lee Cronin’s The Mummy had a lot of expectations to live up to; particularly since Cronin’s previous feature, Evil Dead Rise, was an undisputed hit. With his name front and centre on the project, Lee Cronin’s The Mummy promised another grizzly outing in tongue-in-cheek body horror, taking on one of cinema’s classic monsters. But is it worth unravelling?

Lee Cronin’s The Mummy takes all logic and throws it out the window. For example, when Katie (actress) is found in a 3000 year old sarcophagus, she is allowed back home immediately. In fact, it is even recommended that the best thing for Katie is some good ol’ TLC from her family. While this conversation takes place, Katie sits in a medical gown, unable to speak, looking like she has literally just been dug out of the ground. However, when it comes to Cronin, this is all just part of the gag. Fans of the director will already know that Cronin never takes the genre too seriously, and although The Mummy plays out as a more classic genre affair than his other entries, it is still made clear that at the end of the day, it’s all a bit of gruesome fun. When you look past some of the (gaping) plot holes and obvious devices, Lee Cronin’s The Mummy is a plain and simple good time.

However, it is hard not to compare Lee Cronin’s The Mummy to Lee Cronin’s Evil Dead Rise, because if there’s one thing to note about The Mummy, it’s that it’s basically an unofficial Evil Dead sequel. While Katie is possessed with a dark Egyptian demon during a mummification ritual rather than reading from the cursed Necronomicon, what remains of her is essentially a Deadite. Her rotting grey flesh, crude mouth, and penchant for toe licking feels all too familiar; especially when the rest of the family begin to fall under her possession (including Abuela’s corpse). The one thing that is mostly missing from Lee Cronin’s The Mummy is The Mummy itself. There are hints of the iconic creature there; the narrative partially takes place in Cairo, the top of an ancient pyramid pokes out of a basement, and Katie is found in a 3000 year old sarcophagus.* But Cronin never strikes for the all out bandaged look that we have come to expect from the undead monster, and ultimately, it would have been nice to see more of the mummified concept come to life.

*Side note: this leads to one of the funniest lines of the film, when Charlie (actor) asks ‘what was our daughter doing in a 3000 year old sarcophagus?!’. Amazing.

Nonetheless, Cronin has a sick eye for gory practical effects; and just when you think he’s taken things too far, he goes a step further. If after Evil Dead Rise you never grated cheese the same again, this time you’ll be wary of cutting your toenails. It will leave you gasping, cringing, and laughing all at once, as Cronin always keeps the audience in on the joke.

Final Verdict

If there’s been an Evil Dead shaped hole in your life since Cronin’s previous feature, his gross-out adaptation of The Mummy will undoubtedly fill that with bucketloads of pus, blood, and Egyptian demon vomit. A ridiculously absurd premise that never takes itself too seriously, Cronin’s tongue-in-cheek world will have you wrapped up in the mystery that unfolds. But be warned – by the time we finally discover what happened to Katie, you’ll never want to see another pair of toenail clippers again.